It's been friggin cold here lately. Wet, raining a lot, in the 30's at night (and in the morning too). I've been sleeping with socks and a night-cap lately. Mostly cuz my heater only warms up the living room. So to compensate, I've been making a lot of soups. You've seen a few in the past. Well, if I don't say so, myself, for a guy that's winging it with no recipes or measurements, and pretty much by just experimenting in the isles of Trader Joe's and Vons and finally at the stove. . .I'm getting pretty good at this!
Let's start with this week. Sunday I woke up with a slight head cold. My buddy Doug was in town for the weekend and we had had some fun. Watched the Belmont Shores holiday parade Saturday evening. Fire trucks, marching bands, the mayor of Long Beach, the works.
Also got some Hollywood time in and visited one of the coolest new nightclubs - The Supper Club, on Hollywood Blvd. Live shows, magicians, excellent cocktails, circus/trapeze artists dropping from curtains tied to the ceiling, just general Hollywood craziness.
Ok, so like I said, maybe I wore down the immune system a bit. I need vitamins. Antioxidants. Chicken broth. I'm thinking a nice escarole/white bean/chicken soup. Unfortunately after a little searching, not too many places around here carry escarole. Sooooo. . . even better. . . the super food ladies and gentlemen::: KALE.
Started out sauteing onion, celery, carrots, shallots in a pot, while bacon is sizzlin in a pan one burner over. Added a pint of water to the pot. Simmer. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, chili powder (few pinches).
Back to the pan - remove the bacon. Slowly sear some seasoned chicken thighs in the bacon fat (!!!). When about 90% cooked, pulled it off, let it rest. Shredded it.
Back to the pot - added a half a bushel of kale. Simmer. Added half a can of organic white kidney beans. Some chopped mushrooms. Simmer. Slowly added more water to keep it brothy, but giving each addition time to flavorize so it wouldn't get watered down. Add the shredded chicken. . add the chopped bacon (!!!!) just four thin strips. Simmer. A little rice vinegar and lemon for some zing, and a dash of soy sauce. Simmer. Little more salt & pepper. Into a bowl with some sriracha. And this head cold . . could go. . all . . the . . .way - yes it's outta here!!
Leftovers (stuff I couldn't actually fit into my soup pot) also allowed me to bring a nice sauteed white bean & kale & chicken dish to work for lunch today. Then I finished off the soup (even better the second day) for dinner tonight. Pretty good eatins the past two days.
Okay, so this is a bit of a long post, but they're few 'n far between these days. And for my own posterity's sake I want to remember how I made this other awesome beef stew last week. Much of the same methodry - cubing and searing tri-tip beef. Sauteed onions, garlic; added beef broth, carrots, celery, corn, diced potatoes, a handful of chopped tomatoes. . simmer. . red pepper flakes, bit 'o chili powder, rice vinegar (a lil' heat, a lil' tang), some finely chopped rosemary and thyme. Added the beef. Simmer simmer, cooking it down till everythings stewy and beefy and just perfect for yet another - friggin cold, wet night in LA!
Sigh, so spoiled are we.
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