When you're sick and all you want is soup

or Capsaicin - good for what ails you.

When I picked out this week's recipe for the crock pot, I didn't plan on being sick. No one plans that, right?

But when I finally got around to cooking on Wednesday, I was really glad I'd picked this recipe.

When you're sick, any Jewish mother, aunt or grandmother worth her salt is going to tell you you need chicken soup. Her chicken soup. It has magical healing powers. And even though I'm not Jewish, I believe it.

Okay, so it's not a Jewish mother's chicken soup. But I think it still has some magic in there.

In the book, it's called Chipotle Chicken Casserole. I was a little dubious, because so many of the things I'd made recently were heavy, even gummy in the case of the Thai Chicken. But, I thought, with the broth and the juice from the canned tomatoes, it will hopefully be light enough that it won't turn me off.

Here's the recipe:
From the Crock-Pot Recipe Card Collection cookbook

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 can (15 oz)navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz)black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice

Combine everything in a large crock pot and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 3.5-4 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.


Let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? A couple of things attracted me to this recipe. First was the fact that I had chipotle in adobo in my fridge that needed to be used up. Second, it had two different kinds if beans, which I thought was interesting.

However, the orange juice? I decided to leave that out. Maybe some other time I'll try it, but I just can't see it being good here. Lime or lemon juice, okay. But orange? I just don't think so. If any of you have opinions on that, please, chime in.

By the time I got around to making this recipe this week, it was already Wednesday and I was home sick from work. Smelling the stuff cook, at first all I could smell was the onions and I thought, "Am I going to be able to eat this?" It had never really occurred to me how the aromas evolve during slow cooking. But as the day went on, things started to mellow and I got less worried.

When N got home from work and it was time to eat, the scent of this spicy, savory soup filled the house. It smelled divine. And it was just what the doctor ordered.

The little bit of kick from the chipotle and cumin bathed my sore throat in their warmth. Capsaicin, so 'they' say, can cure many ills. Arthritis pain, sinus problems, and sore throats. It might sting a little at first, but it helps seal sore throat tissue and allow it to heal faster.

The thigh meat was tender and moist without seeming overcooked. I think boneless chicken thighs are my new meat of choice in the crock pot. The onions had pretty much melted, so there was no slimy, weird pieces of onion to turn me off. And I'd added a red bell pepper, which added some nice color and a little more veg to the mix.

This was the perfect thing for us to have this week, given the virus that whipped my ass the last few days.

No, it's not your mother's homemade chicken soup, bubbeleh. But it is a satisfying, healing bowl of soup. Or maybe it's a stew. It sure as hell isn't a casserole, no matter what the title of the recipe says.

Now, I hope you won't mind a digression from all things crock pot here. Remember this week's subtitle? Capsaicin, right?

I've been drinking a lot of tea with cayenne in it the last few days. I learned several years ago in a local production of Singin' in the Rain a never fail recipe for helping sore throats, especially if you can't give yourself vocal rest because you're in the middle of a show. Our Lina Lamont was sick and losing her voice and this is what got her through it.
We got it from our stage manager, Stacy. We called it Citrus Ass Tea, but I'm not sure I ever knew the real name. And I'm not sure I have the real recipe right, but this is how I make it and it works for me.

Peppermint tea
lemon juice
honey
cayenne pepper

Brew the tea, add lemon juice and honey to taste and as much cayenne as you think you can stand. Keep a spoon handy to keep the tea stirred up, otherwise the cayenne will sink to the bottom and you will get a hell of a surprise in those last couple of swallows!
It's not all that pleasant to drink, really, but it doesn't taste all that bad and it sure as hell works.

And now, since I have to sing tomorrow night (for only about 20 minutes, but still), I'm going to make myself some Citrus Ass Tea. Because it's good for what ails me.

Cheers!