Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk (Tom Kha Gai)

I am sorry for not posting in awhile. I’ve been a bit under the weather, which in Chicago means back to winter mode.

There is truly nothing better than a proverbial chicken soup when you don’t feel too well. However, after a few too many days of chicken soup you need something different and I craved Thai chicken soup with coconut milk.

Brazilian Chicken Soup (Canja de Galinha)

The Thais have Tom Kha Gai, the Malays Sup Ayam, the Serbians Kokosja Supa and my little, half-Brazilian kiddos often savor one of my homeland specialties, “Cangela”.

My mom has been making Brazilian chicken soup for my kids since they started eating solids and they love it! In Brazil, chicken soup is called Canja but in my kids "Portu-English" it became “Cangela”. But don’t be fooled, the Brazilian chicken soup served in my house is the real thing despite my kids cute nickname for it.

Harira (Moroccan Soup)

When I was in Morocco this summer, I heard about this new kitchen gadget for the first time. The Vorwek Thermomix, which is apparently not easily available in the US, is somewhat of a hybrid slow cooker, kind of a futuristic, George Jetson Crockpot. It kind of surprises me that Americans, the biggest fans of slow cookers, haven't already been turned on to this new miracle machine. 

In Morocco this is the latest kitchen fad and is only sold through direct sales. The representative invites prospective buyers to a cooking demo using the Vorwerk Thermomix and wows people into the purchase. While I didn't attend any of these demos myself, I heard a lot about the machine from family who have seen the Vorwerk in action and I had the opportunity to see a cousin using the machine in her home.

Gazpacho

If you've ever been to Spain in the summer I'm sure you are like me these days and are having dreams of swimming in luxurious pools of this light fragrant delicacy. Ok, so I'm not actually dreaming of swimming in Gazpacho but I certainly can't get it off my mind. This was one of my favorite things about the summer I spent in Spain many years ago. The simplicity of the dish is a bonus. If you don’t have homemade chicken stock and need a shortcut, try boiling 1 liter of water with 2 cubes of Halal chicken bouillon cubes. Vegetarian? Just substitute chicken for vegetable stock.