Bone Marrow Chicken Stock and Dumplings

Chicken Bone Marrow Broth

Add the dumplings and this dish is similar to Kreplach.

We made Hoisin chicken legs before. Now we get to use the leftover bones.

• 10 bones chicken legs (cracked in half)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (more or less as desired)
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper (more or less as desired)
• 1 handful chopped, fresh dill
• 1 carrot (sliced)
• 3 quarts water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 ea potato and onion pierogies

1. Cut the chicken legs in half. Use a rubber hammer to bang the knife down to cut the bone if necessary.

   
   
   

2. Put the bones in the pot with the water and lemon juice and simmer covered for 4 hours and uncovered for 2 hours.

3. Strain the contents into a second pot. Add the carrots. Simmer one hour longer.

4. During the last 10 minutes, add the dumplings.

5. When the dumplings are floating, add the fresh dill. Adjust the seasonings.

6. Stir and serve.

This is the best stock you will ever make. It revitalizes and just plain tastes good.

 

Hot and Sour Soup and Sesame Noodles

The Lonely Guy Cooks Chinese

Hot and Sour Soup: The heat comes from white pepper and the sour comes from rice wine vinegar.

Sesame Noodles: The taste comes from sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds and peanut butter. I got the basic idea for this recipe from reading other ones. Once I got the general idea, I developed this - and no doubt nontraditional - recipe.

The soup can be assembled quickly. Do that first.

Hot and Sour Soup

32 oz vegetable or chicken stock
4 oz sliced shiitake mushrooms
4 oz sliced cremini mushrooms (sometimes labeled "baby bellas")
1 handful of soybean sprouts - fresh if possible or from a can, drained and rinsed
1 handful of finely sliced scallions
6-8 oz firm tofu cut into rectangular strips
1/4 - 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
Chili flakes as desired - start with a good pinch
White pepper as desired - try 2 teaspoons for starters
2 tbsp Soy sauce for color and saltiness
1 large beaten egg
2 tablespoons cornstarch and water made into a slurry at the last moment

Get all the ingredients in a pot except for the egg and the cornstarch. Bring to a simmer.

Slowly drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring the soup.

Once the soup returns to a simmer, slowly drizzle in the cornstarch slurry while stirring well.

Taste. Add soy for more saltiness. Add white pepper for more heat. Add more vinegar if desired.

Simmer slowly. 





Note that this recipe can be vegan if the egg is eliminated.

Sesame Noodles

8 oz lo mien noodles, fresh if possible - or spaghetti
1 round tablespoon of creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 pinch of sugar
Hot cooking water as needed to thin the sauce
Roasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions, bean sprouts for garnish

I am amazed at the thickening power of peanut butter. I probably added 5-6 tablespoons of cooking water to get a sauce with a syrup-like consistency.

Slowly warm the peanut butter, sesame oil, ginger, chili sauce, vinegar and sugar. Add water as needed while warming to get a syrup-like consistency. Taste. Adjust the ingredients as desired.

Cook the noodles or pasta according to package directions. Add the noodles to the pan with the sauce. Stir and toss. 

Plate and garnish with roasted sesame seeds, scallions and sprouts.



Fresh bean sprouts, shiitakes, lo mien noodles and roasted sesame seeds might not be available in the local supermarket. I have a Korean market near me that also has Chinese, Thai and Japanese products. I will bet that a local gourmet market would have these ingredients as well.

Substitutions? Any mushroom will do. No lo mien? Spaghetti or vermicelli pasta will work. Worst case scenario with the sesame seeds is you buy the raw ones and toast them in a dry pan. No rice wine vinegar? One tablespoon of white vinegar will substitute. No fresh sprouts? There are the La Choy sprouts in a can, but I can't recommend them.

These recipes were a lesson in flavors and balance of flavors. As far as enjoyment, I am a hot and sour soup junkie. Now I can make it at home.

The sesame noodles... well, when I keep shoveling the grub into my pie-hole, I know I have a winner!

Falafel Burgers and Tomato Soup

Start with the tzatziki sauce.



1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup peeled, seeded, finely grated cucumber
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried mint leaves
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Normally, I would use freshly chopped mint but couldn't find any that day at the market.

The cucumber: Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. You should be left with two cucumber canoes.

Grate finely on a box grater or chop it up real good with a chef's knife. Keep the juice. The Greek yogurt is very thick.

Mix all the ingredients together.



Next, make the falafel.

16-20 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained, washed and drained again
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil for the falafel
1 tbsp water plus more to get the right consistency for the burger
4 Saltine crackers, finely crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup olive oil for frying

Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl with the back of a soup spoon. If the mixture is crumbly, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until you can form into a ball. Cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Start the tomato soup.



28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 large, fresh tomato, chopped
1/3 cup peeled, seeded, finely grated and drained cucumber
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp salt (or to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Generous squeeze of lemon juice.

To drain the cucumber, grate on a paper towel.

In summer, I would use very ripe, peeled and partially seeded tomatoes. I say partially seeded because I like some of the jelly-like substance that holds the seeds. Chop and pulse the pieces of tomato in a blender, just short of a puree consistency.

Put everything in pot and bring to a simmer.

Finish.

Form the chickpea mixture into patties and shallow fry in the oil. Fry a little past golden but not brown. If you don't fry long enough, they will fall apart.

When done, drain the oil from the burgers on a rack or some paper towels.

Serve the falafel with the tzatziki, tomato and lettuce on a pita or some other kind of soft flatbread.

Soup as a Meal

Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a peasant for dinner. Do I believe that? To an extent, yes. I think it is not a good thing to have a big meal at night and then go to bed. Seems like a surefire way to gain weight. Having broken that rule many times, I do feel better when I have a simple meal for lunch or dinner.

 

Sour Purple Cabbage Soup

• 1/2 head of a large purple cabbage


• 1 medium carrot


• 1 medium potato peeled (or several new potatoes)


• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar


• 1/2 cup sauerkraut


• 32 oz water or chicken stock or vegetable stock


• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Remove as much of the white core of the cabbage as possible. Shred the cabbage. Cut the potato into chunks. Slice the carrot. Put all ingredients in a big pot. Add the cider vinegar, sauerkraut and stock (or water) and simmer 30-40 minutes. Let cool.

In batches if necessary, add everything into the blender and blend until smooth.

Serve a big hot or cold bowl with a big dollop of fat free Greek yogurt and a hunk of crusty bread.

With the antioxidants and probiotics in this dish, you will feel strong. Strong like Russian bear. Strong like bull? Or was it strong like Polish ox? Anyway, it's delicious!