Chicken Soup with Rice

When I was a little kid, my mother would always get these books for the children to read. This is why I love to read and write now. We had Dr. Seuss books, Little Golden Books, and Sweet Pickel books. My brothers and I would love to get the Sweet Pickel books. The back inside cover would display a map of the fictional town of Sweet Pickels. One of the houses on the map was red and blue. It slightly resembled our house which was red and blue. I don’t remember any of the stories, but that house was enough for us to love the books.

There was one book that was not part of any of these book series. It was written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak and the title was Chicken Soup with Rice. The book featured a short poem for each month of the year. In each one, the main character eats or does something to some chicken soup with rice. I remember the first time my mother read it to us, we liked the catchy rhythm she added to it. She would almost sing the story instead of simply reading it. When we would read it ourselves, we read it with the same rhythm.

My father always made Chicken Noodle Soup. I never really liked his soups. As I got older, I realized that he would over cook the noodles and the vegetables that went into it. We ate it anyway. It was a hard, stern rule that we ate what was set before us. My parents didn’t believe in wasting food. That was a no-no. I remember there was that one time when I was late for school because I didn’t want to eat my grits. Or was it oatmeal. Anyway, I was told that I couldn’t get up from the table until I finished. I was in trouble that day. Till this very day, I refuse to eat grits or oatmeal.

One day, one very cold day, we came home from school and my mother was cooking. When we asked what was for dinner, she answered:

“Wouldn’t it be nice while slipping on the ice and eating some…”

Of course, we knew the rest of the line.

“Chicken soup with rice.”

From that day forward, Chicken soup with rice became a treat we would enjoy once in a while. It was a break from the every day, boring, chicken noodle soup. I could not have been a single day older than 5 years old when my mother first read the book to me. To this day, I still prefer chicken soup with rice over noodles.

One day we went to a restaurant that served Lemon Rice Soup. It was Chicken Soup with Rice with lemon added. Now, every time we eat the soup we add lemon to it. If we go to any restaurant that serves Chicken Soup with Rice, we ask for lemons. Most know us and automatically bring the lemons with the soup. Some even added Chicken Rice Soup with Lemon to their menu. When we sit down at the table, instead of a menu, they just bring the soup to us. Me personally, they bring the soup and an order of fries. I like to dip the fries in the soup.

One day, my mother was sick in the hospital. I wanted to get her a gift. So, a bought her a book. I started to read the book, and it immediately put a smile on her face.

“Wouldn’t it be nice while slipping on the ice and eating some…”

Of course, she knew the rest of the line.

“Chicken soup with rice.”

We enjoy going to restaurants once in a while. But it’s a lot cheaper to cook food at home. The book didn’t give a recipe for the soup, so my mother had to come up with her own. The problem is that she never wrote it down. When I started cooking, I had nothing to go on, so I had to come up with my own recipe. This is the first time I have ever put this in writing. This is my recipe for:

Chicken Soup with Rice

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken

1 Whole Onion – Chopped (White or Yellow)

4 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)

4 Large Carrots

4 Stalks of Celery

1 Green Bell Pepper - Chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper - Chopped

1 Yellow Bell Pepper – Chopped

8 oz Mushrooms - Chopped

2 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup (10.5 oz)

2 Cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup (10.5 oz)

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Salt

Pepper

1 Cup of Rice

2 Tbs of Olive Oil

Water

Lemon Wedges to Serve

Directions:

1. In a large pot, Boil the chicken in enough water to cover it until it starts to fall off the bone

2. Meanwhile, on high heat, in a medium pot, cook rice in 2 cups of water

3. When water comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and cover for 10 minutes

4. Turn heat off and leave covered for no less than 10 minutes

5. When chicken meat falls off bones or comes off with a fork with little to no effort, remove the skin and bones (and anything else besides the meat)

6. Be careful, it’s hot

7. Dice carrots and celery and add to the broth and continue to boil

8. Add onion, garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms to a skillet and saute in olive oil for 3 minutes

9. Add onion mixture to the broth

10. When carrots are tender, add cream or chicken and cream of mushroom

11. Allow the Cream Of’s to completely mix and then add rice

12. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste

13. Stir to allow all the flavors to mix and continue to cook on low heat for 3 minutes.

14. Ladle into bowls with a wedge of lemon on top

15. Serve with garlic bread of Crackers

16. If you want, squeeze a little lemon in your bowl

17. Enjoy

Chicken Soup with Rice is a great book. Read it here:

https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/soup-sendak.pdf

This is a PDF file