Air Hugs Are A-Okay
Yeah, yeah. I recently went on and on about how much I love this time of year; the perfect weather, bbq, soups…
It’s also cootie season. The season where the two- and three-year-old set’s favorite game is “Is This a Booger?” (It’s a terrible game, I assure you. It’s a game where nobody wins.) I have no fewer than three bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse, two bottles in the car, and my children know that the first thing you do upon entering the house is wash your hands.
I feel no shame in admitting that I have considered getting a full hazmat suit to wear in the house during these precarious months. I also keep sanitizing wipes in a holster around my middle, tailing my children and wiping down any door knobs, faucet handles, and switches that they touch. Look–I love them, but I hate getting sick. And when mama’s sick….well, the shit comes to a complete halt.
I believe in the healing power of chicken soup. I’ve never met a variety of chicken soup that I didn’t like inhale with such enthusiasm that my dining companions pretended they didn’t know me. I like noodles. I like kluski. I like all permutations of dumpling soups–drop dumplings, rolled dumplings, and wonton, to name just a few.
I’ve been eating a lot of chicken soup lately. Here is a variation that I found to be particularly warming and soothing:
I started this soup with caramelized onions. I took two yellow onions, chopped them, and cooked them over medium-low heat in a skillet with about three tbs of butter. It took about 45 minutes for them to get to this stage:
The soup is easy, and really doesn’t require a recipe. Here’s what I did:
2 tsp sesame oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs minced ginger
caramelized onions (see above)
5-6 cups chicken stock
1 carrot, julienne or diced
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup canned coconut milk (I like Mae Ploy)
Garnishes (have I professed my undying love for garnishes yet?):
Lime wedges
cilantro
fish sauce (or soy sauce)
sambal (or hot sauce of your choice)
Cook the garlic and ginger in the sesame oil in a large saucepan for about one minute. Add the stock, the carrot, the caramelized onions, and the salt & pepper, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer,covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, and heat to just below boiling. Serve with garnishes of your choice and eat on the sofa, snuggled under a big, cozy blanket, with a nice mug of herbal tea brandy. Tissue box slippers are completely optional (but highly recommended.)
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