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Chicken Soup Cures Everything!

Updated: Jan 3



​If you can get sober, you can boil water and make soup! 


Just assemble the ingredients and follow directions. In long-term sobriety, we gain the skills to navigate anything and everything.  If you can adhere to a sober lifestyle, you can learn to braise, simmer, boil, and clarify.


Soup saved me. Coming home from work exhausted, flushed with a head cold, and faced with needy children was my trigger point. Overtired and overwhelmed at day's end, I longed for the relief of a pill. I had to find a new way of thinking. 


Tricks of the trade: Once a month, make a large pot of soup, and freeze it. 


It's culinary magic: seeing quarts of gold bullion in my freezer, a wave of self-esteem flowed over me. Its scent soothed me and signaled that I was prepared for life's emergencies.  Little by little, days turned into months, each year morphing into the next. 


INGREDIENTS

4-6 chicken thighs; bone-in with skin

1-2 large leeks trimmed, washed well, medium-chopped

1 large yellow onion, well-chopped

1 celery root [celeriac] or 6 stalks; peeled, sliced, chopped 

1 large parsnip, peeled, sliced, or chopped

4  large carrots, peeled, cut into coins

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

½ bunch of fresh dill 

sea salt, pepper

1-2  tbs grated fresh ginger (optional but gives a medicinal kick) 


DIRECTIONS

BRAISE CHICKEN

1. In a large stockpot, add oil, when hot, add chicken skin-side-down, let brown for 5-7 minutes on each side.

SIMMER VEGETABLES

2. Remove cooked chicken to a plate. Add the vegetables to the pot, stirring to coat well. Cook on low heat, stirring to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 20 minutes.

BOIL SOUP

3. Add water & chicken broth; if using bullion, dissolve first in ½ cup water, then add. Stir well. Add par-cooked chicken, cover, and bring to a slow boil for 10 minutes. Keep the dill in a bunch, place on top of the soup; do not stir in—it’s an aromatic seasoning. 

SIMMER SOUP

4. Cover and simmer on low heat for one hour, taste the soup periodically and add salt. 

5. Remove from heat and remove chicken and the dill. 

While the chicken is warm, remove bones and skin; shred, chop, or leave as chunks

CLARIFY

6.  Let cool completely! Overnight or outside cold is needed so the fat rises. Using a spoon, skim off the fat and dispose. For a clear broth, remove all vegetables with a strainer;  can reserve for another use or discard. Or for chunkier texture, use an immersion blender and pulverize all the vegetables in the broth. 

SERVE

6. Add grated ginger and season to taste. 

7. Put cooked chicken (shredded or cut) back in the soup. Serve hot.


BOOST IT  

Add soup noodles or any suitable pasta on hand.  Best to cook separately, add as each person prefers.   Poached chicken can be bland; I like it with a dab of horseradish. Add your favorite....tempt kids with applesauce.


KIDS PLAY

  Assign tasks for children to participate in; from washing vegetables to collecting the scraps and helping with setting the table and cleaning up. 


SOBER SENSE--LINKS TO LEARN

Reading recipes is more entertaining than following fashion trends. Checking out similar recipes provides insight before cooking or buying ingredients. A cook's intuition anticipates the nuances of cooking without relying solely on recipes; gain confidence in your intuition to make adjustments.




 
 
 

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