Tide Mill Whole Chicken Soup

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In my previous post, I mentioned my nasty-all-consming-really-gross head cold.  Honestly, it was just a cold, but I’m kind of whiny and the thing that I love most when I’m sick is soup, so I made some.  Chicken soup to be precise, with one small whole chicken from Tide Mill Organic Farm!  This was, by far, the best chicken soup I’ve ever eaten. [Editor’s Note: Agreed] And while, yes, it made my entire apartment smell divine, it also just hit the spot and made me feel better when I felt awful.

On my afternoon of staying home from work sick, I remembered a 2.5lb chicken in my freezer and the need to get it out of there (a very good choice on my part as the 2.5lb chicken was replaced by a 15.5lb turkey after Thanksgiving).  I pulled the chicken out and rifled around in the fridge, emerging victorious with parsnips, leeks, celery and carrots.  Such fortuitous finds (I hadn’t been to the grocery store in a bit; that I had any veggies in the fridge that were still good was a surprise!).

I threw my whole (frozen) chicken, 2 of the leeks cut into 4 inch lengths and rinsed, half stalks of celery, 3 crushed and peeled garlic cloves, split parsnips and lengths of carrot all into my trusty 6 qt Le Creuset Stock pot (I love this pot, BTW), covered the whole thing with water, and walked away.  In about half an hour, my apartment started to smell divine, even through my stuffed-up nose; I couldn’t wait for the soup to finish.  So here it is, a basic and delicious chicken soup.  And it will make you feel better if you aren’t feeling well.  I swear.

Kathy’s Homemade Whole Chicken Soup
Note: I didn’t add any starch to this soup with it’s initial making, but the second night I added rice and it was wonderful, so maybe try that if you want it to be more substantial and less brothy!  Alternatively, you can use premade broth and poach a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts in it, then shred them to get the soup without the homemade stock.

For Soup Broth
1 small whole chicken (2-3lbs)
3 whole leeks rinsed and green ends trimmed, cut into 3 inch lengths
2 parsnips, ends cut off and cut into 3 inch lengths
3 cloves whole garlic smashed with a knife
2 whole carrots, ends trimmed and cut into 3 inch lengths
2-3 stalks celery, rinsed and cut into 3 inch lengths
water to cover (4 cups)

Add the chicken (sans gizzards) and all of your vegetables to a stock pot and cover in water.  Turn your burner on low-med and let the whole thing simmer for 1 – 1 1/2 hours.  Everything will smell amazing.  Remove the chicken from the broth to a cutting board to sit for a minute and cool.  Strain the broth from your pot into a bowl reserving both the liquid and the strained out solids, I love a metal mesh strainer for this, it can handle the heat and is super cheap!  Return your solids to the pot you initially had them in, leaving the broth in a clean pot.  Skin your chicken and remove whatever meat you want from the bird.  Add the skin and chicken carcass to the pot you put the strained out vegetable solids in, cover this with more water and let it come to another simmer.  You can reserve this broth for another soup later, or freeze it; it’s pretty great for that.

For the Soup
Meat from 1 small chicken, shredded or 2 chicken breasts (3 thighs) poached in broth and shredded
4 cups of broth
1/2 red pepper cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 green pepper cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup celery, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2-3 carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 leek, rinsed/cleaned and cut into 1/2 rounds
2 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1/2 cup rice or egg noodles (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté the leeks, onions and garlic over medium heat until fragrant and soft (3-4 minutes).  Add the celery and carrots and sauté until soft (another 3-4 minutes).  Add the peppers and stir until soft (1-2 minutes).  Add the broth and chicken and let the whole thing come up to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste and lower the heat to low and continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  If you are adding the rice/noodles, do that now and let them cook through.  Serve this soup with a pat of butter on top and a big spoon.  It’s comforting and delicious for the cold and flu season; bring it to someone that’s sick.  They’ll appreciate it.  I swear.

A Visit to Tide Mill

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I’ve been a bit MIA for the past couple of weeks, and I am truly sorry about that.  From an incredibly nasty cold and what seemed like a birthday every other day (okay not every other day, but it felt like it;  I’ve celebrated 5 birthdays this month), to the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve barely had time to check my email, let alone check in here.  But here I am, finally, after the madness and driving that going home for the holidays entails.  There was little traffic and there was still Maine and my parents house that sits just inland enough to be warm and not too windy.  And there was a farm.  Tide Mill Organic Farm to be specific.

Tide Mill Farm is a wonderful place where they go carol to the cows and host an autumn ball.  My mom has been working at Tide Mill for about three years now and always comes home with stories; a chicken with a crooked beak that was terribly friendly (they named him Crooked Beak and hand fed him) or having “tea-time” to break up one of the long turkey slaughter days.  My mom only helped with turkey slaughter this fall, but was there this past spring for a lot of the chicken slaughter, helping with seedlings, and to see newborn piglets.
Tide Mill Organic Farm has been run by the Bell Family for nine generations in Edmunds, Maine.  The sixteen-hundred acre farm property sits right on the coast and makes me jealous of the views that the cows get from their pasture.

My mom and I drove the three miles over to Tide Mill on Thanksgiving morning to meet Hailey, the oldest of Carly and Aaron’s children (she’s ten) making ice cream while Carly was putting her turkey in the oven.  Carly and I chatted for a bit while my mom and Henry (the youngest at five years old) churned the ice cream and Paige (eight) bounced around creating a face on a red cabbage.

Then my mom brought me around the farm a bit.  I met Llary the Llama,

many adorable piglets covered in spots,

and calves of all ages, from newborns (one to three weeks old and soso soft)

to some that were three months old!

They were all so cute, I couldn’t stop taking their pictures!

Tide Mill Organic Farm is a working farm that has been nationally recognized as a Bicentennial Farm.  They are also a presence at the Common Ground Country Fair that is hosted in Unity, Maine every year.  Tide Mill Farm also provides produce, and coordinates local items from COMOC (Crown of Maine Organic Cooperative), Gardenside Dairy, and Jessica Zanoni’s dairy products, etc. for the local co-ops in the area (which includes Calais, Lubec, and Machias) and their products can be found weekly in health-minded stores from Belfast to Bar Harbor and Calais.  They are a great farm and a great presence in Washington County, teaching locals about local farming and sustainability.

Tide Mill farm raises their own pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys.  The farm also grows crops, hosts a small farm stand on Saturdays in the summer, and sells seedlings at the Whiting Village store at the end of May.  They sell raw organic milk on the farm and you can buy their milk pasteurized in Maine as part of the Maine’s Own Organic Milk (MOOMilk) project.  Also if you are in need of a wreath for your holiday season, why not check theirs out? If you want to learn more about them, check out the website and email them, they’re always willing to answer questions and want to help you learn more about what they do!

A huge thanks to Carly, Aaron, and the rest of the Bell family for letting me come wander and also to my mom for acting as tour guide! It was great to meet the calves, piglets, and Llary; and even better to use the produce in some of our Thanksgiving dishes!  I can’t wait to come back next summer and see everything alive and green!

The Bell-DelSignore Family
(Bell family photo courtesy of Tide Mill Organic Farm’s own site)

Blogger Brunch At East Coast Grill

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On Sunday morning, in lieu of nursing the tail end of a cold, I went to Blogger Brunch.  Frankly, this was a great decision!  Everything at this particular Blogger Brunch had wonderful spice.  Also, I got to spend some time with and meet some fantastic people: Robin of Doves and Figs, Karen of Gourmet Recipes for 1, and Elizabeth of Free Food Boston just to name a few!  BF and I arrived late to the brunch, so we missed the first round of appetizers (I was way looking forward to that banana-guava ketchup!) But managed to get the second and third rounds which included a Banana Rellena (Muy Caliente!), a Smoked Pork Stuffed Banana with Inner Beauty Hot Sauce:

And wonderful Monterey Jack Grits with molasses-glazed Grilled Banana, Pinapple, Jalapenos, Toasted Pecans and Crispy Smoked Bacon:

Boyfriend and I were both hopelessly in love with these grits and left stating that we would order them as full meals with a poached egg in the future.  They were perfect, though neither of us has really had grits [Editor’s note: I have too had them before! In the South even!], so we aren’t true judges of southern cuisine but these were heaven and with a piece of the pineapple, it was love in your mouth.

Then came the entrees:

I got a Breakfast platter “In the Style of the Yucatan” which was cheesy Scrambled eggs, Black Beans n’ Rice,  Mango-Avacado-Hearts of Palm Salad, Sweet Fried Plaintains, Salsa Roja and a warm Flour Tortilla.  I loved the salad and the Plaintains, but my eggs were a little bit dry.

BF got Cornbread Crusted French Toast With Orange Marmalade, Tropical Fruit and Real Vermont Maple Syrup.  Two thumbs way up to ECG for the real syrup here, you just showed a couple of New England kids that we can have real syrup if we just look hard enough.  Also the French Toast was delicious (I stole some!).

A big thank you goes out to our servers Robin and Arthur who were accomodating and delightful throughout the whole adventure.  You were patient with 20+ foodies who had questions and wanted to photograph everything; Kudos!  Also a huge and grateful shout out to Renee who orchestrated this whole event, you are awesome!  If you haven’t seen her blog yet, go check it out!  This was a great Boston Foodie Outing and I can’t wait to attend some more of them!

East Coast Grill on Urbanspoon

Weekend of eating out (Part 2)

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After my indulgent and delicious dinner at Dali, my weekend of eating out continued with an adventure to New Hampshire to meet up with BF’s family for lunch and geocaching in Plymouth, NH.  I had started to come down with a cold the night before and throughout the whole meal I just wanted to be in bed.  I ate about 4 bites of the whole meal, being careful the whole time to not actually touch anything that was in a communal dish or plate.

I’ve eaten at the Common Man restaurants fairly often while I’ve been with BF; his mom tends to thoroughly enjoy the food at their restaurants and they consistently have wonderful service.  Saturday’s lunch was no exception.  We met up in the parking lot of The Common Man Inn and Spa and went inside to a funky dining room full of rustic charm and a truly awesome chandelier.

There was a large block of cheddar cheese and a basket of crackers as soon as we walked in the door.  We were seated immediately and the server took our drink orders with a smile and recommendations.  I got hot cider to soothe my sore throat and BF’s mom ordered the Carrot Cake – a mix of cider and caramel vodka amongst other things.  The hot cider was delicious, perfectly spiced, and felt fantastic on my raw throat.

Next came the appetizers: Poutine made with Gouda was the star of the show.

Mussels simmered in a white wine sauce were a little overcooked but the sauce was creamy and rich – perfect for bread dipping.

As for main dishes, BF ordered the Sugar Shack burger – which he described as anti-climactic (I trust his judgement; he is my resident burger aficionado).

I ordered the Chicken Melt – also anticlimactic and terribly dry.

Next time: I’ll stick to the mixed drinks and toddies; they were delicious.  And I’ve never had a bad dinner meal at their locations, but maybe skip the lighter lunch fair.

Dinner at Dali

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On Friday night Boyfriend and I (finally) went out or our anniversary. We’ve been together for 6 years and have marked every year that passes with another awesome meal to celebrate us. This was a tradition I started in our first year when we were both broke and I threw us a picnic on my dorm room floor; cheese, sparkling cider, and grapes. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious.  After that, it was The Boiler Room – a small place near our school that specialized in gourmet “American” cuisine (which sadly, is now closed).  But then we moved to Boston and its suburbs where there were more options and the food was even better. Last year we went to the Soiree Room at Upstairs on the Square, where I ate a perfect amuse-bouche of stuffed brussel sprouts while our attentive server helped us choose a perfect wine to pair with our meals.  This year BF took the reins and chose our anniversary dinner dining destination, and he made a very good choice.  He chose Dali – a place full of just my kind of whimsy; there was something to scope out everywhere you looked. From the ridiculous smiling boar to the tiles in the table, I was caught in the feel of the place.

In our slightly cramped quarters (the hostess sat us beside a large family which could have been easily averted as there were many other open tables at the time) we started the evening off by ordering a liter of the house Sangria which was delicious and made for a wonderful companion drink for the whole meal.  Our server was charming – answering questions and helping us with pronunciation when we faltered with the Spanish words.  Even though we were sometimes left wanting (they didn’t give us a wine list when we were seated) he came back to the table with a smile and help as often as possible.
We started our meal off with the Plato Mixto, a large plate of Serrano ham, manchego cheese, olives and roasted red peppers.  This was delightful and a perfect opening to what soon became a delightful and languid meal.  Our second plate was the Alcachofas Rellenas, mushroom stuffed artichokes, which were good but next time I may try something different (I could taste that the artichokes were canned and the tinny taste was distracting). The mushroom cream sauce was delicious and I wanted that as a dip for my bread.  Our second dish was the Butifarras con Brevas – Pork Sausage and Figs.  The fig sauce for this was especially delicious and I found myself taking small bites of the sausage just so I could dip them in the sauce more than once!

Dish number three was Patatas Bravas which were absolutely wonderful!  The crispy potato and spicy tomato sauce topped with a creamy alioli made me giddy with happiness, though I do love a fried potato so I may be a touch biased.  Our final plate was pato braseado – which was made from locally sourced duckling in an absolutely stunning mixed berry sauce; I was full yet still kept reaching for more of that sauce.


Next time:  I will call ahead; apparently they don’t take reservations but have “preferred” seating if you call ahead. [Editor’s note: Reservations over phone only before 6 pm, “preferred” seating after 6pm if you sign up at the restaurant in person. Call ahead for full details.] I will definitely order the Sangria, it was delicious.  I will order that duck again, twice.  And I will take my time.  Which was possibly my favorite part of the whole experience; I didn’t feel rushed at all, I was at a table-for-two for an hour and a half and I didn’t feel hurried, which left me in a good mood. Even though there was a family beside me and the hostess forgot the wine list, my gripes were small in comparison to the leisure the dinner gave me.


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