Curry Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Chard

Probably not your Grandmother’s Chicken Soup, but nice all the same…

From Curry Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Curry Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
Broth, see below.
Chicken meat, from broth below
Curry Powder, below
1 bunch Chard, stemmed and sliced thin.
Salt and Pepper, to taste.
Cucumber and Basil Raita, see below.

Add Potatoes to Chicken Broth and salt generously. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Puree soup with a hand blender, in a blender, or food processor. Return to pot, add chicken meat, Curry Powder, and Chard. Cook until Chard is tender. Check seasonings, and serve with a spoonful of Basil Raita in each bowl.

Curry Powder

1 tsp Whole Coriander Seed
1 tsp Whole Cumin Seed
1 tsp Whole Fennel Seed
1 tsp Whole Fenugreek
1 tsp Whole Brown Mustard Seed
4 Whole Cloves
1 Small Stick Cinnamon, Broken
1/2 tsp White Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns
3 Whole Chili de Arbol
1 tsp Ground Tumeric

Toast whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant. Grind in Coffee Mill or Spice Grinder. Add Tumeric.

Chicken Broth

1 Chicken, Quartered
1 inch piece Ginger, sliced thinly
1 Onion Chopped
1 Carrot, Sliced thinly
3 Garlic Cloves, Smashed
Water

Cover chicken and vegetables with water and bring to a low simmer. Continue cooking over low heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove Chicken from water and reserve. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and add bones and skin back to water. Continue cooking as time allows, in my case 2 episodes of Samurai Champloo. Strain solids from Broth and return to heat.

Cucumber and Basil Raita

1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
Tops of 3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
2 TBSP Basil Leaves, thinly sliced
1 Cup Yoghurt
Water
Salt, to taste

Toss Cucumber with salt and let stand in a colander for an hour or two. Rinse Cucumber and pat dry with towels. Chop Cucumber and combine with other ingredients. Thin slightly with water, add salt to taste and chill.

Little Los Angeles Fizz

One of our regular guests dropped in and asked for something “Whiskey, bitter, and sour.” She reminded me, I had last made her the often unjustly ignored Los Angeles Cocktail.

Thinking of something along those lines, I improvised the following, an unholy, and unlikely, ménage à trois between a Cynar Fizz, The Little Italy, and the Los Angeles Cocktail.

Little Los Angeles Fizz

3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Bonded Bourbon
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (or to taste)
3/4 oz Egg White
Soda Water

Briefly shake vigorously without ice. Add ice and shake until well chilled. Strain half mixed drink into fizz glass. Add splash soda to remaining unstrained mixture and strain on top of drink. Squeeze lemon peel over drink and discard.

I delivered the cocktail with a comment that is was, “A Los Angeles Cocktail turned up to 11.”

…Where Angels Fear to Tread.

Don’t Your Arms Get Tired?

Early evenings at Heaven’s Dog, especially when there is a show on at the Orpheum, we get a lot of families in to the restaurant.

The other night the restaurant was booked, so a family of 6 sat in front of me at the bar.

The young man who sat directly in front of me, probably about 8 years old, seemed to be completely fascinated by my activities making cocktails. I made some small talk with him, and eventually he asked the following question and made an observation which I thought was just the cutest, most innocent comment ever.

“Don’t your arms get tired? Because, I know when I’ve been skipping stones all day on the lake, my arms are tired the next day.”