SWIRL KITCHEN: JEWISH PENICILLIN AKA CHICKEN SOUP

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I swear by Chicken Soup. I truly believe Jewish Penicillin can cure whatever ails you. Well, maybe not everything, but pretty damn close in my book.

I’ve been kinda under the weather, I’m pretending it’s allergies. I mean the weather is changing and that usually causes allergies… Right? You know the saying “the lady doth protest too much”? Yeah, I probably have a cold. Well, F you cold virus! I decided to make a pot of my Grandmama’s Chicken Soup.

For some reason people seem to think making chicken soup is complicated and they’d rather buy that canned crap that has God knows what in it. All I am gonna say is ew.

*Please note that if you don’t want to continue reading this step by step process, all you have to do to make chicken soup is throw some chicken and a crapload of other stuff into a pot of water and boil it. Oh, and add salt. Lots of it.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN SOUP:

Pot of water and chicken

I like to use vegetarian fed, antibiotic and hormone free chicken. Trust me. Make the switch. It might be a couple of dollars more but you will seriously taste the difference. I’m a big believe in eating real food, free from added crap. Plus the chickens are treated better.

Celery (optional). I personally hate celery so I don’t use it.

Carrots / Parsnips / Tomato / Onion /Sea Salt

Egg Noodles

For some reason I had one hell of a time finding egg noodles. However, there were plenty of egg white noodles. I was like, no. Get the real thing. 

Dill (optional) 

I enjoy the taste of dill in my soup. It’s not a make or break it deal for me. I added it in upon the request of my boyfriend. I’m such a good girlfriend.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Make sure you use a large pot for your soup.

• Fill it with water, not to the top. You want to make sure you have plenty of room for the veggies and chicken.

• Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and place in pot of water. Bring to a boil.

• You’re gonna notice some scum starts to float to the top. Scrap it off. Repeat as necessary.

• Remove core from Tomato and add to the pot.

• Peel and chop Onion in half and add to the pot.

• Peel and chop Carrots and Parsnip and add to the pot.

• Add Salt. You’re gonna have to keep adding salt till the soup gets to your desired level of saltiness. Yeah it may look like a lot, but who wants blah flavored soup?

• Cover and reduce heat a tad.

• Meanwhile take those egg noodles and follow the instructions on your packet.

• Continue to cook the soup for another 45 mins or so.

• When chicken is done remove from pot and let cool.

• Take the chicken and shread it apart, removing skin and bones. Add the meat to the pot.

• Take those noodles, throw them in a bowl. Top with chicken soup. 

Boom. Dig in and enjoy! It sure helped me feel loads better. I even eat this chicken soup for breakfast!

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Recipe originally shared on MeSoHapa and was generously shared with us by Alex Chester.

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SWIRL KITCHEN: BLUE APRON'S CONGEE & CARAMELIZED PORK

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This week we're all scouring our recipes and cookbooks to share our favorite Ethnic dishes! I love to cook and in the last few years I have become increasingly passionate about it. Pinterest really fueled my passion originally and became my favorite way for saving recipes and trying out new flavors. Then about a year and a half ago I started using Blue Apron and fell in love with how easy they make it to try new foods from around the globe. 

So I am sharing one of my all-time favorite Blue Apron recipes with you. In my kitchen I have a huge stack of over 200 recipes from Blue Apron and instantly I thought of this particular dish. It is so delicious and it's a great example of something I probably never would have tried cooking before I caught the Blue Apron bug! The recipe was created by Top Chef alum Mei Lin. 

BLUE APRON CONGEE & CARAMELIZED PORK WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS AND BLACK GARLIC

Photo from Blue Apron

Photo from Blue Apron

Click on photo for full recipe

The flavors in this dish are incredible, super rich with the pork balanced with sweeter flavors. The best part about using Blue Apron is that they give you just the right amounts of all the ingredients so that you don't need to buy $50 worth of ingredients to test out a new recipe, but this recipe would not be that expensive to recreate at home. Your friends and family would definitely be impressed! 

What are your favorite ethnic recipes?! Let us know so we can try them out! 

An image of my finished product! 

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UNICEF is getting kids active for a good cause

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This morning I was roaming Facebook from bed when I came across this story on Inhabitots about the new UNICEF Kid Power Band. The Power Band works like a Fit Bit but for every 2,500 steps a child takes he or she earns one Kid Power Point. Five Power Points unlocks one packet of food for a child in need around the globe. In addition $10 of the purchase price of the band goes to UNICEF (the band costs $39.99 at Target).

To get kids engaged that have also paired up an app with the Power Band that takes kids and their families around the world, completing missions and learning about cultures around the world. I really love this idea because of course every parent wants their child to be active and healthy but I think empowering them to help other children is a powerful combination. I know my daughter would be much more likely to focus on her activity level if she could track her milestones to donations. I will definitely be running to Target to purchase this for her! 

For more information on the UNICEF Kid Power program, visit www.unicefkidpower.org.

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SUPER CUTE MULTICULTURAL GEAR!

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I recently came across Mixed Nation on Pinterest and love their shirts and gear for kids and adults. When my daughter was a baby I came across a similar clothing brand and purchased her the cutest shirt with a swirl ice cream cone on it so finding this site brought back some memories! 

I love anything that promotes self love and being proud of exactly who you are. If you know of other brands creating multicultural clothing we would love to know about it! 

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TOYS THAT CAN BE CUSTOMIZED TO CREATE ANY FAMILY!

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How amazing are these new toys by MyFamilyBuilders?! I first saw them on Upworthy and fell in love!  

They got their start on Kickstarter and received funding! I'm not surprised because as the Upworthy article states there are so many families out there who are not represented in what is typically seen on the toy store shelves or on mainstream media. 

Here are some great stats Upworthy shared: 

• In 2011 there were 4.2 million multiracial children in the U.S.
• 30% of families with children were single-parent families (U.S. Census Bureau 2008)
• In 2013, nearly 220,000 children under the age of 18 were being raised in same-sex parent families
• 7% of American children are adopted or stepchildren, many with parents of different cultures than their own
• Full stats can be found in there original form

I hope to see these toys and more toys like it represented in every major toy store! 

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