Matzoh Ball Soup

I'm sick... and when I'm feeling like poo, I always make some yummy chicken soup. For some strange reason I was craving matzoh ball soup. Usually I make a really elaborate chicken soup with lots of root vegetables, but matzoh balls take up so much room and provide plenty of starch so I went with a really easy, simple soup that ANYONE can do. Seriously, even if you can't make chicken soup YOU, yes I'm talking to you, can make this. Trust me, it's that easy.

What you'll need for the soup:

• Chicken with skin, the skin is what makes the chicken soup oh so good, its what breaks up mucus, hence why chicken soup is good when you're sick. I use only certified humane chicken, happy chickens. I used a chicken thigh package of Murray's Chicken, which contains 3 chicken thighs. Plenty for a small pot of soup.
• 2 large carrots, cut into small pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 large celery stalks, chopped
• Small egg noodles
• salt for taste

For the Matzoh Balls, I used the Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. It's SUPER easy to make, must follow the directions. I get the re-sealable container so I can make it anytime I want and the serving makes 7 perfect sizes balls. What you'll need for this, which is listed on the box, are 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and salt.

Be sure to follow the directions by placing the mix, once prepared, in a sealed container in the fridge for 15 minutes before you're ready to put them in the simmering water. Also, don't crowd the balls because they get large quickly. I usually use two pots to make sure there is plenty of room. Also, keep the mix loose while you gently drop it into the simmering water. To prevent the mix from sticking to your hands, wet your hands in water before you grab the mix. The looser the balls are before they drop into the water, the fluffier they will be. (Doesn't this sound dirty?)

Okay, back to the soup.

Step 1:

Boil water in a big pot.

Step 2:

Add everything into the pot once the water is boiling, this includes the chopped onions, chopped carrots, chopped celery and the chicken. Remember to clean the chicken in running water to make sure its perfect before going into your pot.

Step 3:

Let everything simmer in the pot for a while until the veggies are nice and tender and the chicken fully cooked. Remove the chicken, put on a plate and place in the fridge (you want to do this so you can pick the meat off the bones without burning your fingers). Once the chicken it out of the pot, put the noodles in. When the chicken is not hot like molten lava, remove the meat and put back into the soup.

Note: I was doing all this while making the matzoh balls in two different pots. You DO NOT want to cook the matzoh balls in the same pot as the soup.

Once the noodles are cooked, you're ready to serve! YAY! This is what is looks like:

Sitting on Octavia's Porch

Last weekend, I volunteered for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Black Tie and Black Jack event, which was AWESOME! I had the pleasure of volunteering last year and couldn't wait to do it again. I helped with Check-in to ensure guests received a bracelet for entry and their tickets to claim chips to play casino games. A good cause, great people, exciting event - it was a fantastic night.

Unfortunately the volunteers enjoy a dinner of dominoes pizza before they start their shift - something that doesn't go well with me. So my friend, Laura, and I decided to have lunch beforehand to ensure are appetites were appeased.

I've been using ScoutMob a lot lately to ensure discounted meals at local restaurants and wanted to check out Octavia's Porch which had good reviews on Yelp. For those who haven't discovered the wonder that is ScoutMob, check it out ASAP! Seriously, 50% off food and other services in NYC (and other cities I believe), you really can't go wrong.

I made a reservation for 3:30 on OpenTable, to ensure we didn't have a long wait for brunch. I couldn't risk going and being late for our training at the LLS event. Laura arrived first, since I was late (sorry Laura, I overslept!) and we seated in the front at a cute little table. I didn't see the entire restaurant since we were seated near the window at the front, but from what I could tell it was small but cute. Lots of wood, a long bar, it was cozy.


We started with the sweet potato latkas, which were actually rather tasty. They were large enough to share with 4 people, but we were only two - so we were prepared to be very full.

I had to try the matzoh ball soup, since everyone was talking about it. It was a little pricey at $7. The soup was tasty with chicken and interesting veggies like Brussels sprouts, yellow squash and who knows what else. The broth was flavorful and the matzoh ball large and fluffy. It was a very tasty soup and a meal in itself. I can't imagine anyone finishing the large since my friend and I could barely finish half of the small. I guess if you have this as your meal, $7 isn't so bad. But I sure as hell don't plan on coming back for this expensive soup, it wasn't THAT good. I'd pay $5.

Doesn't this soup look nice? Perfect for a cold day, which it was. If only this soup were cheaper, I would come here just for it. But I can make a pretty damn good matzoh ball soup myself, so there is not reason to venture all the way here for a $7 soup.

We decided to share two sandwiches to get a real feel for this place. We ordered the Brisket on Rye (of course) which is now served warm since they received feedback from customers complaining that it was cold. It's great to see a place take feedback and make adjustments to their menu. We also opted for the Truffle Turkey Salad Sandwich on Pumpernickel. Both came out and were well presented.

The turkey salad was by far the better of the two, sadly. It was really fresh and tasty. The bread was perfectly toasted and the turkey salad cool and creamy. It was really a tasty meal with a perfect little side salad with a nice light dressing.

The brisket was really underwhelming. Even though it was served warm, it wasn't succulent. I want my brisket to melt in my mouth, this did not. It was actually rather tough, I had to use a fork and knife to cut through and eat the damn thing. It was tasty with some of their homemade honey mustard, but I would not come here for this sandwich. If you want a kick ass sandwich, you walk over a few blocks and go to Katz's Deli for their pastrami on rye. Now THAT is a melt in your mouth, amazing sandwich.

Sorry Octavia's Porch, but you didn't win us over. You were okay, but not worthy of a return visit. Perhaps if you expanded the menu a bit or focused on making your "big sellers" top notch, then there is hope for you. So I'm giving Octavia's Porch 3 stars, but only because the appz were yummy!

A Food Tornado!

I've been naughty and haven't been updating this blog lately, so right now, this very second I will overwhelm you with LOTS OF FOOD I HAVE EATEN!!!! AHHHHH!!! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!

No but seriously... I figured I might as well tell you a little about what I've been putting into this belly o' mine.

Firstly, on Sunday, the day before Valentine's Day, my fabulous boyfriend Adam decided that cooking me dinner was not only romantic but awesome. Which it was. He totally surprised me and forced me to watch some TV (at the time I was finishing up season 4.5 of Battlestar Galatica, yes I am just that cool).

It was not only Adam's first attempt at cooking shrimp but also tuna, which I thought was great. Here we have garlic shrimp, which was super tasty with a real nice tang of orange and garlic, pan-seared tuna with lemon and dill, which was also very yummy. He was surprised by how quickly the tuna cooked up and would have preferred it a little more rare, but I thought it was still very good. We also have some brown rice and green beans cooked with chopped almonds - which was REALLY good. I never thought to cook with almonds, but Adam has inspired me to try some new ideas.

Overall it was a magical meal and I couldn't have been happier. Thank you Adam for being such a good boyfriend. Love you!

Next on our delicious food tour is breakfast at Manhattan Three Decker Restaurant in Greenpoint, my hood. They recently renovated and expanded their hours, so when we're lazy and indecisive about where to go, we come here. They have kick-ass cheap breakfast and yummy home fries. Since we're in Greenpoint, why not get some kielbasa with my eggs. Adam was feeling healthy, so he did a grilled chicken salad (BORING!) My food was okay, not amazing, but what do you expect from a diner. It was satisfying and I had plenty of kielbasa left over for breakfast in the morning.

And last on our adventure is a salad I get often enough that I should have mentioned this sooner. My boss is a HUGE fan of Cowgirl Catering, which has a small location in the basement of 875 Third Ave (just go down the escalators, you can't miss it). It's super busy, but the line goes fast and they have lots of options, not just salads. Sometimes when there is a long line, a guy comes around offering pita chips and coconut shrimp samples for free!

All the salads are pre-made in these large containers, so you just point to what you want and they scoop it into either a small or large bowl. There are only 2 salads I can actually eat here since the rest come with cheese. Stupid cheese!

I always get the Tuna Salad, seen above, which has lettuce (of course, duh), canned tuna, boiled egg (I always ask for a lot, yum!), red onions, tomatoes, green beans, boiled red potato and olives. It's a tasty, hearty, fresh salad that's served with a nice balsamic dressing. The meal also comes with choice of bread or fresh baked pita chips. I go for the pita chips since they're super crunchy and flavorful. The meal also comes with a fresh baked cookie and either fruit salad or jello. Their jello is TOO sweet so I always pick the fruit. All this food for $6! However, they recently started charging tax so it costs a little more now, but still a bargain for Midtown East. I hate that food is so damn expensive in the midtown, so I don't get this too often since its only a 1x meal. I usually go for a meal that will leave me leftovers for the next day, reducing the overall cost per meal significantly.