Kids Dish

Yesterday at Nursing Your Kids I wrote that The New York Times reports that the FDA plans to ban over the counter multi-symptom cough and cold medicines marketed to kids. The drug hasn’t been tested children under the age of six yet it’s marketed to kids as young as two. This ban could effect 800 different medications including Toddler’s Dimetapp, Triaminic Infant and Little Colds.

Since Sam’s too little for cough and cold medicines I’ve got to get ready for a germ-infested winter in other ways. In preparation for cough and cold season here’s a recipe for good old-fashioned chicken soup. While there’s no real proof that chicken soup has medicinal effects, my Jewish grandmother and millions of other grandmothers will swear otherwise. This recipe is the real deal. It’s 100% homemade without a single boullion cube or can of stock in sight. So make a big batch and freeze some for later.

Chicken Soup

1. Put the water, chicken and giblets (not the liver) in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Skim off the froth.

2. Make a bouquet garni with the herbs, reserving two tablespoons of dill, tying them together in a piece of cheesecloth.

3. Add onions, garlic, celery, turnip, parsnip, 4 carrots, parsley, bouquet garni , salt and pepper to the pot. Return to a boil, cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

4. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Strain the soup, discarding the vegetables and bouquet garni, and refrigerate the liquid until the fat solidifies at the top. (If you want to eat the soup immediately, skim as much as you can and refrigerate the unused portion.) Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and cut the meat into small pieces or shred it.

5. Remove the fat from the soup. Just before reheating cut the remaining carrots into bite sized pieces. Add the carrots and chicken to the pot and cook until the carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve with the remaining dill sprinkled on top. If you like, you can add cooked noodles or rice to the soup as well.

This soup is darker than the stuff that comes in a can, so if you like it lighter peel the onions- the dark color (and some of the flavor) comes from the skin.

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