Soup's On

Its been snowy. Snowy and cold. Part of the 'charm' of living in a cottage built in the 1800s, is the drafts that seep in through every window frame and door jamb. They seem to even seep through the walls. When your warm nest feels not so very warm you drink alot of tea, (alot) and then there's the soup. There has been a new soup each week since Christmas.

Each week we make a big bubbling pot that feeds us through the week, for lunches and for simple suppers. Each one packed into the freezer when there's just a little more than two bowlfuls left. Money in the bank, as they say.

Hot and Sour, Pho, Chicken Tortilla, and Vegetable Noodle; There is something about soup. Its restorative in a way that nothing else really is. Maybe its how a pot of soup can bubble on the stovetop and make everything feel like home. Soups make you warm inside, and out. Since we're in need of keeping warm in our little cottage and we've made and eaten quite a bit of soup in the last month, its felt a little bit like a joke to write about it here.

There's no real science to soup. Vegetables swim in broth and maybe they get accompanied by chicken, or noodles. Maybe you thicken it with bread....if you are feeling especially brave, you may even season it with coconut milk and fish sauce. In the end though, even though its just soup, I figure its worth sharing. 



Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup differs from most others in that we used finely crushed tortilla chips (the leftover ends of the bag are perfect for this) to thicken the soup. I like to garnish it with some sliced avocado.


2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 medium green pepper
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups roasted corn
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
approx 32 ounces chicken
2 -14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 -16 ounce can of kitchen ready tomatoes
1 cup tortilla chips finely crushed
Sauté onion, garlic, jalapeño and green pepper with olive oil in a large dutch oven until soft.
Add all the rest of the ingredients to the large pot and bring to a boil. Poaching the chicken in the liquid for roughly 20 minutes, then remove the chicken breasts and shred. Return shredded chicken to the pot and simmer an additional 30 minutes, add the crushed tortillas to the soup and stir until the soup has thickened.