Chicken Soup

I've got sick Sunday evening. Missed work Monday and really wanted some chicken soup. Does it make you feel better? Well, when your head is totally stuffed up and your throat hurts, yes.

Remember, its soup. So put anything you like in it. I left out potatoes and pasta since I'm not in the mood for carbs when I'm sick. I added spinach because I had it in the refrigerator. Experiment!

Put the following in a sauce pan:

• 3 T onion - slice angled across the grain very thin to get half round strips
• 2 garlic cloves - peel and cut in half
• 1 small carrot chopped
• 1 T olive oil

Saute over medium heat until about the onion is about ready to brown.

You can prepare the chicken either in a hot skillet or under a broiler (or even on the grill).

• 1 chicken breast - no bones, browned, cut into 1 cm cubes (1/2 inch)

Meanwhile, when the onion is ready, add these to the saucepan and turn to high:

• 2 c water
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon or chicken base
• 1/2 tsp beef base
• 1 bay leave
• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp celery flakes (unless you have fresh celery leaves for the bundle)
• pinch of ground black pepper
• pinch of sugar
• (optional) 4 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• a bundle of fresh herbs (see below)

Bring to a boil, add the chicken when browned but simmer for 15 minutes. You will probably need to reduce heat to medium to keep it simmering. You may need to add water or white wine.

Make the bundle of fresh herbs by tying some fresh herbs with a string into a little bundle just long enough to fit into the sauce pan. I used these but I'm nto sure it much matters. You can substitute dried spices but be careful not to overdo it. 

Tie these fresh spices into the bundle and submerse in the soup as shown in the photo:

• basil
• oregano
• sage
• tarragon
• fennil fronds
• mint

I'm not sure it much matters but you will have to experiment with whatever you like. I don't like it with rosemary.

After the soup has simmered for 15 minutes, taste it and add

• (optional) 1/2 c chopped spinach
• salt to taste

Remove the bundle of spices and serve.

Enough for 2 servings. Which is perfect for lunch and dinner when you are feeling sick.

Grilled Cheese and Pork with Green Chile

I had a great green chile, cheeseburger the other day. Then I BBQed a pork loin and thought, "Why not half cheeseburger, half pork sandwich?" But it turned out more like a grilled cheese sandwich with goodies in the middle.

Ingredients:

• bread
• cheese slices
• sliced pork loin (BBQ before hand)
• tomato
• green chile
• salt
• pepper

Assembly Instructions: 

Start with some bread. The pictures show some sourdough, thin sliced bread. But pick whatever you like.

Then slice the pork loin as shown here. I used a pair of 1/4 inch slices

This was a large pork loin, coated with a dry rub or, in this case, a cooking sauce, as I call it -- spices with a bit of liquid spread thickly on the meat before cooking. Cook between 1 and 2 hours until 140 degrees.

Put a slice of cheese on each slice of bread. I used Colby-Jack. A cheddar would work too.

Then some tomatoe slices on one side only. These were from one of the last tomatoes from my garden. They look pale, but have a lot of flavor. Sprinkle a little salt and a little pepper on the tomatoes.

The pork goes on next. One slice on either side.

Use some more cheese on one side and Green Chile on the other. This Green Chile is from Northern New Mexico. When I bought it from the trailer on the side of the road, they asked, "Do you like it hot?". I answered, "Of course, but none of my friends will eat it with me. Give me the medium." What I forgot is that in Northern New Mexico, the medium is hotter than the hot Green Chile anywhere else. So what you see is some killer hot Green Chile. Use whatever you like but whole chiles will work better on the sandwich than chopped.

Now, put the halves together and microwave for 1 minute (60 seconds). This will melt the cheese and warm the veggies. If the meat is hot off the BBQ, you might want to microwave for less time.

Note that the bread will be soft still. I like to microwave it to melt the cheese and then toast the bread afterwards so it comes to the table crisp on the outside.

Now, to crisp up the bread.

You need a skillet on medium high. Let it get up to temperature before adding the butter.

For each side, start with a couple pats of butter. Let it partially melt before you put the bread on top.

As shown to the right, first toast in a skillet on one side. And then toast the other side.

When the 2nd side is crispy, its time to serve immediately.

Its a mess to eat since the parts slip around but well worth the trouble.