Today I decided that it was time for some good old fashioned chicken noodle soup. Miles has been bravely dealing with his first tooth breaking through for the past couple of days and what seems like a cold, but could be teething symptoms. I know it’s cliche, but I always feel better after a bowl or two of chicken noodle and I’m hoping that Miles will too.
I had some frozen veggie scraps from the last salad we made that I used for the broth and a package of chicken thighs. It’s time consuming to make it from scratch, but I think that it’s totally worth it. I’d rather know that Miles is getting the purest organic ingredients, than to have the convenience of opening a can or a container of vegetable stock. Plus the amount of salt that goes into pre-made soups is staggering. The process of making it fresh isn’t difficult. You just need to get the timing right so you can plan your other activities around it.
At 2:00 I took the frozen scraps out of the freezer and put them in my stock pot with enough water to cover them. I let them come to a boil while I put Miles down for a nap. When they were boiling nicely, I turned the flame down low so they could simmer for a while. When it was time to leave the house to run some errands, I turned the stove off and left it covered. When I got home I strained the veggies out and added my spices to the stock (salt, pepper, garlic powder, garam masala and an organic no salt spice blend). I took the chicken out and cooked it in a pan with coconut oil and a bit of water. I find that cooking meat in liquid makes it so much more tender than just sauteing. When the thighs were cooked through, I cut them into largish chunks and added them and the broth created from cooking to the stock. I turned the heat back on at a medium flame to simmer the meat and stock together. Then about half and hour before dinner time I added the noodles and stuck closer by so that I could stir it regularly. Finally just before serving, I added a couple of cups of frozen mixed vegetables.
As always, Miles’ portion went into the food processor. Thus far he hasn’t been a huge fan of meat, but now that he is able to handle more texture in his food, he seems a lot better with it. He ate the whole bowl full without a fight and seemed pretty chipper afterward. I hope that the extra effort that went into the meal helps him feel better in some way. I hate to see him sick or in pain. I know that it’s unavoidable, but if there is something I can do to make it less difficult for him I’ll gladly do it.