Thai Chicken Soup -- April Snowstorms Bring Seasonal Depression

New England weather is pretty nuts. We rung in April up here with a pretty crazy snow storm. Although was pretty small potatoes compared to what we've been dealing with since December, the fact that it was in APRIL kept us all on edge.

April showers bring May flowers, but April Snowstorms bring Seasonal Depression.

I'm not sure why I'm still in New England since the winters make me gloomy and depressed from about November until, well, usually April but you see how that goes up here.

One of the things that makes winter slightly bearable is coming inside to a steamy bowl of soup and a nice crisp bread roll of some sort.

I'm a little picky when it comes to my soups. Not such a fan of the clear soups---chicken noodle is fine when a winter cold comes on (my nose is runny from December until February at LEAST), but it's not necessarily the soup I go to when the weather gets cold. I like something hearty, creamy, something I can really sink my spoon into a sop up with a nice piece of bread or toasty sandwich.

Since lately I've been challenging myself with Asian cooking, when Fun and Fearless in Beantown posted this amazing recipe for Thai Chicken Soup, I immediately added it to my To-Cook List.This soup is perfect for a chilly winter (or April... grrrr....) day. The warm soup coupled with the warm tingle of the curry will soothe summer hopefuls until Mother Nature is in better spirits. My bread of choice was whole wheat Naan, which I drizzled melted butter and chopped garlic over and baked in the oven at 400 for about seven minutes, until crispy. I know, I know, I'm blending cultures here, but Naan goes well with any sort of curry dish, of which this soup has plenty!

Thai Chicken Curry Soup

(From Fun and Fearless in Beantown's Recipe with a few additions/substitutions)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 diced onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic so this is doubled)
• 4 tablespoons red curry paste (again, this is doubled)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk (the recipe calls for a 15 oz can, mine was 13 so I supplemented with a little whole milk)
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced (I had to use canned since the store was out!)
• 1 fire roasted pepper, diced
• 1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 2 cups cooked rice

-Warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add the curry paste and mix until well distributed.

-Add coconut milk, fish sauce, fire roasted pepper, and chicken broth. Mix until combined--liquid will be a gorgeous red color.

-Add chicken, bell peppers and jalapenos. I like my veggies a little softer, so if you like them more crisp I suggest throwing them in a little later, after the chicken has cooked, and let them simmer until desired texture.*

-Once chicken is cooked through, add the lime juice and cilantro. Add cooked rice and serve! I used Uncle Ben's 90 second jasmine rice because I am lazy and addicted, but feel free to use whatever kind you have on hand.

I've found this soup is even more flavorful and amazing after it's had a day to rest in the fridge. The flavors were just so much richer, the chili and jalapenos even spicer.

*The recipe calls for rice noodles, but the only ones I could find were $6, so I subbed with my lazy rice.