Chicken Vegetable Stew

Teddy was having a really good day. He was organized and all ready to tape when I arrived. He’d planned out this wild version of Chicken Vegetable Stew which I’m sure you’ll enjoy watching him make as much as I did. He even wrote out a cooking plan and did a darn good job keeping up with it. In case you don’t know, organization is a tough thing for people with ADHD. And, it isn’t some character flaw. It’s an issue with the way their brains are wired. I’ve read that people with ADHD can have a hard time remembering the steps involved in doing some process. That’s why they have a hard time organizing things. Organization is, at a deep level, a series of steps. Think about it. The steps take place over a period of time. When you’re wired to live in the present, as people with ADHD are, the “steps over time” thing is not going to be your strong point. Yet, Teddy was organized and pulled it off beautifully.

You’ll notice when Teddy cooks, he often transfers the food from a smaller pot into a larger one. I don’t know what that’s about. It seems like it would be a poor organizational choice, but he has it planned. He had both pots out. Maybe it’s habit. He recently told me that when he was a kid he used to sometimes cook for his family. Maybe he does it so the food get hotter faster. He does like to use a lot of fire. When he cooks, he doesn’t pre-cut the food – usually. He uses the cutting time as cooking time. For example, he wants the carrots in this dish to cook 5 minutes longer than the parsnips. So, he cuts the parsnips while the carrots are cooking. I think that’s one of the secrets to his flavors and textures. To provide an idea of the timings involved, I’ve left in a little more of the chef’s prep time, and our chit chat, than usual. The whole video is still under 30 minutes.

In this Chicken Vegetable Stew, on one extreme the carrots are medium-soft and on the other the baby bok choy is tender-crunchy. The flavor of the broth is out of this world. I’d never tasted anything like it. Clearly, the chef was in the mood for fancy ingredients. If you want to make this dish, but can’t get the ingredients in your area, please let us know. We’ll get them to you. Thanks and enjoy!

Fresh Ginger (unpeeled), 3/4 inch, sliced into 1/8 inch thick pieces
Schinken Speck German Ham
3 small Parsnip, sliced
6 thin Carrots, sliced
1 medium Kohlrabi, sliced
Roast Chicken, 1 lb. cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Orange Bell Peppers, sliced
Anise (AKA Sweet Anise or Fennel), sliced into chunks
1 medium Red Onion
Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth, 16 Oz.
Zucchini Caviar, 1 534 gram Jar
6 Ribs of Celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
Baby Bok Choy

1 tsp. Turneric
Fresh Nutmeg 1/8 tsp.
Cinnamon 2/3 tsp.
Chili Powder 1/8 tsp.

Any non-everyday Bread
Beppino Occelli Butter

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Add 2 qt. of water to a 4 qt. saucepan along with the Fresh Ginger and Schinken Speck
Bring to a boil over high heat
Add the carrots
After 2 minutes, add the Parsnips
After 10 minutes add the Kholrabi
Transfer to a larger, 10 qt. pot
Add the Cooked Chicken
Add the Sliced Peppers
Add the Zucchini Caviar
Add the Red Onion
Add the Turmeric, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Chili Powder,
Turn the heat to low and cover, cooking for 20 minutes
Add the Celery
Add the Bok Choy

Assembly:
Ladel into bowls
Garnish with Celantro
Serve with Buttered Toast, if you have any left.
Enjoy!

IDEA: For a vegetarian or vegan version, use Salt instead of the ham and substitute Vegetable Stock for the chicken broth. Zucchini Caviar is vegan. There are no fish eggs involved.

Tagged as: adhd, baby bok choy, carrots, character flaw, chicken vegetable stew, flavors, habit, organization, parsnips, prep time, textures