Saturday, February 9, 2013

Chicken Soup for the Winter's Soul

So much chicken...so little time.  Last night we had a Shabbat dinner, which meant chicken.  Chicken, chicken, chicken, sometimes I feel as though it's all I eat - but it is pretty good.  Anyways, we had some chicken left over and I decided to make chicken soup.  If my readers' haven't realized by now...soup is my favorite food.  However, I do not like soup from a can, homemade soup is the way to go.  I started with a large black soup pot and poured one full carton of organic, low-sodium, chicken stock into the pot and turned the stovetop on.  I added the chicken carcass with the remaining pieces of chicken into the now bubbling liquid and let the mixture boil.  I cut one large white onion in half and slowly placed each half in the pot.  Then I added a couple handfuls of small orange baby carrots, a cup of frozen corn, a half-cup of barley and my favorite ingredient: a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.  The tomatoes turn the soup a scarlet red and give it a smoky flavor.  After all the ingredients were added, I covered the pot and let the soup cook on a rolling boil.  A looooooonnnnng 2 hours later, the soup was almost completed, I added some spices for flavor - salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  Finally, it was time for the taste test.  I ladled the steaming hot soup into a clear bowl and tasted my first spoonful.  And it was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself.  The barley had created a creamy consistency, making the flavors melt in my mouth.  The tiny specks of yellow corn were hidden in every spoonful, the baby carrots were cooked to softness, the onions had separated into thin translucent pieces and the tasty, tender morsels of chicken reminded me of our Shabbat dinner.  Immediately after one bowl, I was back for a second and then a third, it was hard to stop.  This chicken soup was able to fill my soul and stomach.

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