Tuesday, October 20, 2009

chicken soup for the soul



so it was a little cloudy yesterday, a perfect day to stay home and make soup. so i went to pavillions and purchased an organic whole chicken and promptly put him (or her) in the magnalite pot handed down to me when my grandmother, thelma huntington barton passed away. i love this pot, for the simple reason my grandmother owned it. she was famous for cooking roasts in this aluminum vessel...a red meat and potato girl she was. i still remember her making steak for my grandpa in a scorching hot cast iron skillet. and he loved it barely cooked. only real men eat their steak practically raw.
and he was a real man indeed, dirty cowboy boots and all.
a bit of nostalgia on the stove.
the nostalgia continued as i proceeded to cook this lovely chicken until it literally fell off the bone. carrots, celery and onions were added. i then spooned in the plump dumplings, a recipe from my other grandma, orlene larsen henrie. a recipe which took me awhile to master. i still remember every time we would visit her, she would make this delicious dish...because she knew it was my favorite. she also made these wonderful sugar cookies filled with raspberry jam-with a little cut out on the top. i wish i had gotten that recipe from her too...she had all of these memorized and cooked all of this in a tiny, neat kitchen with painted pale green cupboards and formica countertop. she lovingly raised five children in this kitchen, the size of my bathroom and didnt complain once. now she was a real woman.
so i hope my grandmothers were looking down on me yesterday with little smiles on their faces, knowing the love i have for them in my heart.
knowing i am a product of their strength and integrity.

and the soup was delicious.

grandma henries dumplings

1 cube butter
2 cups water and a little salt
boil this mixture, than dump in quickly
1 cup flour
stir vigorously, then add
2 eggs
stir more, then spoon into hot soup, NOT boiling
cook 15 minutes.


5 comments:

Chelsea said...

I made homemade chicken noodle (homemade noodles) on Sunday with Homemade bread (my Mom's) and YUMMM. My parents talk about those cookies. I think my mom has that recipe. I will check. It looks divine, by the way.

Jack and Melissa McIntyre said...

Oh boy does that pan & soup bring back great memories! I wish I could reach through my screen & dish up a bowl of that yummy chicken dumpling soup. I still dream about Grandma making her sugar cookies..when I see the organic lard at Whole Foods I'm tempted to try her cookie recipe--but the organic lard can has warnings all over it that it's highly inflamable--have you seen that?? I think I need to try it out & keep my fire extinguisher nearby.. Love you always Shawna! Melissa

gr8apey said...

hahahaha...i'm not kidding...i'm making chicken dumplings today!!! although, yesterday it would have been more appropriate. forget the recipe i got...i'm using yours!!

shawna henrie said...

great minds think a like, april...and you better DOUBLE this recipe for your group!! i wonder if carson will like these? let me know!!

emma johnson said...

stop it! why didn't you make this when i was home? you know it is my all time favorite.