WHAT RACHEL RAY DIDN'T TELL!!

I bet you are wondering what on earth I am talking about or "who do you think you are?" No one really - just someone who cooks and knows that when Charred Poblano's are brownish green - they wont make a soup bright green! I watch Rachel Ray on TV at lunch the other day and she made this fabulous looking soup and I could not wait to try it. Bought all of my ingredients and on Sunday I cooked my chicken. To the pot you add carrots, onion and celery! It is great broth in soup but please - never use it for dumplings. IT really gives them a strange taste. Last night I was going to finish my soup - and did - but as wonderful as it tasted - I will make it on a day off from work or a Saturday! Rachel Ray didn't show all the prep work - well she showed what had to be done - but not the time it takes!! But all of that to say -- it was the most wonderful dish I have probably ever made!!

CHICKEN AND POBLANO SOUP

For the poached chicken:

3 pieces bone-in, skin on, chicken breast (I used skinless with no bones for less fat!!!)
2 ribs celery, quartered
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and quartered
2 bag leaves
1 lime

For the soup:
6 large poblano peppers
1 large red pepper
2 large (1-1/2 to 2 pounds) starcy potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ears corn on cob (sliced off cob) or 1 cup defrosted frozen
1 Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped, optional for a spicy soup - OF COURSE I ADDED IT!
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I pressed!)
1-1/2 tsp. ground coriander (I omited because I didn't have)
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
SEVERAL DROPS OF GREEN CAKE COLORING**
Garnishes: lime wedges, unsalted lightly crushed blue corn tortillas, fresh chopped cilantro.

Yield: Serves 4 - I DOUBLED RECIPE - wanted left-overs!!

PREPARATION

In large soup pot, cover chicken and poaching ingredients with about 2-1/2 to 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer and poach 1 hour. Remove chicken breasts to a plate to cool. Peel and remove bones (if you have any) from chicken and slice the breast meat. Strain the poaching liquid and reserve the broth.

Preheat boiler. Place Poblano peppers and red bell pepper on a baking sheet and char evenly to blacken skins all over - leave oven door slightly ajar to allow the steam to escape. Place peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam peppers and loosen flesh from skin.

In a small pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Salt water and cook potatoes until very soft. Drain and mash until very smooth with some of the reserved stock.

Peel and seed peppers. Dice red bell pepper and coarsely chop poblanos. Add to a food processor, puree with a little stock until smooth. Add mashed potatoes and combine with more broth if necessary until very smooth and well-combined.

In a medium sized sauce pan or large skillet, heat olive oil. Add corn, garlic, jalepeno, coriander and cumin, and stir a few minutes over medium high heat. Add potato/poblano mixture and thin soup to desired consistency with reserved broth. Add sliced chicken and cook to warm the meat through!

Serve in soup bowls with wedges of lime to squeeze over the top, hot sauce and tortillas alongside.

Now you see why I said I would recommend making it on a weekend or day off. It doesn't take very long at all (Rachel Ray did it in less than 15 minutes) if everything is already done - chicken cooked, peppers charred, potatoes cooked and mashed, etc!!!! Again - I want to say - it is worth all of the work -- it is delicious!!!!

* Now to the point - what Rachel Ray didn't tell -- charred poblano peppers turn kinda brownish green. Her soup was bright green - so ADD A FEW DROPS OF GREEN CAKE COLORING TO YOUR SOUP AND YOURS WILL BE BRIGHT GREEN LIKE HERS!!!

It has been a long day - besides work I had a Red Cross Board meeting from 6 until 7:30; then had to get dinner ready -- have you tried the new offering in the freezer - Sweet Potato Fries - I fixed them tonight - took them from the bag, drizzled with Olive Oil, added salt, pepper, Fox Point (Penzey's) and Sandwich Sprinkile (Penzey's) and baked them about 15 minutes, turning once. They were delicious!!! THen Travis had everything laid out for me to make him a Chocolate Pudding. He even offered my $10.00 but for him - it is free! Then I had to make two batches of Brownies for a Red Cross function! We are so desparate for funds -- house fires are eating our lunch this month~ Thirteen in eleven days! Tammy said we are seeing people that would be out on the street - if we had not provided them shelter and clothing. She said it is really sad!!

I had planned to just make this my "Cooking Blog" but I guess I see too many things I want to share. You may have seen this before - but as I read it again I was really moved and wanted to share it with my dear friends that check out my blog!

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
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> Mrs Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath.. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.
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> At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
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> Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around.
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> His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'
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> His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'
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> Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'
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> By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'
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> After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'
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> A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
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> Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
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> Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
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> Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
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> The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
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> They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'
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> Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'
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> (For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
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> Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today... Just 'do it'.
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> Random acts of kindness, I think they call it!
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So do your own Random act of kindness - and God will bless you. Thanks for reading!!