Montreal was amazing. Coming back with a terrible bout of the cold/flu not so much.
That's right, that's why I've been MIA. Rarely am I so sick that I don't even manage to turn the laptop on =/
Thankfully lots of sleep (18 hours alone on Monday!) plus home-cooked chicken soup did the trick in telling those pesky cold/flu germs they weren't welcome!
Many times had I heard that chicken soup was not only good for the soul, but the ultimate cold/flu-buster! Craving something comforting, I managed to go pick up the necessary ingredients to make chicken soup French-style poule au pot au feu which I'd learned to cook during my au-pair days. Here is cooking tee-syle:
1 - 6L pressure cooker filled with:
- a whole fresh chicken
- a large onion chopped in quarters
- a couple large carrots chopped in chunks
- a couple stalks of celery
- some small red potatoes chopped in quarters
- some cabbage (what i could fit in the pot)
- some English leeks (again what i could fit in the pot)
- a good chunk of ginger thinly sliced
- half a head of garlic (i peeled the cloves and crushed them slightly ever so gently)
- a couple bay leaves
- a small bunch of fresh thyme
- some black pepper corn
- a cuppa chicken broth
Seasoned to taste after cooking with Fleur de Sel (de La Boutique de Pont-Aven)... A treasured little bottle from my time in France)!
Since I don't use my pressure cooker that frequently, I googled cook time, which thankfully is a mere 12 minutes once pressurized.
While I dream of one day owning a bright coloured enameled cast-iron casserole a.k.a Le Creuset, I gotta admit I absolutely heart my pressure cooker from my Auntie A and Uncle M. It makes waiting when you're sick and hungry unnecessary, and so much better than opening a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup!
Note: Recipe will work sans pressure cooker, and a bit more patience ;)
As the French say... Bon App !
tee.
PS- Found scientific proof of the power of (soupe) poulet here: "Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro"
Posts
