I was on the phone with someone the other day and they asked, “Have you been eating well?”
I told them I was being good some days and not-so-much on others but I was proud to report that the vegetables and fruit that I buy at the store gets eaten and isn’t just a high-cost way to fill the backyard compost bin.
Special K was my quartermaster and kept the pantry and fridge stocked. So I have a learning curve there. Like why do I buy enough stuff for a week and lose the benefit of having fresher veggies that I would have if I shopped daily.
I want to start consciously shopping for the fresh stuff every other day. That way I could enjoy a fresher, crisper salad more often. Of course, with lettuce from California or Mexico – ‘fresh’ might be a relative term.
When my friend asked me if I’d been eating well – I was honest enough to admit that I sometimes get meals mixed up.
I have recently learned that eating nachos does not count as a vegetable serving despite the fact they are made using corn chips.
And finding a kitchen schedule is difficult. Although chicken soup would never be found on the breakfast menu at any restaurant, I confess that was what I’d had for breakfast that morning.
This was homemade chicken soup and so I worked that into the conversation with my friend – figuring that no one would berate another for eating homemade chicken soup.
I was right too. I could sense my friend’s concern about my diet lifting a bit.
One more fact got tossed into the conversation that went to my favour. I mentioned that I had made that chicken soup all by myself.
I didn’t think that was anything too special – but she was really impressed.
Not that making chicken soup is very hard.
Chicken Soup for Friends recipe:
You take out whatever leftover you have of the chicken carcass from last night’s roast chicken dinner and cut all the meat off the bones. Leave it all in the same pot. Cover it with water. Put in some salt and an onion (skin and all) either cut in half or prepped to your satisfaction.
I can never remember exactly the spices that go in – so I just remember the Simon and Garfunkel song Scarbourough Fair. The second line is parsley, sage rosemary and thyme.
I simply go over to my spice rack and any of those four spices that I have in stock get sprinkled in. You boil all that stuff and then let it sit in fridge overnight so you can take off the fat easily.
Next day you add some celery – either cook up a bit of rice to toss in or throw in some noodles. With the addition of some frozen mixed vegetables and another ten minutes you are ready to enjoy.
Chicken Soup for One recipe:
This a bit simpler to prepare and has more flavour because you get more bones in the pot at the front end. Since you are the only one who is going to be chewing on that chicken carcass anyway, any bones left over from your initial roast chicken dinner can be scrapped from your plate right into the soup pot.
Think of it as personalized chicken soup.