Nothing more I adore than chicken soup!

I have been feeling poorly and was diagnosed with a sinus infection on Monday. I figured the cure all (along with the abx) would be some homemade chicken soup.

I started with a whole, frozen approx. 4lb bird purchased at my sister-in-law's sister's farm (did you get that?). They are a bit smaller than store bought, but the taste cannot be beat. Nothing beats buying locally grown meat/poultry!

I placed it in a large stock pot, covered it with water and simmered it until it was cooked through. Then I removed the bird, strained the cooking liquid into a large bowl and put the pot back on the stove on med. high heat adding some EVOO to the bottom of the pan.

I added:

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 centers of organic celery hearts (leaves included), sliced
4 organic carrots, sliced
4 small locally farmed turnips
5 medium organic yukon gold potatoes
1 Tbsp. minced organic garlic

Once the veggies were a bit tender, I added in the strained cooking liquid and removed the meat from the bird that had now cooled enough to touch and added it back into the pot.

I then added enough water to bring the liquid up to close to the top of the pot (about 6 cups) and added in the following:

2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (picked from my herb bucket outside my front door)
2 sprigs of lemon balm (which grows next to the rosemary)
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano (I probably would have used fresh, but was too lazy to walk to the garden plot)
freshly ground peppercorn
2 tsp. chicken base

I simmered this for about an hour and a half. Tasted the soup, added in salt and pepper to taste and then topped it with stew dumplings (a family favorite). I also served it with some Parmesan biscuits and leftover honey butter.


Stew Dumplings

1 1/2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted organic butter
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Pinch in the butter until it is well blended. Add the milk and stir until soft dough comes together. Drop by spoonful onto gently boiling soup/stew, cover and let steam for about 20 minutes.


Baking Powder Biscuits
Preheat oven to 425

3 c. flour
4-6 Tbsp. cold organic unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
**I usually add in about a cup of cheese with the butter**

Mix together the dry ingredients. Pinch in the butter until all is well blended. Add in the milk, stir until dough comes together and then place on flour surface. Knead just until dough is mixed well and cut with biscuit cutter. Place on silpat lined baking sheet and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown)

Makes about 12 2" biscuits.

Bagels?

Why yes I would, thanks.

My hubby and I love bagels. My kids love bagels. They do not last long in the house which is probably a good thing since when you make them yourself, they don't have preservatives to keep them fresh.

The best thing about making your own is you get to choose what type of flour (never bleached!!!) and what toppings. My all time favorite is a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan and some freshly ground pepper, but I often make sesame, poppy seed and onion.

My newest favorite topping for these babies is a triangle of Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco and Chipotle. The Garlic Herb isn't bad either!

Another thing we like to do with onion bagels is make tuna melts with them by cutting the bagel in half, spreading the bottom half thinly with cream cheese, a scoop of tuna salad with diced apples and a slice of cheese. Throw them into the oven under the broiler until the cheese starts to bubble and throwing the top on and enjoying. YUM!


BAGELS
makes 16 mini sized bagels

4 c. flour (all purpose, white whole wheat, whole wheat...any or a mixture of them all)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tbsp. salt
Drizzle or two of EVOO
1 Tbsp yeast
1 - 2 c. warm water (around 110F, but no higher than 120F)

In a large stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast. Add in the honey and EVOO. Mix ingredients with the dough hook attachment. While the mixer is running, slowly add in the water until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides. You may add a bit more EVOO at this point (it makes the dough easier to handle.)

Turn out onto a slightly oiled and floured board (I use my MISTO oil sprayer and use only EVOO, but cooking spray would be fine). Knead until dough is smooth and silky. Separate into 16 equally shaped balls. (A food scale would be great for this, but I don't have one yet!) Let the dough rest covered for 10-20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, shape the dough balls into snakes and then pinch the two ends together into a bagel shape. Let the bagels rest for another 20 minutes.

While the bagels are resting, prepare your baking pans (1/2 sheet pans lined with Silpats work great, but you could also use a well greased cookie sheet/sheet pan). Also prepare your toppings (I use dried minced onions for our onion bagels because they have a stronger flavor. I just reconstitute them with a bit of warm water.)

Preheat your oven to 425F and start a large pot of water to boiling. Once bagels have rested the 2nd time, place them into the boiling water making sure you only put in a few at a time. Boil one minute on each side. Sometimes mine will turn themselves over and over again so I watch them and use my spider to make sure they all boil correctly.

After two minutes lift them out of the boiling water draining them the best you can before placing them onto your baking sheet. At this time, add your toppings. Repeat process until all your bagels are boiled and ready for the oven.

Bake at 425F for 10 minutes and then turn the bagels over and bake 10 more minutes. Cool slightly (if you can stand to wait) and ENJOY!