Total Utilization

It is snowing today and has been chilly for the past several days. I am dying to run to the grocery store for some extra warming foods. Fortunately, I have calmed myself by reading Suze Orman’s book on women and financial independence and halted at the front door when I thought of how much money we already spent earlier this week on the carrots, onions, garlic and other miscellaneous produce. Plus, we have chicken in the freezer.

Days ago, I saw a comfort foods magazine cover with shining melted cheese on top of a French Onion soup. For some reason, at first glance, I thought the soup was a Mexican tortilla soup. From that image, my mind raced between memories of French Onion soup made in culinary school finished with a touch of Calvados, Chef Jack’s sweet Asian Onion soup, and a Chicken Tortilla soup I ate at a Chili’s or some place similar.

Here are two soups I prepared this morning after taking inventory of our freezer, refrigerator door, spice shelf and the mini-pantry in the hallway: Coconut Chicken and Wild Rice, Chicken and Kidney Beans in Ale Broth.

Coconut Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, small dice

1 carrot, small dice

½ tsp turmeric, ground

¼ tsp ginger, ground

1 - 13.5 fl oz can of coconut milk

1 pt water, filtered

1 cup of diced chicken

1 cup of wild rice, cooked (it happened to have chopped kelp in it)

½ tsp cilantro leaves, dry

Method

Sweat the carrots and onions in a medium sauce pot. When the carrots have softened and the onions are translucent, add the ginger and turmeric. Stir the vegetables to evenly distribute the spices.

Add the coconut milk and the water. Bring everything to a simmer.

Put the diced chicken and cooked wild rice into the liquid. When it returns to a simmer, turn the soup off and taste it.

Add a pinch of salt or a splash of liquid amino acids if the broth is not sufficiently seasoned.

Serve this with red chili sauce on the side for an extra kick!

Chicken and Kidney Beans in Beer Broth

Ingredients

1 ½ Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 ½ Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme, ground

13 fl oz Duchesse de Bourgogne Belgian Ale (Substitute any low alcohol Belgian Ale)

1 pt filtered water

1 ½ cup cooked chicken, pulled and shredded

¾ cup kidney beans, cooked

¾ tsp herbed sea salt

Method

Caramelize the sliced onions in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and tomato paste when the onions are brown. Stir in the chili powder, cayenne pepper and ground thyme. Add the ale and water. Bring the liquid to a simmer

Add the chicken and kidney beans. Return the liquid to a simmer. Add the herbed sea salt. Turn off the heat and taste. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Top it off with tortilla chips for an extra crunch!