We're friends, right?  I mean, after all these years, I can be honest with you, my dear readers.  You'll forgive and understand...right?

Okay, here goes...

I can't make chicken soup.

And there's more...

I don't like chicken soup.

There, I said it.  What a relief.  I mean, how can I, "The Modern Jewish Mom", not be able to make chicken soup? Doesn't chicken soup run through our veins?

Apparently not.

Thing is, when I try to make my mother's (which is actually my grandmother's) recipe, it just comes out greasy and flavorless.  I know, I know...I load the pot with chicken.  I let it boil and boil for days and days.  I put it in the fridge and let the fat rise to the top and then skim it and boil it again with lots of veggies (all the veggies from the "Put the Chicken in the Pot" song.)  But still, it comes out, ugh.

So I make the non-traditional chicken soups.  The ones that are green and nutty.  That I have to use an immersion blender for and more importantly, are basically a vegetable soup and I can use a store-bought chicken broth.

Until Pam Reiss.  Thank goodness for Pam Reiss and her new Soup:  A Kosher Collection.  It's beautiful.  It's easy.  It's creative.  And most importantly, it's delicious.  Seriously delicious.  My entire family loved, loved, loved the soup I made from this fabulous cookbook.  I can't wait to try more.

Just in time for cold weather (and cold and flu season), Soup contains everything you need to become an expert soup maker.  From definitions and techniques to recipes for soups that are starters, entrees and even desserts! And they're kosher!  No need to worry about figuring out what to replace the butter and cream with in the beef soup. 

Reiss was kind enough to give me permission to post my favorite recipe so far to give you a "taste" of her cookbook.  Make it this Sunday and serve with leftover challah.  Yum! Thanks, Pam...because of you, I can once again hold my head high among Jewish mom's everywhere!

 

Thai Ginger Chicken Soup

ingredients:

1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and thinkly sliced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks (I made this step easier by buying the bag of already diced carrots)

3 oz mushrooms, cut in 1/4 inch slices (again, I bought already sliced shittake mushrooms)

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced

6 cups chicken stock

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 green onions (scallions), sliced on the diagonal in 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup canned bamboo shoots

1 tsp dark sesame oil

directions:

Add some cooked rice or rice noodles and this is a perfect meal.

Saute onion in olive oil over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.

Add carrot and mushrooms and saute another 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms start releasing their juices.

Add ginger and garlic and saute another 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add stock, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add the chicken breast strips and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add soy sauce, green onions and bamboo shoots and simmer 3-4 minutes to heat through and finish cooking the chicken.

Add sesame oil just before serving.

per serving:

151 calories

8 g. fat

14 g. protein

5 g carbohydrate

1 g dietary fiber

23 mg cholesterol

1132 mg sodium

serves 6/ meat/freezes

 

to order Soup:  A Kosher Collection go to Amazon.com

 

 

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