Asian chicken soup

This recipe is, like, 10 cobbled together. The great thing about it is you can add whatever you want or have on hand and it will be delicious. I'm a big ginger fan, so I always add lots of it. You can poach the chicken yourself or just shred a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. I used watercress, but spinach would work just as well. Baby bok choy would probably be really good, too. Again, use what you have and what you like and you won't be disappointed.

Asian chicken soup
3 cans chicken broth
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced lenghtwise
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons Asian hot chili sauce
1 tablespoon ginger, minched
3 cups diced poached chicken
1 bunch watercress, stems trimmed
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Bring broth, bell pepper, carrot, soy sauce, chili sauce and ginger to a simmer; cook until peppers are crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.
Add chicken and watercress; cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls, and top with scallions and cilantro.

Curried Chicken Salad

Curried Chicken Salad

Corn fritters

I'm excited that fall is on the way. Summer is great and all, but fall is where I shine. Pretty colors outside. Warm, toasty things baking inside. A slight chill to the air. Nothing beats it. You can keep your humidity and pollen; I'll take pretty leaves and chilly nights.

That being said, I will miss fresh corn. I think I've mentioned it before, but corn is one of my favorite things about summer and one of my favorite foods in general. I almost always just eat it straight off the cob with butter, salt and pepper, but sometimes I like to shake things up and actually use it for something else. Enter these Spicy Corn Fritters from Simply Recipes.

I've tried a few of Elise's recipes before, and they've never failed me. I decided to tweak her fritter recipe a bit and make them without the spices because I just wanted a plain fritter where the corn was the star. While they were fine, they were about 1,000 times better when I followed her recipe and added the spices. I should have known, but hey, that's what cooking is right: experimenting. These are so freaking good. I ate four without even realizing it and had to make myself stop. Then JLW came home and ate the other six. I got 10 out of the recipe, but I made them a bit bigger than Elise: I used a little less than 1/4 a cup of batter for each fritter. I didn't make the dipping sauce and added some salt and pepper to the fritter batter.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

I just found this online (actually, I saw it some time ago, but totally overlooked it) and have decided to play along.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

There's a vegetarian version here and even a vegan version here. I may try the vegetarian one one next. I have a feeling I'll bold more on that list.