Three Beautiful Things 12/09/15: Co-op Chile Aroma, Cooking Chicken Soup, Cooked Carrots and Butter

1. I hadn't been to the Co-op since I returned to Maryland on Saturday, and today I bought a few items and I experienced a hard to describe moment of nostalgia for when I first began shopping at the Coop and happiness that I live in Greenbelt, MD when I passed the soup bar and smelled the sweet tomato-y cumin-y aroma of the freshly cooked chili.

2. For an hour, I simmered a small whole chicken in store bought chicken broth, water, abodo seasoning, bay leaf, and salt and pepper and after extracting it from the pot to cool down, I added onion, garlic, okra, corn, chopped carrots, cumin, paprika, thyme, black beans, basil, oregano, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes to the broth. I let the broth simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes.  I had a small amount of penne in the cupboard and I decided, on the spur of the moment to boil it, and after the broth had simmered, I  added the chicken I shredded and the pasta into the soup and let it rest for over a half an hour. I packed up the chicken soup, along with some leftover Moroccan Chickpea Soup from yesterday, and headed out to pick up the Deke at school, stop at the Quench taproom for a couple of samplers of Belgian beer, and go over to the Diaz home for dinner.

3. I'm happy to report that the Diazes and the Deke loved the chicken soup and that both Molly and Hiram really enjoyed the Moroccan Chickpea Soup. This made me very happy. The most fun part of dinner, however, was how I continued to astonish Olivia with the fact that I love cooked carrots and butter. I made up stories about all the times I've gone to MacDonald's and eaten cooked carrots and butter and how restaurants across the nation see me come in and the word is dispatched to the kitchen that Mr. Cooked Carrots and Butter has arrived and soon I'm served a heaping bowl of cooked carrots and butter. While eating my chicken soup, I took each round piece of cooked carrot out of my bowl and buttered it and ate it, much to the horror of Olivia. She can't understand how ANYONE could eat cooked carrots and butter.