Comfort food

After my three fantastic weeks of vacations, reality is hitting me hard, and winter is hitting us even harder. Just this week we got one ear infection with a touch of conjunctivitis, lots of cuddling needed…

I wish I could keep working on my many projects but the extra trips to the doctor’s office and the pharmacy [in slippery roads due to the freezing rain…] tent to slow everything down, and that stress me out a bit… ok, a lot.

My last resort: cooking. When I need to feel better I cook the kind food that one of the loveliest person in the world would have cook for me: my grandfather.

 

The last time a saw him was when I was 7 or 8 years old, but I still remember our weekly Thursday’s afternoon together. I remember the smell of tobacco of his shirt, he used to smoke. His shoes were always shiny. To keep his pants neat, he used to pull his pants by the ironed line at knee level before sitting down. He cooked the most delicious meals, and when I got sick he used to bring a batch of steam buns for me as a token of his love. He was an amazing grandpa, the kind that looks at you with a melting heart, the kind that is always happy to have you around. I think of him almost every day. Those special meals are my comfort food. When I feel sad or stress, or lonely I cook this soup, and the smell of the ginger and its warmth transports me back to my childhood, days… just like in the “Ratatouille” movie.

 

I had to re-make the recipe to share this soup with my daughter. She’s allergic to eggs and sesame too. When we take about comfort foods she’s the one who mentions : “the wonton style soup. “

And because this world is about sharing here’s my Wonton Style Soup.

For the broth:

2 32oz. Boxes of Swanson chicken broth

Vegetable oil

2in. Long piece of ginger cut in thin round pieces.

4 carrots, peeled.

2 celery stalks

2 boxes of Swanson chicken broth (16oz.)

　

1lb. of ground chicken

1 bunch of green onions (scallions) minced

1 teaspoon of minced ginger root

2 table spoons of soy sauce

1 chopped bok choy

¾ of a cup of dry Barilla Mini Farfalle Piccolini pasta.

This recipe yield for 5 servings, and still you’ll have some left overs

Cover the bottom of a 5qt. stock pot with vegetable oil and heat it up. Add the round thin cut ginger and let if cook but don’t let it burn. It’s just to add ginger flavor to the oil. Pour the chicken broth, and add the carrots, and the celery to the broth. Let the vegetables cook at a medium boil.

In the meantime mix together the ground chicken, the minced ginger, the scallions and the soy sauce.

When the carrots are soft, take the ginger, carrots, and celery out of the stock. Then, with your hands wet make little ‘meat’ balls with the mixed ground chicken, and add them to the boiling stock. When they start to float, add the pasta and the bok choy. Let your wonton soup boil to a medium heat until the pasta is cooked, add salt to taste.

Enjoy!!

Comments

[carolld]

So nice to hear from you. I was wondering why you hadn't posted. Hope your little ones get well soon and that you get back to your projects and posting them for us to see. Take care and stay warm.