Our Chicken and Noodles

Chicken and Noodles is a completely different beast than Chicken Noodle Soup. In my humble (HA!) opinion anyway. I think of chicken noodle soup as more veggie, less noodle, while chicken and noodles is more thick egg noodles, shredded chicken and maybe some carrots if your peeling manic 6 year old is eager to help. With the lingering sick around here I decided that a mega pot of chicken and noodles with plenty of garlic was in order.

Turned out it was a pot of our homegrown chickens, with onions, garlic, dried celery, rosemary and sage for the broth portion of dinner. I started this pot of wonderfulness bubbling away in my Le Creuset french oven about 10am, it was nice to have dinner planned and halfway done before snack time.

Everything in that pot I grew, with the exception of the water, salt and peppercorns, I love that. If only we could could grow wheat in Alaska I'd be set in the locavore lifestyle. Oh well I'm sure we'll be growing wheat soon enough.

Egg Noodles-plan for an hour before you can eat with 10-15 minutes of work

2 1/2 cups of flour-I love King Arthur flour-try it you'll love it too!
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon ice water

pile 2 cups of the flour on the counter
sprinkle on the salt
make a well in the center
break the eggs into the well
add the water
stir to scramble them and slowly incorporate the flour
keep stirring add more flour ONLY if it's sticky, you don't want a dry dough that's crumbly
when it holds together start kneading it
knead it for 8 minutes adding flour only if it sticks
after 8 minutes turn a bowl over it and let it rest for 20 minutes
roll the dough as thin as possible because it will double in thickness as it cooks
keep rolling, keep rolling, keep rolling
repeat
repeat
finally you can cut the noodles when the sheet is roughly the size of a 11x17 pan
cut them in strips, then in 2 inch lengths
drop them right in your boiling broth or soup or stew
you can dry them for use later on in the day

I have never made these ahead of time and completely dried them. I have just cut them and hung them on a cooling rack set up on cans for a few hours.

This is a great recipe to make with kids. My helper was so into mixing, rolling and especially the cutting. He ate 3 kid sized bowls of it too, which is nice because he finally ate chicken we grew without being grossed out.

Now that seed ordering is upon us, or maybe even planting for some of you lucky ducks I'm trying to decide what to grow this year. What was 'worth' it and what was not. I know basil will be up there, carrots for sure, potatoes, broccoli, onions and the garlic I planted last fall. All the regulars will be around rhubarb, currants and crab apples too. Oh and peas too they were worth it too. What are you planning in your piece of nature?


I love this time of year, days are longer now and hold a promise of gardens to come. For now I'll comfort myself with seed catalogs, some early seeds to plant and a rag rug to finish before spring hits.

Peace and Love,