Chicken Soup Cures Everything!
- Jane Fox
- Mar 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 1
If you can get sober, you can boil water and make soup...bitch!
All you have to do is assemble the ingredients and follow directions. In long-term sobriety, we gain skill sets that can navigate almost anything and everything. Certainly, 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 days-end, had me longing for the relief of a pill. I had to find a new way of thinking. Little by little, days turned into months, each year morphing into the next.
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! Later, sitting down and waiting for it to cool, its scent soothes me, a haven of sorts. Sober, I was prepared for life’s emergencies--- a wave of self-esteem flowed over me.
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.
SIMMER VEGETABLES
2. Remove cooked chicken to plate and add the vegetables stirring to coat well. Cook on low heat, stirring so as not to burn or stick to the bottom of the pot for about 15 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 table and clean up.
SOBER SENSE--LINKS TO LEARN
Reading recipes is more entertaining than following fashion trends. Checking out similar recipes provides insight before you start 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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