Mammas & Pappas Cooking 101

April 28, 2012

Blogging Naturally, entry # 11

Mammas & Pappas Cooking 101

As promised, I want to share a few things that I have learned at the Natural Gourmet Institute of Health & Culinary Arts and how I have infused (great word, don’t you think?) them into my own cooking for my family meals.  I like to call my style “Sensible Organic Cooking on a Dime”.

The following recipe was developed with all of the Mammas & Pappas in mind who have limited time to cook healthy meals for their little cubs!  I have incorporated store bought ingredients indicated by an * that if you have the time and energy (Bless You!) you can make yourself ahead of time to use.  Please contact me if you would like the recipes for any of those.

It is very important to me as the Head Chef in my home that I exert the maximum effort to cook health supportive meals that won’t break Pappas piggy bank!  So, when I buy 2 organic chickens for $20 you know I have learned ways to stretch out their yield into 3 meals for my family of 5!  I won’t get into that here for now.  I will just address how to use the leftover chicken from whatever cooking method you used and add to the following delicious (forgive me for saying so myself!) healthy soup.

So I combined Grandma’s chicken soup with a garlic- miso soup and added pasta and away we go!  What did you say?  Why is this soup so healthy?  I am so glad you asked that!  Short version, Grandma’s chicken stock is chock full of nutrients, vitamins & minerals that comes from the bones of the chicken and the vegetables (usually celery, carrots and onions) add to the nutritional value as well.  Miso is made from fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and kojikin (fungus).  Most Miso’s are made from soy.  However, you can go gluten and soy free by using a chickpea miso and brown rice pasta like that shown below.  So my friends who must be soy or gluten free have no fear…just Google where you can order or buy direct chickpea miso.  Fermented foods have been known to be health supportive by many cultures for thousands of years.  Miso is high in Vitamins B12, K and protein. Many believe that Miso has the ability to detoxify the body of heavy metals and radiation caused by numerous sources such as x-ray’s.  Garlic too has a long history of cultures using it for various remedies and use in daily consumption for overall health.  Aside from the great taste….o.k. downside is breath, but no one said you had to go on a first date after eating this soup!......Garlic is an antifungal and antibiotic.  So, slurp away (no really that is a compliment in other cultures!) and enjoy Cindy D’s “Chicken Garlic Miso Soup”!

Hey, what about us Vegan’s and Vegetarian’s?  Oh yeah, I respect that.  Please substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock and perhaps throw in either sautéed tofu or tempeh in place of the leftover chicken.   

Naturally Respectful,

Cindy D.

Cindy D’s Chicken Garlic Miso Soup

Yield:  6-8 (10oz. servings)

Ingredients:

2 heads of garlic (apx. 20 cloves), peeled

8 cups organic chicken stock *

3 cups water

3 tablespoons white miso

? leftover chicken, whatever you got!, cut into bite sized pieces

1 pound organic brown rice pasta *

2 bags of frozen organic vegetables, optional *

Procedure:

1.  In a large pot, simmer garlic in stock and 2 cups water with pot covered for 15  minutes.

2.  Remove garlic and 1 cup liquid and place in blender along with miso.  Blend and pour back into soup pot.

3.  Add leftover chicken and frozen organic vegetables (optional) and simmer for 15 minutes.

4.  Bring to a boil and add pasta, note time.  Bring back to a boil once pasta is added and add ½ cup cold water once boiling is reached again.   Stir constantly.

Repeat once again with remaining ½ cup of cold water and bring back to a boil. 

Continue to simmer for a total of 10 minutes from when the pasta was added.

5.  Serve in individual bowls with fresh cut vegetables on the side if you did not opt to add frozen vegetables.

  *  Here are some easy peasy time saver options and where to buy:

(Kirkland’s Organic Chicken Stock* Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice Pasta* Frozen Organic Vegetables, available in most stores.)