Monday, August 20, 2007

Chicken Soup

This chicken soup recipe is from Harmonious Environment:Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet. Since I wrote the recipe, I now often shred the vegetables instead of chopping them. If you do this, cooking time is reduced to minutes.

Another shortcut is to used prepared chicken stock. I buy stock from natural food stores and get free-range organic in quart-sized containers. It's almost as good as my own and makes preparing this dish a snap. If you go this route, purchase boneless and skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and cook about 15 minutes in chicken stock.

Chicken Soup or Stew

The stew is just more added rice and a bit less liquid.

For stock:
Whole or quartered chicken
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled
2 celery stalks
1 parsnip, peeled
1 turnip, peeled
Parsley
Salt and pepper

Wash chicken, remove fat and most skin and put into a deep stockpot and cover with water. Add all ingredients and bring to boil. Allow to simmer for an hour. Remove chicken. Separate big pieces of meat from bone and throw bones back into the stock. Cook another 45 minutes. Strain chicken bones and vegetables from stock by using a colander.

Soup or stew:

3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
2 or more cups rice—more for stew
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

For a plain chicken soup, add a couple of cups rice to the stock and bring back to boil. Add vegetables and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Add chicken and salt and pepper to taste. If not enough liquid, add more water.

For stew with more pizzazz:
Sauté ginger, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms and curry powder or paste and add to stew.

Harmonious Environment:Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, Copyright 2007 by Norma Lehmeier Hartie

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