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It's fall -- the season to make
soup from scratch
By Shannon
Johnson
October 31, 2008 | By late October Logan has entered
the razor's edge of fall. The typical Loganite waits
for the pleasant fall weather to careen down into the
frigid throes of winter. It is wonderfully cool with
leaves exploding in red, yellow and some stubborn leaves
which cling to green. It is such a break after a whole
summer of green leaves and the brambly, naked trees
that the winter brings.
Inspired by the weather I decide to make an attempt
at homemade chicken noodle soup. Most students live
in a kitchen that is an ad hoc assembly of you and your
roommate's dollar-store dishes and generic brand food.
My diagnosis with Celiac disease two years ago forced
me into the kitchen and making foods from scratch. Those
who live the lifestyle without wheat realize the rarity
that chicken noodle soup is.
Fall has begun and that calls for soup. I pull down
my big two handled pot and fill it halfway with water,
I am not sure of size, I'd say about 1.5 quarts of water,
and set it on the stove.
Take four frozen chicken breasts that you bought for
$5 giant plastic bags at the mass conglomeration of
plastic and off brands that is Wal-mart, throw the chicken
into the warming water with a palm full of generic spice
garlic powder and toss it in with salt and pepper.
While the water is boiling grate and slice the carrots,
and expect the water to boil over. I usually buy the
long bumpy carrots that would make a great snowman's
nose. They are cheaper, typically $1 for three long
carrots, and thicker than the bags of baby carrots my
roommates love.
For those who have Celiac disease I use de bolec rice
spiral noodles, (I have found them for half the price
at Wal-Mart $1.75 but at Smith's the same brand is usually
a $3.39). Don't us the penne style noodle, they fall
apart, boil the noodles watching to make sure you don't
overcook them.
About this time I run over to my window herb garden
and break off a good sized piece of fresh basil which
I shred between my fingers and drop into the broth.
By then your stove should be coated by the salty and
starchy water that has boiled over from both pots.
Typically the windows have steamed over with condensations
collecting on the cold glass of the window; now the
whole apartment smells sweet and rich of chicken broth
with the fireworks of leaves seen through the windows.
Strain and set the noodles aside; you add them last
to keep these noodles from disintegrating. One of the
things that gluten does is hold the pasta together,
so rice pasta noodles tend to break down easily so don't
add the noodles to the soup until the last 10 minutes
of simmering.
Once the chicken is fully cooked pull the breast out
of the water and cube it, usually on the same board
and with the same knife that the carrot was cut with.
Throw carrots into the pot and turn down the heat. Pull
the big bag of frozen yellow corn kernels that you bought
for a $1.35 at Wal-mart, pound the bag on the counter
top to separate the corn and pour the frozen corn directly
into the pot. Let the vegetables cook and add the chicken
back to the pot.
While everything is simmering load all your prep dishes
into the dishwasher to keep your roommates from whining
about the mess you leave in the kitchen. Since the broth
can take so long to cook, usually an hour or two to
cook depending on how concentrated you want the broth
to be, it is entirely possible to watch a whole episode
of NCIS or do your homework on the kitchen table.
At last add the noodles, stirring frequently and letting
the noodles absorb the chicken broth to give the noodles
a flavor besides starchy rice. But the noodles will
fall apart, in spite of all those efforts to hold their
starchy little forms together they will break into pieces.
That's why you use the spiral rice noodles they break
into cute curly noodles as opposed to the unappetizing
slabs of pasta that the penne style noodle breaks into.
If you are a celiac the noodles are filling and satisfying
and if you're not celiac you can easily substitute egg
noodles or any style noodles to make the dish. To make
it well it is all about the spice fresh basil, garlic
powder, and lemon pepper. Making the broth more distinct
then the one found in it's canned counterpart.
So with the bowl full of soup I nestle into the pillows
on my bed and realize I should have used more salt.
NW
MS
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