Creamy Chicken, Potato and Orzo Soup

SO good, and so much fun to make!

Creamy (Dark-Meat) Chicken, Potato and Orzo Soup

(serves 4)
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Here's what you need:

3TB butter (or olive oil, or a combo)
1 med sweet onion
1 clove garlic
3-4 large carrots
4-5 celery stalks
2-3 lbs on-bone chicken thighs, legs or wings, or a combo
2 cups tap-hot water
1 cup chicken broth

3 large or 5-6 small potatoes: red, gold or white (don't matter)
1 cup dry orzo or rice
3/4 cup heavy cream

fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
bay leaf
oregano
basil
salt
pepper

A loaf of nice, crusty Italian bread

large stockpot
colander


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Here's what you do:

Equality in a New Decade

2010 has been a busy year for gay rights.  As the year comes to a close, repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell looks very likely, states like New York and Maryland are taking a serious look at joining 5 other states (MA, IA, CT, VT & NH) and D.C. in offering marriage equality to their LGBT citizens, and groups like the American Family Association are finally having to spend their time and energy as they should, attempting a PR battle against being classified as 'hate groups' by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

None of these events we're witnessing is minor in the grand scheme of the gay rights movement. The end of Don't Ask Don't Tell, as easily evidenced with a quick Google search, is quite the contentious topic at the moment, probably mostly on the floors of the US House and Senate. The repeal's weighty effect on our nation is further displayed in the fact that a questionnaire was distributed to all US Service members earlier this year to collect their opinion on the subject.  I suppose gay people should be flattered that the consequences of our presence demand such exploration and analysis.  Is our freedom as humans to speak openly about the truth of who we are really something that should be up to a vote?  Besides, would the same rules not apply to us?

The Future of WikiLeaks and Mr. Assange

A judge in London granted bail today to Mr. Julian Assange, the recently famous founder of the international anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, although he remains jailed currently pending the possibility of appeal.  Swedish authorities were given two days to lodge their case.

Mr. Assange is fighting a request from a Swedish judge for his extradition to that country to face sex abuse charges involving accusations made by two young female WikiLeaks volunteers.  No matter if Mr. Assange is freed today on bail, the extradition decision could take weeks or longer, the New York Times reports today.  His next court date is set for Jan 11.

Julian Assange                                                      photo:AP

He surrendered to British authorities and was jailed a week ago when a judge reviewing the extradition order declared Mr. Assange to be a flight risk because of his “nomadic lifestyle,” his lack of ties in Britain, his network of international contacts and his access to substantial sums donated by WikiLeaks supporters. From now until his Jan 11 court date, Mr. Assange has been ordered to wear an electronic tracking bracelet, live at a registered address in London and report to police every evening.

The Best R&B of 2010

IMHO

Chili!

We're big chili fans around here, and any chance to whip up a new batch and try new techniques is met with enthusiasm.  I was in St. Pete, FL for Thanksgiving with the Moms, and on Saturday we headed down to Central Avenue for the annual St. Pete Chili Cook-off.  Inspiration surrounded me.

My sister Amy sent her recipe for White Chicken Chili (click the link or find it under "Pages" on the right side of the page), which is a great family dinner recipe that only takes about 30 minutes.

Today I'm interested in making a red Turkey Chili that cooks for at least an hour after each addition. These long cooking times are, of course, not necessary.  To make it quick, I would simmer after each addition for about 15 minutes at a minimum.  But the longer it has to simmer, the yummier it'll be.  The constant you find in the majority of award-winning chili recipes is the meat, onion and garlic simmering in chicken broth for as long as possible.

This is my recipe:

Molasses Cookies

I love, love, love soft, chewy cookies of any kind, but molasses cookies have always been near the top of my list.  This recipe at Food.com is 7 years old and has 230 5-star reviews, so we can all agree it's the standard-bearer of soft molasses cookie recipes.


Most people that don't bake frequently won't have shortening laying around the house, and of course you can use butter, but if you really want your cookies to be top-notch go spend the $3 on all-vegetable shortening.  It makes them lighter and lets the more diverse tastes of the recipe come out, instead of getting bogged down in butteriness.

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup packed brown sugar.  Light or dark is fine, and each of course will make a different color cookie.  I actually used a mix of the two this time.

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Cream together shortening and brown sugar.  This is my favorite part (aside from the eating); I love the texture of the two ingredients together.

My sourdough starter

I wanted to try some variations on the no-knead bread I love to bake, and I think one of the most interestingly delicious options is sourdough.  Making sourdough bread requires the use of a starter, which is a flour/water mix left at room temperature for a few days to allow the natural yeast in the flour to create that famous sour flavor.

You can buy a starter powder, or you can make your own.  How much fun is buying the stupid powder?!

There are many different instructional sites on-line, so I found one I like, and mostly stuck to it.  (Please note: if you plan to make your own starter, you might find my account humorous, but please click the link I provided in the last sentence for actual instruction.)

Basically it all started with a cup of all-purpose white flour, a cup of whole wheat flour, and about 1 1/2 cups of warm water, combined in a plastic tupperware bowl with a little hole punched in the middle of the cover.  That is all Day 1 requires.

The starter should be fed every 24 hours for about 6 days.  So on Day 2 it got its first feeding.

When I removed the cover on Day 2, this is what I got:

Pretty gross.  I mixed in 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/3 cup warm water.  The point is to add about equal weights of each, and water is heavier.

No-Knead Bread #2

So this is the dough that started with what was left over in the bowl unscraped from my no-knead bread a few days ago.  When I made the dough it looked like this:

And only about 4 hours later, it had already doubled:

I still left it sitting on the counter overnight, lightly covered in wax paper, and grew just a bit more over the next 8 hours:

Last Tenant Moving from Cabrini-Green Tower

Annie Ricks, who raised 7 children in Cabrini-Green, moved today from her apartment in the dilapidated old white high-rise at 1230 N Burling Street, the building just northeast of the intersection of Halsted and Division on the Near North side, becoming the last resident to move out of the infamous aged structures.  Ricks, who had previously balked at leaving, departed for an apartment at Wentworth Gardens on the South Side.


"I'm kind of excited because change is good," said Ricks' 17-year-old daughter, Rose. "...I just hope it's going to be safe."


Cabrini-Green once included 23 high-rises and housed 15,000 low-income residents.  The Chicago Housing Authority first proposed demolishing the buildings in place of mixed-income townhouses in 1994.

1230 N Burling, Chicago

The building I managed for over 4 years, Renaissance North, is a mixed-finance property in the Cabrini area, and 18 of my resident families were direct transfers from the high-rises being torn down.  I became friends with most of them, great friends with a few, and while they have their issues, all of them were loving, intelligent, capable people.  And they deserve better than to be stuck in a rotting tower.  So, good riddance and never again.

Maryland Poised to Approve Same-Sex Marriage

The Maryland State Senate bucked the GOP-friendly trend seen in other states in the 2010 midterm election, with Democrats adding two seats.  Now, for the first time, a majority of Senators sitting on the crucial Judicial Proceedings Committee, on which Democratic gains in the full chamber earn them an extra seat, say they support enacting legislation allowing marriage between members of the same sex.  The Washington Post has more today.


While a GOP filibuster is likely, Senate President Thomas Miller, Jr (D-Calvert), who opposes marriage equality, says he will do all he can to bring the measure to a floor vote.  "I believe every important issue should be voted on by the full chamber at least once," he said.


"We've been on the razor's edge in terms of passage the last couple of years, and these election results create a healthy, pro-marriage majority in the General Assembly," said Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery), a committee member who supports same-sex unions.


When the General Assembly convenes next month, Democrats will hold 35 of 47 seats in the Senate and 98 of 141 seats in the House of Delegates. 


I'm proud of my home state, and I hope they do the right thing.  If you live in Maryland, find out if your representatives support equality, and if they don't, please call or write to them.  Thanks for your help.

No-Knead Bread

The New York Times published their ridiculously easy No-Knead Bread recipe back in 2006, and my dad and sisters got me hooked on repeating this 2-day process that creates delectable smells in your kitchen and can deliver store-quality bread out of your own oven.  It's so easy.

No Knead Bread

6 cups white or whole wheat flour, or a combo

1.5 TBs salt

1.5 TBs active dry yeast.  If you have the packets of yeast, just one is fine.  

3 cups warm/hot water.  About the temp of comfortable bath water.

Mix everything together until it becomes a gloopy, messy dough.  Cover it with a dish towel or wax paper, and let it sit on the counter overnight, preferably in a warmer place.  Anywhere from 8-18 hours is fine.

After about 8 hours, it begins to look like this:

Houseplants

Brett and I have some beautiful houseplants in our living room, and I have some free time on my hands, so I wanted to share their beauty with the world.  Please feel free to comment, ask questions, leave suggestions, etc.  I'll update with new pictures periodically.


This is our Dracaena Fragrans, aka corn plant, that I got about 3 years ago from a mom-n-pop plant store in the Vietnamese neighborhood in Uptown here in Chicago.

I've always had a little trouble with yellowing and warping of the leaves, and drying tips, and I try my hardest to keep it on a regular watering schedule, but it can be hard to tell.  I give it 1 1/2- 2 quarts of water every two weeks.  Also note its pot is non-draining.  It seems to be doing pretty well, I think.  I bought it in the brown clay pot the tiny money tree is in now at the very bottom of the post, so that shows you how much it's grown.  It's been very resilient.