Friday, October 09, 2009

Cold days and chicken noodle soup....


NOAA Weather Service chart. Click to enlarge.

It's mighty cold up here in the North -- just 22 degrees with blustery snow squalls and winds of about 20 mph. According to the wind chill chart, which I keep handy for quick reference, the wind chill temperature for us right now is a whopping 4 degrees. My potted geraniums are in the garage waiting for a few more nice fall days. I don't give up easily and I won't give up on fall yet, but as for today, it's a good day to be indoors by the fire baking and making homemade chicken noodle soup. I don't really have a set recipe for this, but it's really not a very difficult meal to make.



Just set a whole chicken or chicken parts (with skin) in a large pot to simmer along with a few peppercorns, salt, and a bay leaf. Cook until the meat of the chicken is falling off the bone. Scoop out the meat with the bones and sort it well, throwing away the bones and skin and any other undesirable things. Put the meat back into the pot and add chopped celery, carrots, onion, garlic and herbs like thyme and parsley or celery seed. You may need to add more water to the pot and if you want to, you might like to add some chicken base or bouillon to the broth according to your tastes. I do. Simmer until the veggies are tender. In the meantime you will want to start your noodles. You can use prepackaged noodles that are just like homemade, or you can make them easily.

I don't fuss as much as the recipes for homemade noodles require, in fact, I'm quite lazy about it. I make the noodle dough, roll it out on a floured counter top, slice the dough into thin strips with a pizza cutter and let them sit to dry just a little. Some noodle recipes require you to air dry the noodles all day long, but I just don't want to do that, so I don't. Once the veggies are tender, you are ready to add the noodles. Make sure that you bring the broth up to a rolling boil. Carefully add the noodles, a few at a time, making sure they go under the rolling current of the broth. Add until all the noodles are in the broth, cover, reduce the heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Taste the noodles to make sure they are done.



Serve it up hot with fresh bread & butter  or some rustic crackers and a glass of cold milk.

Egg Noodles

2 c. flour (white or whole wheat pastry)
3 eggs
2 t. salt
1/4 to 1/2 c. milk

Make a well in the center of the flour. Add eggs and salt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in milk, a little at a time until dough is stiff but easy to roll. Roll out on a floured cupboard as thin as possible (like pie crust). Cut noodles with a pizza cutter and allow them to dry out somewhat on the counter. Cook noodles in approximately 3 quarts boiling salted water (1 T.) until tender. About 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and add to soup or other recipes.

*I add my noodles directly to my soup pot, but you can do it separately.
*Sometimes I drop this dough by spoonfuls into my soups for a hard dumpling. For dumplings, you will want a softer dough than for noodles so you may add more milk and a pinch of baking powder.

11 comments:

  1. Yikes! Who gave winter permission to show up??? Your soup looks yummy -- especially as I sit here with the sniffles -- isn't that what they always say to have for a cold??? Thanks for sharing your method!

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  2. Yummm...but that really is cold. 54 here and lots of rain...more rain tomorrow. Dianntha

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  3. I had homemade noodles in turkey broth with a turkey dinner once, and it was one of the best meals I ever had. Thank you for your recipe; I want to try this soup on a cold, rainy day (which will be here often).

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  4. Wow, that looks good! I've never tried homemade noodles, but I bet that makes the soup taste so much better!

    We've been keeping an eye on your weather just because it looks so extreme to us ;-). But because you're going to live in snow until practically June, I hope you get a few more good fall days!

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  5. Makes me appreciate our sunny day with a high of 57 today even more! I've never made homemade noodles. You inspire me! Thanks for your warm, loving blog.

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  6. Those noodles look so good in that soup!! Brrr...

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  7. Thimbleanna,
    Definitely getcha some chicken noodle soup for those sniffles.

    Ohio Farmgirl,
    Raining and 54 still sounds chilly to me. Keep warm and healthy!

    Mary,
    Homemade noodles really are "the ticket." And they aren't as hard to make as some would make you believe.

    Laura,
    I really do hope that we do not have to stay in this cold weather pattern for the rest of the year and into winter. It's likely to pass. I'm hopeful anyway. Try the noodles!

    Suzanne,
    I'm so glad you've been visiting here. You'll have to give the noodles a try since you're inspired anyway.

    Ellen,
    They *were* good! By the way, the noodles do swell up so keep them thinnish!

    Jody

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  8. Yum! I'm going to try your noodle recipe. I do hope your wintry weather goes away for awhile so that you can enjoy fall. It's 57° here tonight (just after midnight), which is pretty chilly for us this early in the fall.

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  9. I've never tried homemade noodles - they look good. And not too hard to make either.

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  10. Looks much better than Mmm mmm good, it looks eXceptionally delicious! ;-) Silly me, I thought one needed special equipment to make noodles. Have you tried making them with whole wheat pastry flour eXclusively (no white)? I think an eXperiment may be in order! ThanX for the recipe.

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  11. A. I can't believe how cold it is where you are!

    B. Thanks for the soup recipe. It's actually cold for where I am, too, and chicken noodle soup--the real thing--sounds wonderful!

    frances

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