Foodventures: Fluffy vs. Crackles

So, there are two distinctions for the snow that has been falling in NJ lately. The first is the 'Fluffy' or the 'Fluff.' This kind of snow is soooo soft!! .... almost like feather pillow. Yes, I said a pillow.

Even though sleeping on the snow in general would be uncomfortable, not to mention 'wet', I would like to think of it as comfortable in my thoughts (where rules dont necessarily apply...hehe ).

Anyway...so this kind of snow is very lovely. Lovely why? because its almost as if it is in love. It clings to anything it touches. Notice how even the tiniest branches have a mountain the for fluffy snow on it.

The second form is the 'Crackle.' This is the type which we will be getting this coming week (and im looking forward to it! ). For all those who are feeling somewhat like:

For the haters....i cant sympathize with you .... not at all ... not in the least bit. I feel something on the lines of the picture below. (Thought to self: 'Bring it on baby!')

For the past few weeks ive been doing a lot of cooking, but no blogging. But I will try to keep up.

In honor of the fluffies and the crackles, I wanted to post a warm and yummy chicken and corn soup and chicken with snow peas dish.

CHICKEN & CORN SOUP

Ingredients:

Chicken quarters (2)
Sweet Corn (1 cup, canned)
Onion (1 medium)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Butter (1tbsp)
Olive Oil (1 tbsp)
Cornstarch (1 tbsp)
Water (5-6 cups)
Rosemary (1 tbsp)
Salt, Pepper to taste

Method:
Gather all the ingredients. For the chicken, I tried to remove as much meat from the bones as possible. You'll know why laters.
The onions were cut into medium squares. I cant define 'medium' but, its just according to what one likes :)

Lightly puree half the corn in a blender. So there will be a good flavor and texture of corn in the soup.

Heat the pan. Add some olive oil and butter over medium heat.

And i insist on medium heat because over high heat you get something like this (something along the lines of inedible):

So when the butter melts and the bubbles come up, add the crushed garlic

After 2 minutes add the onions

Cook for 2 mins or so...

Then add the chicken bones (The bones will add more flavor to the broth and you don't have to deal with the store bought 'high sodium' chicken broth).

Add salt and pepper.

(Tip: According to mommy dearest, adding salt early in the cooking speeds up the cooking process. Dont know why, but she speaks the truth :P)

Stir until the pink color becomes lighter.

Then add 2 cups of water and boil for about 30 mins.

Then after that add rest of the water, chicken meat and rosemary and boil for another 40 mins or so. Or until the meat from the bones start to fall off.

When the meat seems to separate easily from the bones, separate it from the pot and let it cool and remove the meat left.

Meanwhile, add in the corn goodies from earlier. Continue boiling. Adjust the salt and pepper throughout the cooking process.

Top view of the soup so far...

Next, add in the chicken bits that were separated from the bones before and the cornstarch.

Bring to a boil and the soup is ready.

CHICKEN WITH SNOW PEAS

Ingredients:

Chicken (1.5 cup, cut length wise)
Snow Peas (1cup)
Onion (Medium, cut length wise)
Ginger (crushed, 1 tsp)
Rice Vinegar (or lemon juice, 1tsp)
Oyster flavored sauce (2-3tsp)
Hoisin Sauce (1tsp)
Soy Sauce (1tbsp)
Corn Starch (optional,1 tsp) Note: I didn't use it in this recipe.
Salt, Pepper to taste

Method:
Get the ingredients ready.

Next, steam the snow peas until they loose their firmness (as in when you try to hold it vertically, it does not stand up).

Mix the oyster flavored sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and ginger separately.

Note: this mixture is quite salty, so be careful about adding any extra salt. I did not add any because it was salty enough.

Heat oil in a pan.

After it is hot, add the onions.

Saute for a minute or two...

Add the chicken, some pepper, and the rice wine vinegar

Stir until the 'pinkness' is reduced and the water has almost evaporated. Because of the vinegar it might not smell as nice, but replacing the vinegar with lemon will work well.