Chicken Stock

Making stock from scratch is dead simple and it's such a good way to use every bit of the chicken. I very often will buy a whole organic chicken, remove the meat for use in other dishes, then use the carcass for amazingly fragrant stock. Once the carcass is cooked, you can pull off the extra meat for a small helping of chicken salad. I make a huge batch of the stock, then freeze in smaller containers, pulling it out as needed, until it's time to make more. You can put just about anything edible in the pot for extra flavor. This batch had radish greens and tops and some cauliflower stems in addition to the other ingredients. It's so easy and a great way to save a few extra pennies!

Chicken Stock

Ingredients:


1 Whole Chicken, Breasts, Thighs and Wings Removed
8 Cups of Water
1 Lemon
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stick
1 Peel and Outer Skin of an Onion
2 Garlic Cloves (Leave the Peel On!)
3 Bay Leaves
1 Tablespoon of Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Whole Cumin Seeds
Any Other Clean Vegetable Scraps!

Cooking:

In a very large stockpot, put in all of your ingredients and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer, covered, for approximately 2 hours. Strain the stock and store. DONE! It's that easy!

Favorite Soup Making Tools

We definitely ramp up the soup production in the Cole household during wintertime. I make lots of chili and creamy soups, so I wanted to share some of my favorite kitchen items for soup making.

Le Creuset makes my all-time favorite cookware. (Let me add, no one pays me to say this!) I think the heat distribution is amazing and they come in beautiful colors. I have two pots, including a huge red dutch oven like this fabulous green one, that my mother received when she got married. They're over 30 years old and in amazing shape! The dutch oven is perfect for all sorts of things, but I use it most for soups and chili.

I have lots of knives, and I love my japanese knives from Global and Shun, but more often than not, this Wustoff Hollow Edge beauty is my workhorse. I use it for everything, really; dicing onions, mincing garlic, slicing tomatoes...it's great!

I really love creamy soups the most, so I almost always blend them with my stick blender. This is sort of a fancier version of the blender I have, (because they no longer make the kind I have.) I think that any stick blender is a huge help for a soup lover. Being able to leave the soup in the pot, without transferring it to a blender or a food processor is pretty nice, and the soup comes out incredibly smooth!

Bacon Corn Chowder

 

With fresh summer corn almost disappearing for the season, I felt I should make some corn chowder. After tasting a version of this recipe in a Williams-Sonoma store, I wanted to give it a go. The sweet, creamy corn lends itself perfectly to pairing with salty, crunchy bacon!

Bacon Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1/2 Red Onion, Diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
4 Strips of Bacon
3 Large Ears of Un-Shucked Corn
6 New Potatoes
64 Ounces of Chicken Stock
1 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
3 Sprigs of Thyme
2 Cups of Milk
Salt and Pepper

Cooking:

Fry your bacon until crispy on medium-heat. Reserve the bacon strips and pour 2 tablespoons of bacon grease into a large stock pot or dutch oven. Turn the pot to medium heat and add your onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile, turn your oven to broil and place your ears of corn on the racks. Turn until the husks blacken a bit on all sides. This will steam the corn on the inside of the husk and add a smoky flavor. Remove the corn from the oven and discard the husks. Take a knife and cut the kernels from the cob. Add the potatoes, thyme, cayenne, stock, milk, cobs and kernels to your pot once the onions are translucent. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the cobs and sprigs of thyme from the pot. In a blender or food processor, puree all of the potatoes with half of the soup mix. Stir the blended mix back into the soup pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chop your reserved bacon into bits, pour the soup into bowls and sprinkle the bacon on top!

When You Don't Have the Energy to Cook

I work a full-time job during the day, and sometimes that means I get home around 8pm or later. On those days, it's really nice if you have something in the fridge that can be quickly warmed up. My go-to dish recently has been this Spicy Carrot and Tomato soup. It's dead simple and you can make a huge batch to store for the week. In the winter, I use canned tomatoes, but in the summer you could use fresh.

Spicy Carrot and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, Diced
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Dried Chilis, Crushed
1 Bunch of Carrots, Chopped into 1/2"-3/4" pieces
1 28 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Teaspoon of Herbes de Provence
4 Cups of Broth, Your Choice
1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream (You can substitute milk for a lighter version.)
Salt and Pepper and Your Favorite Hot Sauce to Taste (I use a Habenero version because I like it hot!)

Cooking:
In a large Dutch oven, toss in your olive oil, onions, chilis and garlic. Sweat the onions on medium heat until they are translucent, then add the carrots and Herbes de Provence. Cook the carrots until they have a glossy, bright orange color, just a few more minutes. Add in the tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are fork tender, meaning you can easily slide a fork into one, usually about 30-40min. Remove the soup from the stove top. Let cool slightly. Use a stick blender or your regular blender and puree until smooth. Add the cream and seasonings. You can serve right away, or put it in the freezer or fridge.

Winter Means Soup

When cold weather starts coming in, I want warm soup in my belly. Having heard similar sentiments from others, time to time as well, I wanted to share a new recipe I've been making this year. The butternut squash is local, and organic, which I think imparts a special something to the soup. It's always an exciting challenge to see what I can do with the items that come in from our weekly co-op, but sometimes I don't have the energy to do a huge involved meal and I think this simple soup is a great fix for a down-trodden soul at the end of a long work day.

Creamy Butternut Squash Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 Medium Butternut Squash, Halved and Seeded
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (Plus a couple more for roasting the squash)
1/2 Onion, Diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
2 Teaspoons of Herbes de Provence
1 Teaspoon of Paprika
1 Teaspoon of Cayenne
6 Cups of Chicken Stock (Or stock of your choice)
1 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to Taste
1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

Cooking:
To roast the squash, (you can do this several days in advance if you like,) halve and seed, then drizzle a bit of olive oil across the flesh and massage the oil on the cut face. Place the 4 parts onto a baking sheet, cover with foil and roast in the oven on 350 degrees for approximately an hour, or until a fork slides very easily into the flesh. Remove and let cool. (I wrapped mine in foil and kept it in the fridge for a couple of days until I was ready for the soup.) In a dutch oven, toss your onions, garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, Herbes de Provence, Paprika, and Cayenne. Continue to cook on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. You just want the paste flavors to come together and build a base. Meanwhile, scrape the flesh from your squash with a spoon and add it to the pot. Stir the squash into the paste to combine and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the stock and vinegar. Bring this to a boil, then reduce to simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Puree the soup with a stick blender, or in a regular blender. Finally, stir in your cream.

Slim Pickings Yield Delicious Results

Last week, our pantry and fridge stock had grown a little low, but I did have some amazing local carrots, and some yummy yellow currant tomatoes from my own garden. Earlier that day at lunch, my friend had some fantastic looking black bean soup, so I decided to try to make a local organic version. I was pleasantly surprised at the tasty the results!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 Onion, Diced (I used Vidalia for extra sweetness.)
2 Carrots, Diced
2 Cans of Black Beans
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup of Currant Tomatoes (Or chopped regular tomatoes if you don't have the currant variety)
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons of Ground Cumin
1-1/2 Cup of Water
1 Chili Pepper, Minced (Optional)
Sour Cream for Topping
Cilantro for Garnish

Cooking:
In a Dutch Oven, pour in the olive oil and toss in the garlic, cumin, carrots, chili pepper and onion. Saute until the onion is translucent. Add the black beans, water and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a bit of chopped cilantro.

Cajun Meets Fresh

When I was a kid, my grandfather would take trips down to Louisiana for a few days, and he would come back with several cooler loads of crawfish, gator and other seafood. We would all gather at his house with the smells of semi-authentic Cajun food filling the air. Granddad never worked off a recipe, but everything was always delicious. When I cook my Gumbo now, it takes me back to those halcyon days, and life does not seem better than when I take a great big, spicy bite!

Gumbo (Simple)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Flour
2 Bay Leaves
4 Carrots, Diced
3 Stalks of Celery, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
5 Green Onions, Chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Thai Hot Peppers
1 lb. of Andouille or Chorizo
1 lb. Crawfish
3 Tomatoes, Diced
1 lb. Okra, Chopped
1 Can of Chicken Stock
1 Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 Teaspoon Cumin
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Separately prepare some risotto or arborio rice.

Cooking:
In a big Dutch Oven, on medium heat, toss in your flour, bay leaves, some cracked black pepper, and butter. Stir often until the butter is the color of cafe au lait. Add in your carrots, celery, onion, green onions, Thai Hot Peppers and garlic. Take the links of sausage and pinch out 1" balls of meat into the vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are translucent, continue stirring often. Next toss in your okra and tomatoes, with the tomato juices and seeds. Cook for approximately 3 more minutes. Add in the chicken broth, crawfish, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, or until the crawfish are pink and cooked through. Add salt to taste.
Grab a bowl, spoon in some rice and pour some Gumbo on top!

Chili Powder = Delicious

We love chili in our house. We make a giant pot of it at least twice a month. It's so easy after a long day at work to throw everything in one pot and let it simmer away. I worked up this vegetarian version when my brother was visiting. It has 4 different beans and some great vegetables, all simmered away with lots of chili powder. Hope you like it!

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
3 Stalks of Celery, Diced
3 Carrots, Grated
3 Bell Peppers, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
4 Cloves of Garlic, Finely Chopped
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Can of White Beans, Strained
1 Can of Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas), Strained
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Kidney Beans
1 Large Can (or 2 regular cans) of Crushed Tomatoes
4 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon of Cumin
1/2 Tablespoon of Salt
1/2 Tablespoon of Onion Powder
1/2 Tablespoon of Paprika
Cayenne Pepper to Your Level of Spicy
Optional Ingredient: 1/4 Cup of Amaranth Seed

Cooking:
Saute the vegetables and garlic in the olive oil until soft on medium-high heat. Once softened, dump in the spices. Stir until spices coat vegetables. Add all the canned ingredients. I add the Amaranth at this point for extra grain and protein. I also like the texture it adds. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Simmer on low for 40 minutes and serve. I love mine topped with some cheese or sour cream!

Creamy Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

This first post is for my brother, Jake, and my friend Johnathan. They have both requested the recipe for the soup I cooked for our Christmas dinner this year.

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash
6 Small Sweet Potatoes
2 Small Carrots (these are optional, but they add an extra sweetness)
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Onion
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Half and Half
1 Cup of Milk
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Grated Parmesan
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Quart of Water or Broth of Your Choice

Cooking:
Chop the onion and garlic cloves into small bits, saute in the olive oil. When onions are translucent, add the peeled squash and sweet potatoes (and carrots, if used,) which have been chopped into one inch cubes, into the pot. Pour in the broth or water. (I like to use organic free-range chicken broth if I have it; it adds a nice flavor note.) Bring the pot to a boil, reduce, and simmer until the vegetables are so soft that a fork slides neatly into them. Take off the stove, and use a stick blender to puree until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the cream and milk and butter (the butter adds a particular smoothness and richness to the soup,) and puree again. Check the seasoning once more before serving. Finish with a bit of the grated parmesan.

Serves about 6.

This is a great recipe that can be translated to many vegetables. My creamy tomato and carrot soup is another option which employs the same methodology. I hope you have fun experimenting. Please let me know how your recipes turn out!