Food for the Journey

We are all on a journey but some periods of time stand out. In the last few weeks I have been the friend to a few people who have experienced one of the major aspects of the journey. A long time ago there was a TV hospital show, I think it was Ben Casey MD, where they started the show with someone writing on a chalk board (the precursor of white boards) the symbols for birth, death and infinity, because those are daily experiences for many in the medical profession. Some of those came into play in the last two weeks.

My friend Arcadia experienced the loss of her brother; sudden death by a heart attack. While it is very difficult to lose someone close to you, it is especially trying to be the last of your generation, and the eldest one alive in your family. All of the people who knew you as a child, in the ways that only family members know you, are gone. It is extremely upsetting for the one left behind and being their friend seems like a powerless, mostly unhelpful place to be. Fortunately Arcadia found some comfort in a painting I gave her, and in the flowers that another friend planted.

My friend Hil experienced the other end of the journey, delivering into the world a healthy and long-awaited and wanted baby. Congratulations to her and her hubby and all the blissful grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends! New life brings such hope and joy, and it spills out to cheer more people than you might imagine. One day soon I'll be bringing her some dinner so that she can rest a bit....or maybe macarons.

Another wonderful soul, Walter, is walking his own journey of healing. It is unclear where the path leads and this is a challenge for his family. I was able to help a little by making some chicken soup the other day. Medical science has even decided that chicken soup can be a restorative. Who knows? It might just help. If you are reading this far, send a good thought to Walter, OK? I happen to believe that positive thoughts and energy are even more powerful than chicken soup. By the way, this is not Natasha's Walter, but someone I met through work. Both men are wonderful, but the local Walter is most in need of your good thoughts.

In case you need or want the actual soup...it is supposed to be effective with the common cold I'm told...or just want the warmth and deliciousness of it for your own journey, the recipe that follows is what I made the other day. The amounts are approximate...you can vary it quite a lot and it still will taste wonderful.

Chicken Soup for W in 10 Steps

1 whole organic chicken, cut up (about 2-3 pounds), rinsed

1/4 cup celery leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 pound (or a little more) boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs, rinsed and cut in bit sized pieces
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil or garlic olive oil
1 bunch Swiss chard, well rinsed, stem and any stringy ribs removed, chopped
water
salt and pepper to taste

1) Find one cutting board to use for chicken prep and one for veggie prep.
2) Fill a medium saucepan half full with water. Add the whole chicken pieces, the celery leaves and the Italian parsley. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 hour while you continue to prepare the veggies and the other chicken pieces.

3) Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute' the onion until translucent and lightly browned, but don't char any of the onions.

4) Fill a large stock pot with cold water about 2/3 of the way up. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken thigh pieces tot he pot of water and stir. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the sauteed onions, the carrots and the potatoes. Let simmer until the potatoes are tender.

5) Remove the chicken pieces from the first pot and let cool until cool enough to handle. Reserve the broth in the pot.

6) Remove the skin from the breasts, legs and thighs. Remove the cooked chicken from the bones of those pieces. Return the skin and bones and any other pieces to the pot. Place the pot over high heat and boil until the broth is reduced by half.
7) While the broth is reducing, cut the breast, leg and thigh meat into bite sized pieces and add to the large pot.

8) Once the potatoes are cooked in the big pot and the broth is reduced by half in the smaller pot, remove all the remaining chicken pieces and bones from the smaller pot and set aside. Pour the broth through a strainer held over the large pot, so that the reduced broth goes into the large pot.
9) Remove the remaining meat from the pieces you removed from the smaller pot, or discard, as desired. Discard bones, skin, and what is in the strainer.

10) Taste for seasonings in the big pot...this is your chicken soup! Stir in the chopped Swiss chard and let cook long enough to wilt, or longer if you prefer. Serve as is, being sure to scoop up some of the chicken pieces and veggies. If you prefer, you can puree a portion of the soup or all of it for a different take on chicken soup.

No photos of this soup...sorry! Forgot to bring the camera to the kitchen where I was making the soup.

Almost Turkey Time

If you don't live in the U.S.of A., the coming of fall probably doesn't mean that it is time to gather up the recipes for cooking a big turkey for a family, or extended family, or family and friends dinner toward the end of November.

If you do celebrate American Thanksgiving, you probably have a raft of family traditions associated with the feast.

It might be Aunt Mabel's green bean casserole with onion rings or Uncle George's special meatball appetizer or Grandma's super sweet, marshmallow covered sweet potato casserole. With the way that tastes change over time, this might be the year that you decide to try something new and different...well, at least for one dish.

If you are the brave soul that is willing to stand up against family pressure and make a casserole that has fresh green beans and no fried onions in sight, or something with sweet potatoes that is actually savory, perhaps with some sage butter, or even a different stuffing for the turkey, you might need some suggestions for new recipes to try. I'm selfish enough that I want you to make one of the recipes I've blogged about if thats teh case...besides they are good!

There will be round ups and lists to be found around the Internet. My group of Thanksgiving ready recipes will be limited to ones I've posted here in the Land of St. Honore' at Feeding My Enthusiasms. That might make it a short list, but that makes it easier for you to scan it, check out any that look interesting to you, then pop on over to the next blog (which might be one on my likely blogs list...if you are smart).

Here goes....drumroll please.....

Appetizers:

White Bean Dip, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-dip-made-with-canned-cannelli.html hits a lot of high notes - robust taste, not too filling, good-for-your-heart legume based, great with either crackers or crudites, easy to make and ...Yay!...can be made ahead and tastes even better if you do.

Caprese on a Skewer, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2009/11/catching-up-caprese-on-skewer.html is colorful, fun to make and fun to eat. Finding flavorful tomatoes might be a challenge, but you can use cherry tomatoes which are usually sold in pint baskets. They generally taste good. You can substitute flat leaf parsley (Italian parsley) leaves for the basil leaves. The flavor combo will be different, but the skewers are still pretty that way. You can Serve the skewers by sticking the end in a small pumpkin or you can corral a bunch of filled skewers in a tall glass, fanning them out.

Salads:

A tossed green salad is always welcome, but if you want a make-ahead salad, try this Composed Orange Salad, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2008/01/orange-you-glad-you-heard-about-this.html . You can arrange the lettuce and orange slices on salad plates, stack them up in the 'fridge, then dab on the mayo, add the cherry and sprinkle on the raisins and coconut shortly before guests sit down and put them a plate at each place. The orange is refreshing and light which is a good way to start a meal that is heavy on the starches.

Soup:

If the day is chilly as November often is, starting with a nice bowl of soup is warming and welcoming. Try a seasonal favorite like Two Squash Soup, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2009/11/soups-on-and-its-two-squash-soup.html rich with roasted butternut and pumpkin squashes, plus onions, sweet potato and apples. With a sour cream and diced red pepper garnish it's quite festive and flavorful.

Turkey:

The main event is usually a roast Turkey, golden and juicy. Turns out that I haven't blogged a turkey recipe, so I'm sending you to the experts. The Butterball turkey folks have a great helpline and website if you need a recipe or help. I usually cook mine in a brown-in-bag because it makes it difficult to over cook the bird, plus clean up is so easy.This one wasn't cooked in a brown-in bag and it is overcooked.

Sides:

What is a turkey without stuffing? No nearly as good! My Mom makes the best stuffing (you knew I'd say that, right?...well, it's true) and the Stuffing, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2008/11/stuffed.html recipe I posted last year is based on her bread and corn bread stuffing. You'll need a slightly drier stuffing if it is going inside the bird than if it goes in the casserole, so add a little extra broth to the casserole baked stuffing. You can make it your own by adding favorite dried fruit, different nuts, and so on. Make plenty because people usually want seconds of this stuffing!

Good turkey benefits by the accompaniment of cranberries. There's something about the sweet-tart fruitiness that brings out the best in the bird. Cranberries also ripen in the fall, making them a fall favorite since Colonial times. If you want to break away from cranberry relish, try Elle's Wild and Brown Rice with Cranberries, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2008/10/for-holiday-meals.html for a side dish instead. It has the nutty flavors of wild and brown rice, plus apple juice soaked cranberries and a dash of orange flavor for zest.

(You can still open a can of cranberry jelly for purists).

Swiss chard is a seasonal green that is all too often forgotten makes a wonderful side dish. It is refreshing and savory and light...just right with such a rich meal. Try it fixed as Swiss Chard and Spinach with Onions, Currants and Lemon Zest,
http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2007/12/sneaking-in-chard.html an interesting mix of greens, onions with the contrast of currants and the zip of lemon zest.

Bread:

Even though the usual Thanksgiving meal has plenty of carbs without it, everyone loves freshly baked rolls. Pile the bread basket with these Refrigerator Rolls, http://breadbakersdog.blogspot.com/2009/03/refrigerator-rolls-ready-when-you-are.html which can be partially made ahead. They are from my other blog, Bread Baker's Dog, devoted to bread baking. Pop them in the oven when the turkey comes out. They'll bake while it's resting and being carved and you will be a star when you pass the bread basket and people get a whiff of freshly baked bread.

If you are feeling artistic and want to really impress, make the Harvest Sheaf bread, also found on Bread Baker's Dog. It is easier to make than it looks. To serve, I just sliced across the sheaf.

Dessert:

The last morsel of turkey has been polished off and the coffee is brewing. Now comes my favorite part, dessert. Here are three desserts that use seasonal fruits. They make a nice addition to the dessert table, which can also include a traditional pie.

The first Double Apple Bundt Cake with or without Rum Glaze, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-not-tuesday-but-its-still-dorie.html features crisp, tart apples complemented with spice in an easy to serve bundt cake with a decorative rum glaze.

The next two are a bit unusual but delicious. Try Stuffed Figs and Plum Clafouti, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2007/09/fun-with-fall-figs.html with the added kick of bittersweet chocolate hiding in the figs.

Pomegranate Lemon Tart with or without Spiced Poached Pears, http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2009/03/some-kinda-wonderful.html makes use of the season's pears and is very pretty with the sweet-tart pomegranate lemon pastel tart filling and the fan of bi-colored pear slices on top.

Still need some recipe ideas? Check out the index by clicking on the set table photo at the top right corner of this blog.

Happy Thanksgiving! East well and enjoy time with family and friends. XOXOXO Elle