By: Becca
My very delightful, very British mother, Sylvia, came for a visit over the weekend. I think she was actually still a bit miffed that she had to miss last summer’s Summer Brunch Soiree, and so she absolutely had to be here for our second event, Sunday’s yoga brunch.
She illustrated the invitations’ artwork, featuring me and Cori Sue doing yoga poses—along with our Bitches Who Brunch logo over to the left of this—and so she wanted to offer her adorable yoga greeting cards to our guests (they’re available online here, too).
But, besides the event, we were entirely unmotivated to do much in D.C. due to the nasty freezing weather. And so we set about reading, watching movies, and just generally relaxing in my cozy apartment with tea and yummy food.
Last night, I came home from work soggy and frozen—it was not rain, not snow, but freezing mist—so she quickly whipped up some soup. And when I say quickly, I mean quickly. I had always thought that homemade soup requires food processors, hard-to-find vegetables, and hours simmering in a pot. Apparently, it simply requires some chicken, veggies, and stock.
Mummy Love’s Easy Peasy Winter Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients:
- Three boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Chicken stock, 32 ounces
- Bowtie Egg Noodles, 6 ounce box (or, half a 12 ounce box)
- Olive oil
- ½ a stick of butter
- 1 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 big white onion, chopped
- 1 bag of celery, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Oregano
- Basil
- Cumin
Chop the chicken breasts into cubes and cook on the stove top in a bit of olive oil. From Mummy Love: “Just seal the chicken, they don’t need to be cooked through, the soup itself will cook them through.” Put them on a plate to the side.
Butter the bottom of a big soup pot that’s on medium heat, then put the chopped vegetables in to sauté them. Top them with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are transparent.
Pour a carton of chicken broth in. “Yes, the whole 32 ounces. Yes, you can do it the hard way and cook the chicken and use the chicken juices. Or you can do it the easy way and just buy chicken broth.”
Put the chicken in; add oregano and basil, and “just a pinch of cumin for a kick.” Put a lid on the pot and let that cook on medium for about 30 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t boil.
Add a cup of water to the soup mixture, and then put egg noodles, uncooked, into the pot 15 minutes before you want to eat it. With this soup, you don’t boil the pasta, you just keep it at its steady medium, and so the pasta is al dente, and not soggy. Done!
[...] is a frequent pit stop for me, usually for three key reasons: 1. I need some mom time (and some clothes and shoes from her closet). 2. Need to detox. Hike. Get some fresh air. 3. I am [...]