Hi, everyone this is Shienna Mondejar from Miss Finch's Finery. I noticed that many people are getting sick with that awful cold or flu that is going around. I know that the flu hit our household a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it started out with a sore throat, fatigue, and some body aches. So since I have many allergies I can't take regular over the counter medications because I have a corn allergy and corn syrup is often found in many medications. So I turn to homeopathic and natural remedies. I also make sure that I make a large pot of chicken soup. I used to cook professionally at a fine dining restaurant so you can take my word that I know how to cook. In addition, I come from a family of many talented cooks who cook with love and passion. I do use as many organic ingredients as possible to eliminate exposure to pesticides.
Obviously, if one is trying to get better going as natural as possible can be helpful. I often find these ingredients at local Farmer's Markets or Health Food Stores. However, all these ingredients can be found at most grocery stores.
The recipe will yield enough soup to last during the time you are sick. Otherwise, you can share it with your family as it makes a large batch. If you are too tired to prepare the Mirepoux and garlic; one can place the mirepoux as well as the garlic in a food processor and use the "pulse," button until the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic are cut up into small diced sized squares. Additionally, I like to add a good amount of garlic, ginger, and tumeric in my soup as they are known to have healing properties.
Here is my recipe for chicken soup:
Ingredients:
Organic chicken breasts
2 boxes of Organic chicken broth or Organic Vegetable Broth
Mirepoux (4 stalks of Organic Celery [diced], 3 small to medium size Organic Carrots[diced], & 1 Organic Brown Onion[diced])
2 Tablespoons of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil ( I use coconut oil because it cooks evenly, doesn't break down at molecularly at high temperatures, & has a high smoking point)
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of dried ginger
1 teaspoon of dried tumeric
1/2 Tablespoon of Dried Parsley
1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano
2 Tablespoons of Dried Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Ground Coriander
2 Tablespoons of Ground Cumin
1/2 a cup of Lemon Juice (You can used bottled lemon juice or squeeze 3 lemons)
2 Tablespoon of Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
2 Tablespoon of Sea Salt
Optional: Lemon Zest (If you use fresh lemon for the lemon juice, zest the lemons first then juice the lemons).
A Large Pot
Cutting Boards
A sharp knife
A large ladle or deep set serving spoon
Optional: A lemon zester or fork
Optional: Food Processor
Optional: If you choose to use fresh lemons then clean, scrub, & dry the lemons. Zest the lemons using a lemon zester or a fork. Be careful to not get the pith of the lemon which is white, just zest the peel. Take the lemon zest and set aside. Otherwise, if you use bottled lemon juice just measure out a 1/2 cup of lemon juice.
Firstly, dice the organic celery, organic carrots, brown onion, and garlic into small equally sized squares. If you feel too exhausted or just don't have great knife skills place the previously named vegetables into a food processor and pulse until you get the desired size pieces. Place all the diced vegetables into a bowl. Now take a cutting board and place your chicken breasts onto the the cutting board. Cut up the chicken breasts into equally sized diced pieces. Now place the diced pieces of chicken into a bowl. Make sure to wash your hands, the knife, and cutting board thoroughly with dish soap and hot water to avoid cross contamination. Now take the 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil and place them into the pot. Place the diced vegetables into the pot and turn on your burner to medium heat. Place 1 tablespoon of fresh cracked pepper into the pot. Reserve the second tablespoon for later. Do the same for 1 tablespoon of sea salt and reserve the second tablespoon for later. Stir the vegetables and pepper. Allow the vegetables to cook until the onions are a slightly translucent (this should take 5 to 8 minutes). Now placed the diced chicken in the pot and stir. Allow the chicken, pepper, and vegetables to cook for 8 minutes. Place the 1/2 tablespoon of dried parsley, 1 tablespoon of dried ginger, 1 teaspoon of tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 2 tablespoons of dried garlic, 2 tablespoons ground coriander, 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, 2 boxes of organic chicken broth or organic vegetable broth, 1/2 the cup of lemon juice. Turn down the burner to low heat. Add the last tablespoons of pepper and sea salt then stir. Allow the soup the simmer. I generally let my soup simmer another 15 to 20 minutes to develop flavor. Now if you chose to zest your lemons you can throw half the zest into the pot and stir. Taste your soup. If you want to add more pepper or salt do so. Finally, ladle the soup into a bowl and place a pinch of the remaining lemon zest on top. I hope this soup helps heal any of you who are sick or taking care of others who are sick.
