A Little Bit About Me

I was born a northerner. My parents are from the North. We moved to the south when I was very young, but I was indoctrinated with northern ways of cooking. Rice with a meal? Seafood that wasn't steamed? I can remember going over to a friend's house in New Orleans, and eating rice with chicken. It was such a foreign concept. I grew up eating potatoes. Potatoes with everything. When I finally became a teenager, I really began to appreciate Louisiana cuisine.

I feel fortunate, because I've been exposed to a variety of styles. In my cooking I pull from all of those areas.

Going back to my birth roots, this is a simple yet tasty recipe passed down from my mom and her mom before her. I think my great-grandmother made it too. My mom's and grandmother's versions varied slightly but the core of it is the same. Mine is almost an exact replica of my mother's.

It's starting to get cold, so what can be better than chicken soup. Chicken can be boring, and soup can be boring, but this soup packed with veggies, is a great dish on cold days. It's the perfect comfort food.

Mom's Chicken Soup

5 skinless, bone chicken breasts
1 yellow onion
celery, enough to equal the onion
carrots, any variety, I'll cut my own, or use shredded or sliced
potatoes, yellow
cream of celery, 2 cans

This is a really simple dish. Put the chicken breasts in a pot of water, and boil for about an hour. Remove chicken breasts. Add cream of celery and all veggies, diced up into pot, stir on medium heat. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove from bone and shred or roughly chop. Add back to pot. Cook on medium low until potatoes and other veggies soften. I cook it usually for at least a couple of hours. If soup is too thick add some water. If to thin, add half a can of cream of celery. I use no seasoning in this dish when I make it. Once I ladle out a portion I will add salt and pepper.

My mom, dad, and wife, prefer to add egg noodles to their soup. I am not a fan. I like it as is. Again, a great comfort food from my childhood days. Hopefully my daughter will grow to like it, but when I tried to feed it to her the other day, she spit it out. One of the first foods she hasn't liked Doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, but what does a two year old know. If she had her way she'd eat Oreos all day. My wife would too.