Green Chile Stew (recipe link!), Croup, and Times to Avoid Reading Anything by Suzanne Collins

//Check out my recipe for Green Chile Stew here. Approved by 100% of New Mexicans that have tried it (that is, just Ian).//

Ian was born and raised in New Mexico, the only state that has its own question: "Red or Green?" Yes, those from The Land of Enchantment are a little fanatical about their chiles.

I'll come back to the chiles, I promise.

Ten days ago, Felicity and I both fell ill on the same evening. I developed some sort of horrible flu, despite having recently obtained my annual flu shot, which involved a terrible sore throat, throbbing headache, body aches, shivering, and a highish fever. As a note, if you're coming down with the flu, for the sweet love of god, stay away from The Hunger Games series and pick up some Jane Austen. Seriously, worst and possibly the most terrifying night of sleep I've ever had.

My symptoms improved the next day, although I've had some sort of lingering cold since. It's the kind of cold that seems to have new symptoms every day; every morning I wake up, and it feels like the first day of a cold. So strange.

But Felicity fared even worse. Overnight, her poor little body decided to attack itself, and she developed croup. I hadn't heard of anyone getting croup. When I hear 'croup,' I think about Anne of Green Gables and ipecac,* no lie. But yes, Felicity sounded like a dying seal, was diagnosed with croup by a kindly working pediatrican on a Saturday morning, and was promptly treated with a course of steroids to try to avoid death.

Poor Felicity also still has a cold.

Any good New Mexican will tell you to stuff your face with green chile stew before flu season, during flu season, and if you feel a twinge in your throat or nose. I am married to such a New Mexican, and my mother-in-law is such a New Mexican. She, in her goodness, mailed us a care package with a good five pounds of green chiles, with some red and green chile powder in addition. (I must take a moment to brag: I seriously have the best mother-in-law; she skypes with Felicity and me almost every day, is always encouraging and thoughtful, raised one really fine son that treats his two ladies like gold, and she knows when it's time for some chile love).

Ian and I roasted the chiles in the oven yesterday morning. Ian took the time to peel and chop about half of them, and we froze the other half. And I made my very first green chile stew. And then we stuffed our faces with it.


*I can't remember if Anne used ipecac to save Diana's little sister from death of croup; it's been a good 15+ years since I've read the books (do I sniff a literary trip down memory lane approaching?), and even my memories of the movies are vague, but my brain has tied these two things together. So no badgering if ipecac doesn't treat croup; it seems like it might actually make it worse?

Homemade Ricotta

My lovely friend Alli came over on Thursday to keep Felicity and I company, and she asked if I had ever made ricotta. No, I had not. What an intriguing idea, especially as I'd recently come across a ricotta recipe on Pinterest.

We went to the store. We bought our ingredients. We got to cooking once Felicity fell asleep. And it was really, unbelievably easy. 

We bought a lovley loaf of crusty french bread and made crostinis, and made the Honeyed Grape Compote with red grapes, which was amazing (although Ian is decidedly not a fan), with a side salad of arugula and pears, with a light balsamic-basil dressing. The next day, Ian and I ate the crostinis with the rest of the ricotta with some basil-infused olive oil stirred in, sundried tomatoes, and arugula.

So, if you haven't tried making ricotta yet and have 90 minutes to spare, get thee to thy kitchen!

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup (aka possibly the best soup we've ever made)

Yesterday I posted a partial menu for the week. Tonight, we made the Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup from www.kitchn.com with a few adjustments. This soup take a little longer to cook than many homemade soups, but it is easy to make and is well worth the effort. And it's healthy too; if you use whole milk, it calculates at roughly 370 calories per main-course serving. If you use heavy cream, it's about 445 calories per main-course serving. This is definitely the most delicious thing that's come out of our kitchen in recent memory. Enjoy!

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
Closely adapted from kitchn.com, serves 4 main courses or 6 side courses

While the original recipe states the cheese rinds are optional, they really are a must. They add a lovely depth and the soup wouldn't be quite the same without them. We served this with some beautiful whole wheat rustic bread found at our farmers' market today.

1 cup wild rice
1 large onion, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1/2 lb baby bella mushrooms, diced
1/2 lb portabella mushrooms, stems removed and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano (dried or fresh)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1-2 cheese rinds
2-3 cups vegetable stock
2 teaspoons rosemary (dried or fresh)
1 cup whole milk or cream
2 teaspoons salt, divided
pepper

Bring 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of water to a boil. Add the wild rice and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes until the rice is tender. Set aside rice, undrained.

While the rice cooks, prepare the rest of the soup. Warm a teaspoon of oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery with a half teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onions are very soft, and starting to brown, 6-8 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the mushrooms and another half teaspoon of salt. Cook until the mushrooms have released all their liquid and turned dark brown, at least 20 minutes.

Add the garlic and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until the vegetables become sticky and there is no more visible dry flour. Increase the heat again to medium-high and pour in the white wine. Stir and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue simmering until the wine has reduced and thickened a bit.

Add the bay leaf, cheese rinds, rosemary, wild rice, and cooking water from the rice. Add two cups of broth to start. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes to meld the flavors. Add the milk or cream. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until the soup has thickened to your liking. Add additional broth if needed.

Salt and pepper to taste.

::Addendum::

When we reheated this for lunch today, it was even better.
Ian claims it's the best soup he's ever had.