Onion Chicken Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

 Onion Chicken Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

This was the most onion-y soup ever.  So much so that the shirt I was wearing when I made it was, well, stinky!  It smelled very strongly of onions and soup. But, wow oh wow, what a tasty soup, one of my all time favorites for sure.  If you like a flavorful soup or if you  like French Onion soup you will love this recipe. The soup is filled, I mean absolutely brimming with veggies, chicken, mushrooms, and of course onions.  cooking a whole chicken in water for several hours with fresh herbs lends the sou pa depth of flavor.  Sauteing the mushrooms and onions seals their tastes and assures that they will not be overcooked.

Onion Chicken Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

1 small, whole chicken
3 large onions, I used one red and two yellow, cut onion in half and then slice into long strips
1 pound of mushrooms, quartered
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 russet potatoes, chopped
5 large leaves of chard, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste (more pepper for more spice, yum)
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Tamari or soy sauce served on the side as needed

Crusty bread (see below for suggestions)

I start with a 5 quart soup pan, filling it 2/3 with water.  Add a whole chicken and some salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme, bring to a boil.  The pan will be full of water once you add the chicken, but not so full that it overflows while it boils.  Once the soup is boiling reduce temperature until it cooks at a slow boil.  Continue to cook chicken for 2-3 hours.

After 2-3 hours, remove chicken from water, place on a plate and take all the meat off the bones, to add to the soup later.  I give the fat and gristle to my dogs.  Set meat aside to add when soup is almost done cooking.

Run a strainer through the soup to fish out any bones.  Also discard bay leaves and thyme stems.  Now you can add the chopped carrots, celery, and potatoes.  Cook until soft then you can add other ingredients, read on...

Meanwhile, you can saute the onions and mushrooms.  I cooked them separately, the onions in one pan and the mushrooms in another.  You can cut the onions into long, thin strips.  Cook them until they are browned and somewhat soft.  Quarter the mushrooms and cook them in olive oil until soft, but not mushy, as they will also cook in the pot of soup.  Set aside, and add once the veggies- the carrots, celery and potatoes- are soft in the big soup pan.

the organic mushrooms and sauteed onions pictured with chicken and chard

Once you have added the mushrooms and onions, add the chicken and chopped chard.  The chard will cook in the hot soup liquid.  Let chard sit in soup for 10 minutes or more and then serve the soup with a crusty bread like Essential Bakery's Potato bread or Parisian bread, toasted.  Essential Bakery is located in Seattle Washington, and offers delicious bread fresh every morning in many stores (including locally here in the Star Store and at Payless) and in their cafe. 

fresh chard

 

Essential Bakery's Potato Bread

This recipe will serve many people, a whole party in fact, or freeze some and have dinner and/or lunch made for several days.  

I am also considering making a spicy jalapeno version of this soup.  I just love spicy soups!

~~ Enjoy ~~

50K at the finsh line! Orcas Fat Ass 2010

 photo courtesy Erin Simms

Thanks Erin for the photos!  Snapped right at the finish of the Orcas Island 50K race, with my friend and co-runner Challis.  Just after the pic I noticed I was covered in salt, nice.  I also want to point out that I am not usually that stiff-looking in photos, but you know, considering the mileage (31-35) my arm is a bit stiff looking!!  This is a race that is well worth the time and expense to go to and participate in.  See you next year!

 

Photo courtesy of Erin Simms

Not quite sure where I was in this pic, but probably in the clouds!  Apparently glad to be done. . .

Cranberry and Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is delicious and tastes healthy!  One of my daughters loves these cookies (Stella, 2 years old), and one doesn't (Marina 4 years old).  The one who doesn't is more of a cupcake/chocolate kinda girl.  She would prefer to have plain chocolate with no bread.  I love these cookies personally, as they are sweet, yet they have great ingredients: whole oats, cranberries, and more. The cookies are just slightly crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside.  Soft . . .
 
Recipe adapted from http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/02/thick-chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/

1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter, softened
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup cranberries or raisins (or both)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

The key to this recipe is to refrigerate the cookie dough after making it for 1 hour plus. I made the cookies into balls and then froze the balls in a plastic bag for an hour, then placed them on a buttered cookie sheet.  I made small-size cookies and they took about 12 minutes to cook.  Watch your cookies carefully as they cook quickly!  Let cool, then remove from cookie sheet.  

Cranberries and walnuts: the signature ingredients!  

You can also use raisins, which are excellent in the recipe as well.

It's springtime! Hyacinths are coming up in the garden.  I'm having fun photographing different settings

Orcas 50K in Story and Pictures

"This must be the last hill," I thought as I scrambled up the hillside using both my hands and feet.  Every time I thought that "last" hill thought, I was invariably not on the last hill, but more like half way up the hills.  A comforting thought nonetheless.  The Orcas Island 50K consisted of 4 major "climbs," four descents, and a fair amount of flat running around Mountain Lake and Cascade Lake.

The race begins with a climb up Pickett Mountain and a quick run down.  At around mile 11 you come to the first aid station at Camp Moran (also the start of the race).  I was feeling good at Mile 11, filled up my Nathan Hydration Pack and off I went, thinking, Okay, I am 1/3 of the way done!

 Smiling as I come into the first Aid Station at mile 11 (above), wearing my hydration pack

Marina and family greet me at Mile 11.  Filled up my pack with Nuun electrolyte water, which I used the entire race.  I went through 4 packs (2 liters per pack) of water throughout the 31+ miles.  I also brought my lightweight jacket, which I never needed, oops.

The next leg of the race was the toughest as we climbed multiple steep inclines, one after another, until we *finally* began our decent toward Mountain Lake, a welcome change from the uphill climb, but a painful one!  I rounded Mountain Lake wondering when I would reach the "water only" aid station at mile 21.  It is important to note that the miles were not marked at any point on the trails, and I was left feeling glad that I had studied the online maps so that I had some idea of my mileage at various points.

The trails were marked with red tape

As I rounded a corner I saw a bridge and about 20 gallon water jugs.  It was the water aid station, I must be at mile 21!  A mixed blessing considering we were about to climb Mt. Constitution.  I was feeling tired but upbeat at this point in the race.  As it turned out, the climb up Mt. Constitution was easier than the steeper climb right after mile 11.  A big relief to my legs and mind.  I arrived at the top of the mountain to an incredible sunny and clear view of Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, and Aid Station #2 at mile 25-ish.  The climb worth every moment!  At the Aid Station I was informed that we had 7-9 more miles, and I thought, alright, only a little longer than I had planned on, but it's all downhill and flat so no problem.

 

Above and below: View from the top of Mt. Constitution 

  

Um, wrong!  We ran downhill for a mile or two before we began running uphill, again, for longer than I would wish on any runner after 28 miles.  The last downhill was excrutiating and I passed several runners who succumbed to the painful downhill and were limping and and some who were walking to the finish.  I was encouraged to blast through my pain by the fact that gravity was helping my tired legs and I knew to use the downhill to my advantage to meet my time goal of under 7 hours.

At the bottom of the mountain we crossed the road and began the last part of the run around Cascade Lake, a 2.5 mile stretch.  The last 400 meters was a small (but significant) uphill then a nice rolling downhill to the finish.  If you are planning to run this race, remember to run those last few uphills, you are almost there, and you'll be glad you did! 

I finished strong, in what felt to me like a sprint!  I felt incredibly good after the race.  I was more prepared for the distance and elevation than I expected.  The after-party at Camp Moran included soup, snacks, cookies, beer, juice, and the Blackberry Bushes String band.  We all relaxed and enjoyed the post race chill atmosphere.  I was lucky to get a chance to say goodbye to some of my friends who ran the 25K and my friend who also ran the 50K, all from Whidbey Island, as they were just leaving Orcas to head home. My girls enjoyed the juice and danced to the music, while Luc took the majority of the after party pics, with me enjoying sitting after the long run.  

 Above: bundled after the race in two coats, hat, and  . . . Stella!  I knew from previous experience to have lots of warm clothes waiting.  Pictured at Camp Moran.

Day after race update: walking was very difficult this morning, and still is as I write this, but sitting in my chair I can pretend like my legs feel fine.  My neck, jaw (what's up with that?), chest, throat, shoulders, arms, heck everything is sore to some degree!  The most painful time after a race, other than the inevitable gut wrenching, is when you wake up the next morning.  I noticed "day after" soreness phenom after the Seattle Marathon and today as well.   Yet, now that the worst soreness is over, I'm ready for the next big race!

 

 The Blackberry Bushes String Band, the after party

  

Stella, above and below, begins to warm up to the party and flashes her big smiles

  

 The apple juice, above, helped.

  

Above is a picture of the incredible lookout tower that is at the top of Mt. Constitution.  You can follow a stair case to the top.  It was built in the early 1900s.  

  

Above and below: Some views inside the tower

  

 

Above: my kids and their friends play cards on the Orcas island/ Anacortes Ferry. 

Orcas Island Fat Ass 50K 2010 . . . finished!

Sunny, partly clear weather, relaxed runners.  What a sweet race.  Don't get me wrong, it was hard, really hard.  Four "peaks", 7000 feet elevation gain (yeah, and then back down too, ouch), but one could barely complain: the views were *wow*.  No, wait, they were *WOW!*  The race was mostly on single-track dirt trails through the woods with views of lakes, the puget sound, the San Juan islands, moss covered valleys, and swamps.  Definately one of the more difficult 50K courses I have seen, but the only one I have ever done.  The race was described as somewhere between 31 and 35 miles long, which coould make it more of a 55K course.  Race ended with a 2.5 mile mostly flat run around Cascade Lake.  The trails were well marked with orange tape, with just a few questionable forks in the road.  If it is between a road race and a trail race, I would pick the trail every time!  Soup, snacks, and happily, beer and Bluegrass music by the Black Berry Bushes String Band awaited the elated and exhausted runners at the finish line.  Pictures coming soon!

Countdown!

Just 3 days until the race!  This will be the longest race of my life, so far, anyway.  Sounds pretty hardcore, but really it's *just* 31 miles, or a 50K.  Sounds pretty long?  Add in 7,000 feet elevation gain and you have it.  I am really excited, and a bit intimidated.  Isn't that how it works for any *first*?  I am doing the Orcas Fat Ass 50K this Saturday, February 6th. Visit the website here.  Wish me luck!  And, by the way, I am wearing the Nike Free 3.0's for the race.  Nike's first "barefooting" shoe.  If you want to experience barefoot running with shoes, the 3.0 is the closest you will get with Nike shoes.  The 5.0 and 7.0 Nike Free are much stiffer and thicker soled shoes.  I can't really recommend them, but I LOVE the 3.0!!  I also want to try the Vibram Five Fingers.  A very cool, innovative idea. 

XOXO

Nike Fre 3.0, above

Slow Cooked Pinto Beans with Fennel Seed

 Slow Cooked Pinto Beans with Fennel Seed

2 cups dry pinto beans
1 TBS fennel seed
dash of olive oil
dash of salt
enough water to cover beans by 2 inches

Start by soaking the pinto beans in water for 2-3 hours.  After soaking, cook beans for 3-4 hours at a slow boil with salt and olive oil.  Add fennel seeds about 1-2 hours before beans are done.  Refrain from stirring beans, except to make sure they are cooked evenly, as the stirring breaks them apart, as does too-high cooking temperatures, so cook them at a slow boil. 

 Slow-cooked Pinto beans with fennel seeds, topped with sauteed red onions

Serve with jasmine rice, sauteed red onions, a green salad, and, if you can, Pine and Post Chardonnay, one of my favorite local and affordable white wines. 

Check out Pine and Post here.  Food and Wine describes Pine and Post Chardonnay as,

a steal of a Chardonnay in a terrific vintage for Washington white wines, with spicy oak notes balanced against lively apple and apricot fruit.

Pine and Post Chardonnay, below

Sauteed onions in a cast iron pan

 Above, Trader Joe's Jasmine Rice

Shredded Apple and Carrot Green Salad

I love cooking, but I don't usually want to be doing it all day.  Some of my favorite recipes are the simple ones, where you add a few unexpected ingredients to a classic dish.  In this case, I added shredded apple and diced cashews to a simple green salad, and tossed it with a pepper vinaigrette.   The apple adds a sweet flavor to the salad.  Simple is always good!

Shredded Apple and Carrot Green Salad

1 large carrot
1 small apple or 1/2 of a larger size one
4 cups or chopped romaine lettuce
1/3 cup chopped cashews
1 stick celery (optional)
1 avocado (optional)

Prepare lettuce, celery, chopped cashews, avocado and set aside.  Grate apple and carrot.  Arrange all ingredients in a bowl, starting with the lettuce, then the grated carrot and apple then the celery, avo, and cashews.  Serve with your favorite dressing or this spicy alternative:


Pepper Vinaigrette

2 TBS seasoned rice vinegar
2 TBS olive oil
dash of honey
1/2 clove of fresh crushed garlic
pepper to taste, add more for a spicier flavor

Mix all ingredients thoroughly before tossing with salad.