Someone Get Mother Nature a Midol!

I'm pretty sure Mother Nature is suffering from PMS.  She can’t seem to figure out what she wants to do.  At the moment, it’s decided to be cold and miserable again, and for some reason that feels even worse than when it gets cold the first time around.  Well, since I couldn’t seem to get warm, I decided it was time to try warming myself from the inside out.  What better way to do that than with chicken soup?  And what better way to have chicken soup that with homemade noodles like I used to have when I was a kid.  A nice thick, rich broth with big chunks of chicken and chewy, delicious noodles.  Sounds good, right? 

Here’s what you’ll need for the noodles:

2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Yep, that’s it.  3 ingredients.  The process of making the noodles is almost as simple.  Mix together your flour and salt, and make a well in the middle. 

Whisk all your eggs and pour them in.  Slowly start stirring in the flour. 

Just add from the edges and stir.  You’ll probably have to get your hands in there at some point. 

Eventually, it will come together into a ball. 

If your hands don’t look something like this, you’re not doing it right. 

Dump the dough onto a floured surface and sprinkle flour over the top. 

Knead until it looks something like this:

Make sure it’s well floured all the way around, then wrap the whole thing in plastic and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.  After that, remove it from the plastic and cut it in half.  Return half of the dough to the plastic, and the other to a floured surface. 

Can’t really take pictures of the rolling process because… well… it takes both hands, but I’m sure you can figure it out.  Just keep everything well floured and keep moving the dough around so it doesn’t stick.  When you get to the right thickness, it should look something like this:

That’s somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inch, I’d say.  Now it’s time to cut the noodles.  A pizza cutter works fabulously for this.

Cut the dough into long strips. 

Apparently I was cutting while intoxicated, but that’s what makes homemade noodles homemade, right?  Cut the strips into whatever length noodles you like. 

Toss them with more flour so they won’t stick together and spread them onto a rack.  Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.  That way they can dry out a bit while you work on the soup.   

Here’s what you’ll need for the soup:

• Chicken, I used 4 bone-in breasts, but use whatever pieces you like
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bunch of celery
• 2 carrots  
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• Parsley
• Water

In a pan over medium high heat, put a tablespoon of oil and brown your chicken on all sides. 

Add the pepper, half of the celery and onion, the garlic (peel the cloves, but leave them whole), and a tablespoon or so of chopped parsley.  Add enough water to the pan to cover everything. 

Bring it to a boil and allow it to simmer for 40 minutes.  It’s a good time for a break.  After that, remove the chicken pieces from the pan.  Just put them aside to cool for a few minutes. 

Strain the liquid and return it to the pan. 

Add the remaining celery and onion, and the carrots.  Allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes. 

During that time, pull the meat off the chicken pieces, and tear it into whatever size chunks you want.  I like mine a bit on the large side. (That's what she said!!) 

Add it to the pot.

Start adding your noodles a little at a time, stirring after each addition.

Mmmmm… noodles.  They only take a few minutes to cook.  Now’s a good time to add another tablespoon of chopped parsley, as well.   

You can serve it as is, but I like my broth to be a little thick.  Sometimes the flour on the noodles is enough, but this time I needed a bit more.  Whisk together 3 tablespoons flour and ½ cup cold water.  Stir it into the pot, and bring the whole thing back to a boil. 

Allow it sit for a few minutes before serving, then just ladle it into a big bowl.  Then, if your hubby’s out of town and you’re home alone, just snuggle up in your favorite spot, wrapped in a nice cozy blanket, and finally get warm.  Mmmmm.  It doesn’t hurt if you have a little furry space heater in your lap, patiently waiting for you to finish so he can lick the bowl. 

What warms you up when it’s cold outside?   

Zucchini Fettuccini

Not a noodle!

Side dishes are usually overlooked and kinda boring. No wonder they're overlooked.

This one is definitely not one of those.

There are some days when boiling a huge pot of water just seems like too much trouble. Especially in the summer when it's warm outside and adding humidity to the house is the last thing you want to do. It's not quite that warm here yet, but I've been craving zucchini, and this is a fun way to eat it. I'll bet even kids would be willing to try them this way!

Zucchini Fettuccini

(this serves one, multiply as needed!)

• 1 zucchini
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 clove garlic

Using a vegetable peeler, or a mandolin (if you have one) peel thin strips off the zucchini.

Keep going with the peeler. Don't worry if the strips are even in width, or if they break a bit.

The middle, where all the seeds are, won't work well, so don't worry about it. Just keep turning and peeling the zuke until you've turned as much of it into ribbons as possible.

Heat a large pan over high heat. The goal here is to really sautee these things. You don't want them to steam at all. Zucchini has a very high moisture content, and we want to trap that moisture inside the "fettuccini."

Chop the garlic. Get the butter sizzling, then drop in the garlic. It and the butter will start to brown pretty fast. As soon as you see that golden edge, drop in your zucchini.

Keep the fettuccini moving around and DON'T add salt. Salt will draw that moisture out, and we want it trapped. It takes about 3 minutes for the zucchini to cook.

Topped with a bit of grated parm, or a tiny sprinkle of lemon zest..

These not-a-noodles, make a perfect side dish

Hm. What should I put on the other half of the plate...

How about chicken picatta?

I'll bet the zucchini fettuccini would be great next to Taneasha's little turkey meatloafs too!

What would you put on the other side of the plate?