Love for Food

The weather in New York has been seasonably warm the past few days. Friday however, was freezing. Because of the weather everyone is coming down with a cold. Warm one day cold the next. One of my dearest friends was starting to come down with a little something. I wanted to make some chicken soup. Being me, I decided on a Thai Chicken Soup, which I read about in Food Network Magazine. I could not find the exact recipe on the website but I pretty much followed it as is (and it's listed below). The only changed I made was to use light coconut milk and fat free chicken broth.
I was disappointed when I went for my first taste. Something was off. I added some more salt. I used low sodium chicken broth. I find the regular kind too salty and the low sodium not salty enough. I always get the low sodium, so I can control my own saltage. I also added a very finely sliced Jamaican pepper. I got a big bucket of the peppers at the farmer's market because they were cheap and pretty. I never had one before and boy were they hot! I took one little taste and for the rest of the night my lips were on fire!!! My mom who I was on the phone with at the time said that the hotter the pepper the smaller they are. I.e bell peppers are not hot and jalapenos are. I thought that was good tip, maybe obvious to some but not to me.

The addition of the salt and the heat really made the dish into something I loved, from something I thought was totally blah. I enjoyed the ton of flavor this dish had. The addition of the lime and cilantro really brightened it up. Most people will probably want mom's classic chicken soup when sick, but this dish is a great alternative.
Ingredients: Serves Six
spray of cooking spray
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green curry paste
6 cups fat free chicken broth
1 15oz can of light coconut milk
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 oz of thin rice noodles, broken into pieces
1 lb. chicken breast cut into pieces
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
Method:

• Heat large pot over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and cook onion until soft and brown. Add the garlic and curry paste and cook about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce, cover and bring to a boil.
• Add bell peppers and noodles and simmer, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through about 3-5 more minutes. Stir in the lim juice and cilantro.

Weight Watcher Points: 3 points per serving