Chick-a-Doodle Do

Today marked one of the coldest days back home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I shivered as I stepped into the frigid bitterness of the outside, I was not prepared for this weather, in the least.  Throughout the day I tried to stay bundled and warm with cups of tea.  I was looking forward to a nice, hot, home-cooked meal for dinner.  After skimming through a couple of online sites with various recipes, I found one to my liking, another food blog called "The Shiksa in the Kitchen", cute name, good recipes and yummy looking food pictures.  One recipe in particular caught my eye, Chicken Chickpea Stew - a different kind of chicken dish that I wanted to try...and that's exactly what I did!  I saved the recipe and began to cook later in the day.  Starting the dish by browning 4 chicken thighs in a large black pot, I cooked each side for 5 minutes and then removed the pieces to add in the other ingredients.  I diced one onion and scooped the white chunks into the pot where I began to stir them around, once the onions started to caramelize I added chops of vibrant orange carrots to the mix and continued to stir.  Then I added the remainder of ingredients - two large halves of sliced red roasted peppers, a can of Chickpeas, a half cup of crushed red tomatoes and the spices - Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Cumin and a dash of Cayenne pepper.  I placed the pieces of chicken back in the stew and let it cook for about 45 minutes with occasional stirring.  The stew came to a boil as bubbles arose from the heat all around the bowl, I continued to stir as the bubbles continued to reappear, it turned into a game of how many bubbles I could pop.  To end the preparation, I removed the skin from the chicken and finely shredded the pieces, adding them back to the bowl, dousing them in the saucy mixture.  As the stew cooked, the glorious smell wafted throughout my house - the strong spices left my nose sniffing, and my mouth watering.  The 45 minutes, plus an extra 15 at the end felt like eternity.  I was so eager to taste it.  Finally, the time had come.  The first bite was unreal, literally unreal.  I wish you (my readers) were able to taste it.  The crunchiness of the chickpeas,  and the way they dissolved in my mouth bite by bite, the creamy-soupiness of the tomatoes spread heat all throughout my body, the spices were tasted, but not too strong - just right...and the chicken was seasoned to perfection, dipped in all the ingredients, the flavors had really settled in.  This dish was fresh, bursting with flavors, warm and comforting, a perfect pick-me-up on a cold winter day.