The Blue Reading Chair: Grandma’s Chicken Soup – Stone Soup

Stone Soup is a story with no copyright – and many versions are available at the library – because it arose from the wars in Europe. Food was taken and used by the armies, and because it was very hard to come by, it was, of course, hoarded.  As the story goes, a person – perhaps a very hungry soldier on his own as Grandpa was, put on a pot of water to boil and added a stone to the pot.  He then asked if anyone had a potato, for example.  As people added what small piece of food they had, it became a real soup that everyone could partake of.

Grandpa was such a soldier/ spy who infiltrated Russia and had to live off the land. He lived on the family farm till he was about age 14; the war had begun and he said he was a year older so that he could join the army. He was tall, strapping and intelligent – and they really needed so-called “men” for the war.  He ate rather simple food when he lived at home, but he ate even more simply as a soldier. 

One of the soups he liked – which was very much like Stone Soup – was the Chicken Soup/ Rosol which Grandma made.  At that time, she would buy a clutch of vegetables called “soup greens” at the corner grocery store, which included a piece of celery, a carrot, parsley with the root, etc – and would then add a cut-up chicken, the eggs which were forming in the chicken, and often tomatoes.

Martha Stewart once had a guest doing his Chicken Soup on her show. He did a quick and easy Noodle Szmata (rag noodle) as his grandmother did.  But when he added a hard-boiled egg – she asked “Why?” I was rather surprised because I thought she would know why.  He, too, did not know why when he said: “…because Grandma did that.”  Ah, the days of yore!    Did you see the Geico tv advertisement (one of many), which featured the white rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, who was forever (as in old comic books) pursued by a very small Chicken Hawk with a very large club.

“That’s what Grandma did” reminded me of the story a man told – his wife would cut off the end of the ham and put it into another bake pan – she then proceeded to roast both of them.  She said her “…mother did it that way.”  Of course her mother had a real reason to do it that way, which was because the only roasting pan her mother possessed was not big enough.  People did not have available to them the myriad cookware that is now available at much lower prices – and her mother’s may even have been spatter-ware as was Grandma’s.

The added egg also actually came about for a real reason.  When Grandpa no longer had the grocery store with live chickens, Grandma would buy a chicken at the “Chicken Store” on Chicago Avenue where they still had sawdust on the floor.  At that time the chickens often had yolks in various stages of becoming eggs, and these, of course, would go into the soup.

Following is the chicken soup recipe I developed over a period of time, based on Grandma’s original recipe. But, of course, this version has been developed with the abundance of foods now available to us, although the ingredients are still basic.  It is very good, and Hannah really, really likes this soup.  We use half of a chicken which is left-over from our Roast Chicken – or Chicken Breast Halves (skinless and boneless) can be used. The recipe for our roast chicken will be forthcoming on a “soon” blog.

Chicken Soup 

A leftover half of chicken – use all juices – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″ Or  

5 chicken breast halves – all skin and bones removed – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″    

5 to 6 cups water   

2 1/2  teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or equivalent bouillon powder

1 1/2  cups well chopped onion  

1 1/2 cups small diced carrots    

1 1/2  cups small diced celery including leaves  

3 Tablespoons of well chopped parsley    

3  medium/ small cloves garlic, well minced    

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme    

1/4  teaspoon coarsely ground pepper   

salt as desired

Cook the chicken covered with the water and bouillon.  Bring to a boil and simmer 15 to 20 minutes – shorter time for the leftover roast chicken and the longer time for the raw breast meat.  Remove chicken and dice about 1/2 to 3/4″.  Skim the liquid.  Add the vegetables to the liquid – bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.  If using noodles, add 1 1/2 cups of fresh cut up noodles or 6 ounces of packaged dry curly noodles to the broth and cook about 8 – 10 minutes.  Add 1 or more hard cooked eggs (with shells removed), if desired.  Add bouillon, herbs and spices – bring to a boil.  Add the chicken back to the soup and bring to a low boil – cook for about 5 minutes to heat through before serving.

For Cream of Chicken Rice Soup, I add a roux of flour and butter – and add cooked brown rice – in appropriate amounts.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

Read Full Post »

Carrots…They’re Not Just for Bugs Bunny Anymore

Carrots are quite underrated but are so very good when they’re either picked fresh or are bought at the beginning of their season, and even after they’ve been stored.  We happen to love carrots, as Bugs Bunny does, and use them as a vegetable in many ways – not just to “add color”.

copyright 2010 Hannah Rae Wolfe

Carrots now come in several colors such as purple, white  and yellow, as well as the orange commonly known to us.  These “carrots of many colors” taste pretty much like, well, carrots. But using a purple carrot in a dish that already has a lot of yellow and orange can provide an attractive contrast.

Since they are a root vegetable, carrots are also able to overwinter in a fruit cellar or dugout which were once common and still exist in this country.  Carrots are an always available vegetable that can be depended upon because they  keep well and please many people in a variety of recipes. Now you can buy carrots already shredded in eight ounce or ten ounce bags, which are promoted by magazines  such as Good Housekeeping.  Yes, you can make Carrot Muffins or a Carrot Cake this easy way, and you can add them to other mixed cooked foods or soups. I would probably be hesitant to eat ready-shredded carrots in anything raw such as a salad and would prefer to grate or process them from their fresh state while their nutrition is still intact.  

In France, carrots have been fed to the livestock to prevent strokes, and at their stores, they are often sold already grated and can then be served with vinaigrette as a salad or served in a traditional blender soup for their classic “carottes Vichy” made with the mineral water Vichy.  There are many recipes for carrot soup, and Hannah has also developed a wonderful cream of carrot soup.  Carrots can be sliced or julienned and candied with a little sugar and a dab of butter or pickled quickly or cooked in sweet pickle liquid.  

Carrot-raisin salad is common, as well as a sweet steamed carrot raisin pudding, and I’ve also made a carrot soufflé in a 6-cup ring mold which is a nice side dish for company.  And there were the wonderful shredded potato pancakes/ latke that we had at the “Renaissance Fair” which are made from potatoes, carrots and onions. These pancakes can also be made with other vegetables added into the mix, such as zucchini.                                                                          

Fresh carrots may take up some space when planted but are well worth it, unless you are able to buy during their peak time and store them properly.  A steamed fresh carrot, with just a little butter, is quite hard to beat, whether whole or cut up – I had a wonderful vegetable plate starring carrots one evening at the Montgomery Ward cafeteria years ago.  Of course, at that time, local vegetables were quite fresh, although they are now becoming more available in seasonal Farmer’s Markets.  Carrots, like potatoes and most vegetables, need only to be steamed till tender enough to pierce with a fork – yum indeed!

Whether picked fresh from the garden or bought from the supermarket, the green leafy tops should be removed so that they no longer draw vitamins and nutrients away from the carrot while drawing up moisture.  The green top can be chopped up and used in soups as parsley is, although it has a much stronger taste, and can be bitter. Halve the amount if you choose to use carrot tops. For maximum nutrition, carrots can be put into a plastic bag and refrigerated for about 12-14 days if you are not able to use them sooner. 

Two related root vegetables that tend to be underutilized are parsnips and parsley root:

Parsnips, though almost white, they have a mild taste and can be used sweetened with honey, as well as in soup, or roasted with or without other vegetables.  They are more expensive and much less available in their younger, more tender size.                                                                                                                                                                      

Parsley Root, is just that, and has a strong taste like parsley.  It was used in a “Stone Soup” that Grandma’s kids called Raw Soup (but was really Rosol in Polish).  Parsley root was gathered into a cluster with about three other long root vegetables and called “soup greens” – a bit of onion and tomato made up the rest of the broth-like soup, along with a piece of beef and marrow bone.                                                                                                                               

There’s nothing like thinking about a hearty soup on a snowy, cold day – unless it’s cooking one! One day I was cooking my Beer, Carrot and Beef Soup and a neighbor happened to ring the doorbell. When he smelled the soup, he said, “That really smells good. What is it?”

Beer, Carrot and Beef Soup (This has been a Tried and True recipe for many years)

1-1/2 lbs beef round steak/ London broil/ etc – cut into 3/4” x 3/4” pieces     1 can of beer as desired     3/4 to 1 c water as needed     2 c shredded carrots     1/2 lb sliced mushrooms     1-1/2 c  well-chopped onion     1 T butter     3 oz instant barley     1/4 t dried marjoram     1/4 t  dried oregano     1/2 t salt     1/4 t coarse ground black pepper    

Roux:  2 T melted butter and 2 T  flour,  combined and browned

Simmer the meat in the water, covered for 2 hours and add water as needed (or use pressure cooker).  Brown the onions in 1 T butter and add to the meat.  Add carrots, beer, mushrooms, herbs and spices and instant barley.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.   Then slowly stir in the browned roux 1 T at a time and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Cut croutons from  good rye bread –  brown them if desired.                                                                                                                                                                                   Hooray for Carrots!         

Laura

copyright 2010   Laura Nobilis

Read Full Post »