That chicken I roasted for Sunday’s dinner came in handy this week when a cold that had been mascarading as allergies finally asserted itself. The cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, then the tingling and burning in the lungs told me the bronchial tubes were inflamed.
The months of drought and dry air irritating my already raw inner tubing was making me more miserable. But I found a cure.
Instead of turning on a humidifier, I pulled out the stockpot, hacked up the leftover chicken carcass, threw in some bolting garlic and onions from the bottom of the storage basket along with some celeriac tops and salt, and covered it with water.
The comforting, homey smell lulled me into a long afternoon nap, puctuated with cups of peppermint tea, a little reading, and bits of court TV and Dr. Phil. Six hours later I felt refreshed, and had a nice stock. Ahead of me lay enough pleasant activity to break the spell of the sick-bed.
I strained and degreased the perfumed broth. I could have made a chicken soup over noodles. But I wanted the more aggressive comfort of chicken and dumplings. So I peeled the largest carrots in the crisper — the ones that do better in stews — and onions from Stonecrop Farm in Giles County, Va., that I helped harvest.
I eyeballed the Bisquick mix and the milk, stirring them together make a rough dough, firmly pushing out of my mind the nagging thought that I should use this opportunity to work on a recipe for whole wheat dumplings. It’s a sick day, I said aloud. I’m reaching into my childhood from some soothing, and that includes lots of white flour.
I sauted the onions and carrots in some olive oil and salt, then deglazed the pan with the homemade stock. It’s much darker than canned broth. I let the vegetables boil for a few mintues, then added more of the celeriac greens – this time minced like parsley. I shredded the deboned white and dark chicken meat and added it to the pot. After it returned to the boil, I dropped in spoonfulls of the dough, ground a little pepper on top and covered it.
I’m always tempted to peek, but this time I set the timer. Twenty minutes should do nicely. I want the dumplings to be fluffy through to the middle, and they will thicken the stew.
I don’t know if it’s really true that chicken includes some chemical that makes virus sufferers feel better, but even the placebo effect is good.
Tags: chicken and dumplings, chicken stock, comfort food, Tonia Moxley
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