My New Year Advice

My New Year Advice

Get your vitamins A, D, and B, and mind your Ps and Qs

Posted on January 11, 2018

Anyone who knows me knows I love my carbs as much as, if not more than, the next guy. Do I love big, fat, buttery egg noodles lounging around in my chicken soup? Why yes, I do. But just like the rest of you, I have just spent the past three weeks eating and drinking like a bear getting ready for hibernation, so it’s time for me to lighten up my cooking for a bit.

Here is a healthy, vegetable-packed soup to start off the New Year. Instead of finishing it off with egg noodles like I usually do, I add some cooked “nests” of spaghetti squash. Then, I finish it with an olive oil-poached egg on top for a little protein and extra flavor. Spaghetti squash is packed with things that are good for you — it’s high in selenium and vitamins A, B, C, and D. As weird as this sounds, I start by cooking a chicken for the broth and its anti-viral properties, but I don’t add the meat to the soup. I use it for another dish later in the week, like tacos or enchiladas. You can always add the chicken to the soup if you’d like, and omit the egg. Like the commercial says, soup is good for the soul — and this one’s good for your body, too! Terryl Gavre, owner of Cafe 222/co-owner of Bankers Hill + Restaurant, peaceloveandmayo.com

One Big Pot:
Fill up halfway with water.

Add:
Whole chicken (sans the gizzard, liver and heart)
1 cup each chopped celery, carrot, onion
6-8 whole, peeled garlic cloves
1 bay leaf

1. Cook until chicken is tender, about 60-90 minutes, depending on size, skimming to remove foam until foam no longer forms along top of water.
2. Remove chicken from pot and place in a large bowl to cool. Remove the bay leaf.
3. Using either a hand immersion blender or a Vitamix, completely blend soup until there is no sign of vegetable chunks. (This will produce a cloudy broth, rather than clear, but think of all the veggies you are getting.)
4. Place soup back on heat, add 1 cup each chopped celery, carrots and onions, and bring to boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
5. While vegetables are cooking, cut a medium-sized spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, and discard seeds and webby insides. Lightly rub with butter or oil, generously salt and pepper, wrap in waxed paper, and cook in microwave oven on high heat until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
6. Once squash is cool enough to handle, remove strands of squash by scraping with a fork. Place on a plate.
7. When vegetables are tender, add to the soup: 2 tablespoons dry chicken base (or 2 chicken bouillon cubes), 1 teaspoon dry sage, 1 teaspoon dry marjoram, and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Lastly, add ½ bag each of frozen petite peas and corn. Stir into hot soup as they don’t need to cook; just thaw and heat.

To Serve:
Dish soup into a shallow bowl and place one “nest” of squash in the center of each bowl. Top with farm egg cooked up, that has been slowly poached in a very thin layer of olive oil.