Oh dear, David. Sorry you're sick. Hope you are feeling better today. There is nothing like Poule au pot when you are under the weather and it looks delicious!
We get beautiful whole chickens from Pennsylvania at our butcher (though the price of a whole chicken has skyrocketed). We freeze the carcasses and when we get at least 3 carcasses we make soup. Cover the carcasses with water, add a whole unpeeled onion, carrot, celery leeks if I have them, parsnip, parsley and dill. Boil for about 3 hours. Strain the soup, and then again through a fine strainer. Now simmer with chopped carrots, celery, mushrooms and string beans and add cooked chicken (which I also freeze from the roasted bird). And my husband makes his own egg noodles. Delicious.
I made much the same kind of soup, but added ginger (quite a bit) and zaatar. It’s supposed to snow on Mt. Tamalpais today but I can’t even get up enough energy to see how that’s going. Good day to be feeling punk in the Bay Area: Due to severe weather lots of things are cancelled, roads flooding, yada. I feel like being cancelled myself….
Sorry you're sick. I was just at hot yoga over the weekend and pretty sure that's how I just got sick too (a hot, 100F human petri dish when you think about it). Get well soon! Soup looks amazing! Don't post, stay in bed 🛌
I think group exercise places aren't the best places in terms of germs I was reading about what's on weights and barbells in gyms...I'm not a germaphobe but no one cleans the bars before or after uses.
My Pilates studio does their best... the instructor brings around a bleach wipe around to everyone during feet in straps and reminds us to "wipe down everything you touched"!
Also, I wanted to mention North Woods book is in my reading stack. It is Nevada County's Reads book selection. The library hands out honor books and plans a number of events. The author is coming in April to give a talk. An art class and poetry workshop as also scheduled.
Oh, David, pulling on the thighs ALWAYS helps the broth....
Wonderful way to make soup, merci, and have all that extra chicken for salad or curry or just a sweet chicken, bread and mustard lunch! I'm off to find a ruspante....free-running chickie or here in France, the kind you bought.
David, funny that you mention that about the washcloths in women’s purses in Japan. We visited some friends there and my first gift was a small washcloth beautifully embroidered with a J. I quickly learned it’s because there is often nothing to dry your hands on in a public bathroom …not even a common towel on a hook! I enjoy reading your articles and find myself laughing at your humor!
I hope you feel much better soon David...the same bug is circulating around Socal...played havoc with our Valentine's Day with family as three out of six of us were sick...:(
We can’t believe matzo meal can’t be found in Paris. A quick search online lists a few places that might have the right ingredients - especially in or near the Marais. Can’t fathom the idea that a call to a nearby Chabad wouldn’t help provide you with anything you need for a proper soup. That’s from my husband - I found a kosher market online that delivers… they even have an app! And they had matzo crackers that would need a few turns in the food processor to get matzo meal and they even had noodles which by the way aren’t so easy to get in NY and NJ these days. I don’t know if some of the butcher shops still have rotisserie chickens - there was one on the Rue du Bac that had them!
This is not so good !! the first time I was in Japan and it was Passover there was no matzoh and no chabad! Rumor is matzoh is very gettable in Tokyo these days, but I haven’t been there to see this miracle!
Chabad will soon start a whole food business in Paris ( only kidding) …. It’s so difficult for me to believe that even with kosher markets some of the foods are not easy to get.
So please feel better- that chicken you photographed looks great - maybe I will send a care package to your publisher so they can send it to you! :-)
Traditional Jewish chicken soup is known as Jewish penicillin, for obvious reasons, and as you can appreciate there are many family recipes.
Having lived in rural France for many years, certain items may not be so easily available, as living in Britain, in a Jewish neighbourhood, all of these items are readily available.. and note, that apart from the carrots, celery and leeks, this version of chicken soup freezes very well. So always available when feeling unwell.
Ingredients :
One or two chicken carcasses
8 oyster ‘bone in’ thighs and / or ‘a fowl’ (a mature female chicken, cut up into 6)
6 to 8 large carrots
Large head of celery
Three leeks, with green heads cleaned
One onion, unpeeled
A tomato (optional)
Salt and pepper
Bring 3 litres of water to the boil.
Add carcasses and fowl.
Add a dozen black peppercorns
Bring to the boil, and let simmer for up to 3 hours, lid on / ajar. Remove scum that appears on surface.
Remove carcasses and fowl.
Place thighs in 3 hour bouillon.
Cut carrots, leek and celery into two cm pieces and add.
Add onion and tomato.
Bring to boil, and simmer for another 60 to 90 minutes.
Remove onion.
Ideally, let cool, and refrigerate over night.
Then remove the fat layer that has risen to t(e top, keeping if desired to use as chicken fat when roasting potatoes.
Then heat up as required and enjoy.
Add salt and pepper, as required.
Some people squeeze a lemon into the soup bowls, with the soup.
If freezing for later use, best to remove the vegetables before hand.
Feel free to alter quantities to personal preference.
Other culinary items that can be added at this point, kneidels (dumplings), lokshen (fine noodles), kreplach (meat filled pastry, like won tons).
And my family tradition, is to crumble matzo .. unleavened bread into the soup bowls.
Gastro-entérite is probably the worst! So sorry you are sick and hope you feel better soon.
Oh dear, David. Sorry you're sick. Hope you are feeling better today. There is nothing like Poule au pot when you are under the weather and it looks delicious!
We get beautiful whole chickens from Pennsylvania at our butcher (though the price of a whole chicken has skyrocketed). We freeze the carcasses and when we get at least 3 carcasses we make soup. Cover the carcasses with water, add a whole unpeeled onion, carrot, celery leeks if I have them, parsnip, parsley and dill. Boil for about 3 hours. Strain the soup, and then again through a fine strainer. Now simmer with chopped carrots, celery, mushrooms and string beans and add cooked chicken (which I also freeze from the roasted bird). And my husband makes his own egg noodles. Delicious.
Hope you have a quick recovery.
I made much the same kind of soup, but added ginger (quite a bit) and zaatar. It’s supposed to snow on Mt. Tamalpais today but I can’t even get up enough energy to see how that’s going. Good day to be feeling punk in the Bay Area: Due to severe weather lots of things are cancelled, roads flooding, yada. I feel like being cancelled myself….
Treat yourself to a holiday at home. Snowing in Grass Valley.
Sorry you're sick. I was just at hot yoga over the weekend and pretty sure that's how I just got sick too (a hot, 100F human petri dish when you think about it). Get well soon! Soup looks amazing! Don't post, stay in bed 🛌
I think group exercise places aren't the best places in terms of germs I was reading about what's on weights and barbells in gyms...I'm not a germaphobe but no one cleans the bars before or after uses.
My Pilates studio does their best... the instructor brings around a bleach wipe around to everyone during feet in straps and reminds us to "wipe down everything you touched"!
Also, I wanted to mention North Woods book is in my reading stack. It is Nevada County's Reads book selection. The library hands out honor books and plans a number of events. The author is coming in April to give a talk. An art class and poetry workshop as also scheduled.
I hope you enjoy the read.
Sorry to hear you’re not well, David! That soup looks great, and I hoped it helped.
Oh, David, pulling on the thighs ALWAYS helps the broth....
Wonderful way to make soup, merci, and have all that extra chicken for salad or curry or just a sweet chicken, bread and mustard lunch! I'm off to find a ruspante....free-running chickie or here in France, the kind you bought.
So sorry you are sick. This looks delicious!
Please get well, David and thanks so much for suggesting Poulet au Pot. ❤️
Frozen stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken?
Probably a losing battle in France, but in Japan women often have a small washcloth in their purse that they use to dry their hands.
David, funny that you mention that about the washcloths in women’s purses in Japan. We visited some friends there and my first gift was a small washcloth beautifully embroidered with a J. I quickly learned it’s because there is often nothing to dry your hands on in a public bathroom …not even a common towel on a hook! I enjoy reading your articles and find myself laughing at your humor!
Speedy recovery David!
Are you all recovered?
You may have to take up canning. With a pressure canner, you can have any number of low-acid and meat-based soups on hand.
I have just been enjoying minestrone I canned last year. Perked it up with some fresh kale. And salt as I tend to scrimp on the salt.
I hope you feel much better soon David...the same bug is circulating around Socal...played havoc with our Valentine's Day with family as three out of six of us were sick...:(
We can’t believe matzo meal can’t be found in Paris. A quick search online lists a few places that might have the right ingredients - especially in or near the Marais. Can’t fathom the idea that a call to a nearby Chabad wouldn’t help provide you with anything you need for a proper soup. That’s from my husband - I found a kosher market online that delivers… they even have an app! And they had matzo crackers that would need a few turns in the food processor to get matzo meal and they even had noodles which by the way aren’t so easy to get in NY and NJ these days. I don’t know if some of the butcher shops still have rotisserie chickens - there was one on the Rue du Bac that had them!
This is not so good !! the first time I was in Japan and it was Passover there was no matzoh and no chabad! Rumor is matzoh is very gettable in Tokyo these days, but I haven’t been there to see this miracle!
Chabad will soon start a whole food business in Paris ( only kidding) …. It’s so difficult for me to believe that even with kosher markets some of the foods are not easy to get.
So please feel better- that chicken you photographed looks great - maybe I will send a care package to your publisher so they can send it to you! :-)
Traditional Jewish chicken soup is known as Jewish penicillin, for obvious reasons, and as you can appreciate there are many family recipes.
Having lived in rural France for many years, certain items may not be so easily available, as living in Britain, in a Jewish neighbourhood, all of these items are readily available.. and note, that apart from the carrots, celery and leeks, this version of chicken soup freezes very well. So always available when feeling unwell.
Ingredients :
One or two chicken carcasses
8 oyster ‘bone in’ thighs and / or ‘a fowl’ (a mature female chicken, cut up into 6)
6 to 8 large carrots
Large head of celery
Three leeks, with green heads cleaned
One onion, unpeeled
A tomato (optional)
Salt and pepper
Bring 3 litres of water to the boil.
Add carcasses and fowl.
Add a dozen black peppercorns
Bring to the boil, and let simmer for up to 3 hours, lid on / ajar. Remove scum that appears on surface.
Remove carcasses and fowl.
Place thighs in 3 hour bouillon.
Cut carrots, leek and celery into two cm pieces and add.
Add onion and tomato.
Bring to boil, and simmer for another 60 to 90 minutes.
Remove onion.
Ideally, let cool, and refrigerate over night.
Then remove the fat layer that has risen to t(e top, keeping if desired to use as chicken fat when roasting potatoes.
Then heat up as required and enjoy.
Add salt and pepper, as required.
Some people squeeze a lemon into the soup bowls, with the soup.
If freezing for later use, best to remove the vegetables before hand.
Feel free to alter quantities to personal preference.
Other culinary items that can be added at this point, kneidels (dumplings), lokshen (fine noodles), kreplach (meat filled pastry, like won tons).
And my family tradition, is to crumble matzo .. unleavened bread into the soup bowls.
Bon apetit ..