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I don't know about where you are...
...but here it's been rainy and damp and cold, early tidings of the approaching winter seeping through your skin, scouts ahead of an army of awfulness preparing to once again lay siege to that vulnerable, warm, happy center you took for granted all summer long.
The only sane course of action, IMNSHO, is to climb into a bed piled with many blankets atop it, many books stacked beside it, and a steady cast of fuzzy critters to visit, and refuse to go anywhere until spring returns and routs the enemy encamped around your soul.
This, of course, is not really possible for the vast majority of us. Jobs, bills, children: feh! They all conspire to make it impractical to hibernate. So what to do? You need to sneak supplies past that determined enemy, find a way to keep your poor embattled center sufficiently nourished that it can withstand the horrors of fading November light, December misery, bone-slicing January wind, and February's dreaded Torment of Icy Slush. Oh, but what can keep that warm center alive, you ask? What will sustain it through those dire and perilous months where hope itself seems to have abandoned us to our fates?
Soup.
Soup comes in many forms. Some are for taste, some are for pride, some are to remind you that winter does not, after all, hold all the cards. This soup is decent enough in mildly crappy weather, but will warm you down to your core on the most wretched of days.
Suzanne's Chicken Tortilla Soup
6 Tbsp olive oil
8 corn tortillas (6") coarsely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (29 oz)
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
In a large pot heat oil. Add tortillas, garlic, and onion. Saute for 2-3 min. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, chicken stock, and return to a boil. Add chicken, salt, and cayenne pepper and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 min or so until chicken is cooked and stock has thickened. Add cilantro (I usually do this about 10 min or so before I'm ready to serve it, so it cooks in a little bit but doesn't disappear into the mush too badly.) Remove bay leaves, and serve.
Add a nice hot cup of tea and the promise of a few hours' warm bed & a book at night, and you're going to be OK.
(More soup will be forthcoming. As always, if you make a recipe and like it, I'd love to know.)
The only sane course of action, IMNSHO, is to climb into a bed piled with many blankets atop it, many books stacked beside it, and a steady cast of fuzzy critters to visit, and refuse to go anywhere until spring returns and routs the enemy encamped around your soul.
This, of course, is not really possible for the vast majority of us. Jobs, bills, children: feh! They all conspire to make it impractical to hibernate. So what to do? You need to sneak supplies past that determined enemy, find a way to keep your poor embattled center sufficiently nourished that it can withstand the horrors of fading November light, December misery, bone-slicing January wind, and February's dreaded Torment of Icy Slush. Oh, but what can keep that warm center alive, you ask? What will sustain it through those dire and perilous months where hope itself seems to have abandoned us to our fates?
Soup.
Soup comes in many forms. Some are for taste, some are for pride, some are to remind you that winter does not, after all, hold all the cards. This soup is decent enough in mildly crappy weather, but will warm you down to your core on the most wretched of days.
Suzanne's Chicken Tortilla Soup
6 Tbsp olive oil
8 corn tortillas (6") coarsely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (29 oz)
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
In a large pot heat oil. Add tortillas, garlic, and onion. Saute for 2-3 min. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, chicken stock, and return to a boil. Add chicken, salt, and cayenne pepper and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 min or so until chicken is cooked and stock has thickened. Add cilantro (I usually do this about 10 min or so before I'm ready to serve it, so it cooks in a little bit but doesn't disappear into the mush too badly.) Remove bay leaves, and serve.
Add a nice hot cup of tea and the promise of a few hours' warm bed & a book at night, and you're going to be OK.
(More soup will be forthcoming. As always, if you make a recipe and like it, I'd love to know.)