Coffee Klatsche, Recycling, Battery Safety,

Saturday morning I finally made it to the coffee klatsche (my name) which  our neighbour has started. I missed it last time. I quite enjoyed it. Only lasted about an hour. I met a few people whom I didn't know and as the organizer had announced that we were looking for people to join the exercise classes, I talked to a couple of people, one who used to come and said it had been too crowded (with 13 or 14 of us??) and another expat Brit who said he was too old. I asked how old, he said 83 so I told him we had an 86 yr old and an 88 yr old and we had had a 95 yr old - are you sure your't too old I asked. He agreed that he wasn't. I explained to the woman who didn't like crowds that there were only 4 or max 5 of us now. She promised she would come back.

The organizer also produced a couple of collection jars - one for tabs off beer and pop cans - the Legion can use them to obtain wheel chairs - and the other for batteries. Did you know that you shouldn't just chuck your batteries but should wrap them up? I didn't. I always recycle Lithium  batteries, but didn't realise ordinary batteries could be dangerous. She had them wrapped in tape to show us all. I don't use that many batteries but I will remember to wrap them in future. Apparently they can explode, or spark off other things and cause fires.

Here's a new take on chicken soup that cures what ails you.

Chicken Soup with Caramelized Ginger

A ginger-forward chicken tonic soup that will provide some much-needed relief when you’re not

feeling too hot.

½ bunch cilantro, divided
2 Tbs sugar
1 6" piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 scallions, pale-green and white parts left whole, dark-green parts thinly sliced lengthwise
1 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 Fresno chile, halved, seeded
Kosher salt
2 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Gather half of cilantro into a bundle and tie together with kitchen twine. Coarsely chop remaining cilantro (stems and all); set aside for serving.

2. Heat sugar and 3 Tbsp. water in a large saucepan over medium. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is golden amber, 4–6 minutes.

3. Ready for ginger.

4. Add ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until ginger is softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and pale-green and white scallion parts and cook, stirring often, until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro bundle, chicken, chile, and a big pinch of salt. Pour in 8 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, bring to a bare simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 10–12 minutes. Discard chile and scallions. Keep soup warm over medium-low heat.

5. Transfer chicken to a plate and let cool slightly. Shred chicken and stir back into soup. Add soy sauce and stir to combine. Remove pot from heat; taste and season with salt, if needed.

6. Serve soup topped with dark-green scallion parts, reserved chopped cilantro, and a few turns of pepper.

7. Do Ahead: Soup (without scallion greens or cilantro) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.

Servings: 4

Tips
Do Ahead: Soup (without scallion greens or cilantro) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.

Author Notes
Do Ahead: Soup (without scallion greens or cilantro) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.

Source Bon Appétit

Have a great day