Chicken stock

Using the remains after the organic roast chicken I made earlier in the week, I made a flavorful chicken stock to use later on, when the weather starts to get a bit chillier, and I am craving some good homemade soup.

Making chicken stock takes a little bit of inactive time, but it is extremely simple and well worth the end results!  You just can't buy the same essence in a pre-made stock.

Chicken Stock

• The remains from a 5-lb. roasting chicken, including the giblets
• 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and halved
• 2 stalks of celery, with leaves, halved
• 1 large handful of fresh parsley sprigs 
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 5 or 6 whole cloves of garlic
• 1 T of kosher salt
• 1 T whole black peppercorns

Throw all ingredients in a large stock pot.  Fill with water until about 2" to the top of the pot.

Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 3-4 hours.

Strain the liquid into storage container, the large soup containers from Chinese take-out work perfectly for this.  Store in your refrigerator for 4-5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

It's that easy!

Roast Chicken and Asian Noodles

Earlier this week, I wrote about making a roast chicken for a satisfying weekend meal.  I wrote how I used the remainder of the meat for another meal, and the remainder of the chicken after that to make chicken stock.  So resourceful, if I do say so myself...

Here is the recipe for this meal, which puts some seasonal produce to work...

Roast Chicken and Asian Noodles

• 1 cup sliced leftover roast chicken
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
• 8 oz. sugar snap peas
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, sliced into 1" pieces

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 T rice wine vinegar
• 3 T soy sauce (I like Pearl River Soy Sauce)
• 1 T + 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
• 2 tsp. honey (if you measure this in the same spoon as the sesame oil, the oil allows the honey to slide right out of the spoon)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. grated ginger

To finish:

• 2 T toasted sesame seeds
• 1-2 T chopped fresh parsley
• Small handful of roasted, salted peanuts

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted water to package directions.  Remove spaghetti with tongs & set aside. 

Add snap peas to the water, return to a boil, and cook 3-5 minutes, until bright green and crisp tender.  Remove snap peas with a spider or slotted spoon and place in an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Drain.

To make the dressing, whick together the canola oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, and peanut butter in a medium bowl.

Combine the spaghetti, snap peas, peppers, and scallions in serving bowl.  Pour the dressing over the mixture, bit by bit, until your liking.  You may not use all of the dressing.

Garnish with sesame seeds, parsley, and peanuts.

Serve, and enjoy!

It all began with an organic chicken...

One whole chicken, so many uses.  This past weekend, I summoned my inner-Barefoot Contessa and whipped up a delicious roast chicken for Ryan and myself.  This ambrosial bird provided not one, but two meals' worth of meat... and that was only the beginning!

Serving the roast chicken with roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions provided a gourmet weekend dinner for 2.  There was enough meat left over for a second meal, so I blithely contained the remains and stored them away in my refrigerator for a meal later in the week; a gratifying Roast Chicken and Asian Noodles.

With the remains of the chicken (I just can't bring myself to use the word "carcass" when describing food), after carving all of its moist, flavorful meat off the bone, plus the giblets which I set aside, I made chicken stock.  Sure, you can buy chicken stock at the grocery store, or even doctor up some boring ol' chicken broth by adding bullion and other flavors, but nothing - NOTHING - beats the flavor of homemade chicken stock.  I froze the chicken stock to use later to make a hearty soup.

One chicken, three potential meals.  Nothing went unused.  That is what I call a superfood!

Check back later this week for my Roast Chicken and Asian Noodles and Chicken Stock recipes.

Roast Chicken and Vegetables

• 1 5-6 lb. organic roasting chicken  
• Kosher salt  
• Freshly ground black pepper  
• About 30-40 sprigs of thyme, divided 
• 1 lemon, halved  
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise  
• 2 T butter, melted 
• 2 sweet potatoes, diced into 1" chunks
• 1 large onion, sliced into about 1" slices
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks 
• Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets, save for making chicken stock.

Rinse the chicken inside and out, pat the outside dry with paper towels.

Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with half of the thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.

Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Place in the center of a roasting pan, cross the legs and tie together with kitchen string .  Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the potatoes, onions, and carrots around the chicken. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, the remainder of the thyme, and olive oil.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Place the chicken on a platter and surround with vegetables.  Cover with aluminum foil for about 15 minutes to allow the juices in the chicken to redistribute.

Carve, serve, and enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Gratin

My New Year's resolution was to eat healthier and also more organically, sustainably, & locally.  My diet has always been on the healthy side, typically organic, and often locally produced, but I just wanted to push myself a little more and rid my kitchen of anything with unpronounceable ingredients shipped from some city in Guam.

So far, I've drastically reduced the amount of meat my fiancé and I consume.  Ryan is Italian and never even considered something to be a meal without meat - and this past weekend he actually SUGGESTED getting a spinach pizza, with no meat!  This is huge!  So far, I'm proud to say that we're on a good track for fulfilling my resolution.  Now is the time for you to remind me we're only 8 days in to 2010...

With a crisper full of veggies (organic and mostly local), I pondered what to make.  Tonight's dinner was going to be a light, tasty meal that will not only be delicious, but nutritious!  I served this gratin alongside of roasted chicken for a delicious, satisfying meal.

When I refer to sweet potatoes in my recipe, do not confuse this with yams.  The yam is not even distantly related to the sweet potato, but a tuber that is much higher in natural sugar than sweet potatoes (generally yielding a much sweeter dish) and have a higher moisture content.  For this recipe, I used the paler, more yellow variety.

Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Gratin – Serves 4

• 1 small onion, diced

• 3 T butter, divided
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 bunch red-stemmed Swiss chard
• 1 cup milk
• 1 T flour
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 very large sweet potato, sliced into about 1/4" rounds
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp parsley
• Salt & Pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 2 T of butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until translucent. Add the Swiss chard to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the massive amounts of green leaves shrink down to 1/16th its original size (you won’t believe your eyes!). Remove from heat and strain as much of the liquid out as possible.

To make a béchamel- heat the milk over medium-high heat until bubbling. In the meantime, place 1 T of slightly softened butter into a small bowl and add the flour. Mash with a fork to combine and whisk into the milk until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Spray an 8” x 8” baking dish with cooking spray and layer half of the sweet potatoes on the bottom. Layer with 1/2 of the swiss chard, then 1/3 of the cheese and sprinkle with half of the thyme and parsley. Top with half of the béchamel sauce.

Repeat with remaining potato slices, the remaining swiss chard, 1/3 of the cheese,  thyme and parsley and the rest of the béchamel sauce. Press everything down so that the entire dish is saturated with the béchamel and top with the remainder of the cheese.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until bubbling and golden-brown on top.

 

 

Two great articles on the Organic debate

Ever stare at a wall of veggies thinking, "If only I knew where to spend my money??"

Thanks to my friend and fellow blogger, Laura aka ChunkyChef, I'm here to provide you with two very helpful pages:

The top 12 foods to buy organic
and
15 Foods you don't have to buy organic

Because, I don't know about you, but I could use a little advice on where it is important to invest a little more money - and where it's not!

For some super recipes that are super healthy, check out the ChunkyChef blog!!!

Museum of Natural History

The days of food where you were able to actually pronounce all of the ingredients in an item bought at the grocery store are becoming a thing of the past. Is "nature" history?

The presence of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and other unnatural chemicals found in food these days frightens me beyond description. Cancer runs rampant in my family, and hearing about the links of processed food and health risks has a giant red flag waving in front of my face.

More and more, I have been trying to reduce processed foods in my diet as well as eat local, organic, sustainable foods (phew! what a mouthful). That is why I am so excited that Weavers Way Co-op is expanding to Chestnut Hill. Weavers Way has purchased the former Carusos building on 8418 Germantown Ave. Weavers Way is a community owned grocery store that focuses on local, organic, and fair trade items. Call me a hippie, but that sounds wonderful to me!



A friend of mine, after remarking on his organic fair-trade banana, told me that the quality and value that you find at Weavers Way is unmatchable. For now - I do my food shopping in a number of places: Traders Joe's, Giant, Maple Acres, BJ's, and Wegmans, each for their own qualities. Now, it seems that I will have another destination to add to my list.

I can't say that I will make a membership at Weavers Way worthwhile, but I am going to give it a try! Construction is set to begin in mid-June and the opening is slated for October/November. Stay tuned...


If you would like to learn about more ways to stay local in Philadelphia or no eating organic, I have a number of links listed on the bottom right side of this page. My favorites are Emeril Green, Dine Indie, and Local Food Philly. If you have a great local spot for buying organic produce, a recipe, or anything else to add, please share with us!