My new favorite soup with my new favorite spice....

This week I decided to try (again) to make a delicious broth - Asian style.   I have attempted this before, but it has never quite turned out.  When I think of an Asian soup....whether it is a delicious pho, or a savory wonton soup there is always that sweet and spicy taste with hints of ginger, garlic, sesame, soy....and that one ingredient that escapes me. 

Lets back up to last week when I was at Co-op, and ran into an old colleague of mine selling a product that she created.  It is called Seven Spice Chili oil.  It. Is. Amazing.   It is the missing link to making this broth go from good to absolutely amazing!

So for my wonton soup, here is what I did (remember I am not an exact kinda recipe gal!):

1) In the morning before work, I threw a chicken carcass plus some of the leftover juices from said chicken in my slow-cooker.   Add water, close the lid and put on low heat for 9 hours.
**Kitchen-hack tip: when you roast a chicken, throw the carcass and all juices in a bag and into your freezer

2) When I came home I strained out all the broth and separated all the meat to add back into the soup (no sense in wasting).   I put the broth in soup pot on the stove and began creating.....

I added:

• fresh minced garlic
• fresh grated ginger (Kitchen-hack tip from my friend Kelly, freeze your fresh ginger and it will last forever and is easily grated without peeling!)
• Soy sauce
• Sriracha 
• Sesame oil - to taste...i probably added about 1 - 2 tsp
• Fish sauce  - just a few dabs
• Seven Spice Chili oil (did the mild)  
• thinly sliced cabbage (I used Napa cabbage and used about half)
• sliced fresh mushrooms (maybe used about 6?)
• wontons (cheated and used the chicken cilantro ones from Costco)

Garnish with fresh cilantro, fresh grated carrot and green onions once served.

Absolutely delicious and full of flavor!   And seriously...check out this spice as it is so versatile...once you try it you will need to add it to your permanent grocery list!   

www.sevenspice.com

Rivel Soup for the Soul...

Steaming bowl-a-soup, anyone?

 Both our kids were sick today...flu, cold, etc...I think most people, kids included, have their "safe foods" when they are feeling unwell.  My kids always ask for something called "rivel soup". I learned how to make this from my mother-in-law, and have to say, while mine is not as good as hers, it is pretty close (which means it is amazing!).  

It is dubbed "lazy man noodle" soup, but there is nothing lazy about it, unless you've been making it for years.   The first time I made it, it took me almost 45 minutes to make these rivels!



I always save my bones...be it from chicken or turkey.  I just bag 'em and chuck 'em in the freezer.  When I am ready to make soup, just add water, and boil 'em up.   I add a bay leaf or two, some soup base and some sea salt and pepper, and then the broth tastes amazing, fresh and cures what ails you. Start boiling it in the late morning and let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Strain out all the bones.  If there is meat on the bones, you can shred it off and use in the soup if you wish.

For the rivels, its simply eggs and flour, and you really need to see someone do it to know how to do it.   I will attempt to write the recipe out, though, just in case there are any adventurous people out there!

• start with 2 cups and a bit of flour
• add in 3 eggs.   NO water at this point.
• Mix together rubbing your hands together, and make it all look like sand at a beach.
• Then, you need to add water, but if you add too much, it will wreck it.  I find that if you just slightly wet your had under the tap, and mix it into your bowl, it works better.  Every time you do that, rub all the dough together.  Eventually, you'll get nice small little balls (I know, sounds funny). 
• If it still appears too fine, wet your hand again, and rub the dough all together between your hands.   
• Once it looks like this....then pour all your balls in a colander and shake out the tiny tiny balls, and use only the one's that stay in your colander.

The rivels.....

• The broth (which you should have ready after boiling up those bones) should be boiling, and then just add in the balls!  
• Boil for 5 minutes or so, and your soup is ready.  Add S&P to taste.  I know it has no veggies, but the broth, combined with the "lazy-man-egg-noodles" are just perfect for that comfort food that is much needed for colds, or getting over the flu, when you need those hot steaming liquids.  

One last pic of my perfect-rivels!

I am happy to say that my rivels were amazing today, and I made them in less than 15 minutes!  Practice does really make perfect!  

Soulful Chicken Soup

There are days, and there are soup days.   There is nothing like an amazing bowl of home made chicken soup.  Something about the aroma, and the feeling you get from that first spoonful....ahhhhh.....yummy in my tummy!   I went to pick up the kids today from my friends house and she had just made a pot of home made chicken soup.  Everyone was having a small bowl for a snack, and I was also offered a bowl.  Best. Soup. Ever.  I have posted the recipe below, but its more of a method than a recipe as it has no amounts, but with soup you really can't go wrong.

For the broth:

• Next time you roast a chicken for dinner, save them bones!  Real bones make the best broth, and you can always toss the carcass in a ziploc bag and freeze it if you aren't going to use it right away.  
• Another tip:  save your washed vegetable peelings (i.e., carrots, celery ends) and freeze them.  Add these to the broth and strain them out afterwards.   Flavour, flavour flavour!
• Throw in a bay leaf; salt and pepper to taste.

For the soup:

• Save some of that roasted chicken for the soup.  You can cut some up ahead of time, and after you strain the bones from the broth, you can strip off all the meat.
• Add some chopped celery (including some of the nice leaves), chopped carrot, 1/2 can of garbanzo beans, some green peas,  frozen lima beans, a bit of corn, chopped onion and fresh chopped parsley
• 1-2 cups of Orza pasta (which I typically don't like, but it was AMAZING in the soup!) 

This soup freezes well, is great for a snack (as evidenced today), great for a meal, and great for lunch-leftovers!   And today with that cold wind blowing and the sun not shining, it really was a soup day.  

By the time the first spoonful made it down into my belly, all the days troubles melted away.

And then my son told me his iPod had been stolen at school.  At least he waited until near the end of my bowl to tell me.  Enjoy the soup moments while they last.  They apparently don't last long.   So long, and thanks for the soup!