Mollie's Amazing Zoodle Soup

I don't know whether to call this a soup or a one pot meal but I do know it is delicious, filling, healthy and relatively easy and quick to pull together.  

Mollie is an intuitive cook and pulled this together without a recipe to follow. Due to a number of health issues she has become adept at creating clean, healthy recipes from scratch or by adapting and "blending" existing recipes. That's really the take away from this - if you don't like a certain ingredient? Then make a substitution. Adjust the spices. Make the recipe work for you and whomever you are cooking for.

And, oh yeah - we aren't food bloggers but we wanted to share this deliciousness!

Mollie's Garbanzo and Zoodle Soup.

What you need:

2 boxes of organic chicken bone broth (32 ounces each)

2 cans organic garbanzo beans (Trader Joe's is a great source)

1 tbsp herbs de Provence (we love the one fromTrader Joe's but it is a seasonal item and you can find other brands at the grocery store)

red pepper flakes to taste 

1/4 cup chopped onion (we use TJ frozen onions and Mollie admitted she sometimes forgets to toss them in - it's still yummy!) 

4- 5 strips Applegate Thick Cut Uncured Bacon (or bacon of your choice)

4 organic zucchinis 

2 bags of organic baby spinach - 6 oz. each

4 -5 chicken breasts. We use organic free range chicken breasts.

What you do:

Bring bone broth, herbs and pepper flakes and frozen onion to boil in a large soup pot.

Pour in two cans garbanzo beans that have been drained. Reduce to simmer. 

Cook Applegate thick cut uncured bacon in saute pan.

While bacon is cooking make zoodles. Mollie uses a very inexpensive zoodle maker that she's had since college. You can also buy premade zoodles.  Mollie uses kitchen shears to cut the long zoodles into "spoon size" pieces.

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and grill for approximately 12 minutes until cooked.

When chicken is halfway cooked Mollie adds the zoodles and two 6 oz. bags of spinach to the simmering broth.

 When chicken is ready cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of a bowl. Cover with  soup mixture and garnish with the bacon. Mollie adds hot sauce because she is spicy!!

This is a filling and comforting meal in a bowl. It is an adaptable recipe and would be delicious without the chicken for a meatless meal- just add more zoodles! 

Enjoy!

In a Pickle...

If  you've read one blog post or seen even one IG post of mine you probably already know I'm a Lowcountry gal at heart. Charleston born and proud of it!

I consider myself "stuck" 5 hours inland :)

I have ingrained that love of coastal South Carolina, Charleston and all the Southern goodness that entails into Mollie!

(IOP beach house with colorful chairs and Coast hat!)

A friend from Ohio once purchased a t-shirt for me after knowing me only a short while. 

It said "GRITS"

*Girls Raised In The South.

I loved that shirt!

One of the things that Mollie and I like to do when we are in Charleston is have lunch at Jestine's Kitchen. 

After we stroll through the shops on King. 

After we stock up on candles at Candlefish and buy some candied pecans in the Market.

 Then we are ready for a hearty lunch!

This spot is perfect for a completely, undeniably, deep fried Southern lunch.

Mollie thinks Jestine's in Charleston, SC and Michie Tavern in Charlottesville, VA have the best fried chicken evahhhh!!!

I'm all about the okra gumbo. Okra anything, really.

But we definitely agree on this - the little saucer of pickles that they bring to your table when you are seated is fabulous.

We were reminiscing about Jestine's Kitchen the other day 

(be sure to read the top 10 questions tourist ask them!!) 

and I decided to "google" Jestine's pickle recipe and give it a try.

Here's what I came up with (just in time for Fourth of July snacking!)

I bought some fresh cucumbers from Trader Joes.

Any pickling or regular salad cuke will work.

I used a vegetable peeler to remove some of the skin. 

I like the striped effect it makes on the edges of the pickles.

I sliced them very, very thin on my old Pampered Chef slicer.

 It's been around here a long time and well used!

Some recipes indicated you could make them any thickness you prefer

 but we like how paper thin the pickles are at Jestine's.

Then I sliced a small onion paper thin as well. 

I dice my thin sliced onion because I personally like the onion to be smaller.

Next up - peppercorns. To taste. I put a lot (like a lot!!) in my pickles.

We use an antique industrial cabinet to hold our multitude of spices.

And fitting for this post - to the left you can see a favorite lino print by Charleston, SC artist Stacy Bradley of Perlaanne Press. 

And then you add sugar.

 I combined a couple of recipes that stated they were similar to Jestine's. I chose to do about a 1/2 cup of sugar to my 6 small cukes. Some recipes suggested 3/4 of a cup. 

That's up to your pickle sweetness preference :)

 The pickles aren't just sweet pickles - they have a tart side too but they aren't dill pickles. 

They are just really, really yummy!

Stir it all gently and then fill your clean glass jars with the cucumber mixture. 

Be sure that each jar has plenty of peppercorns and onions 

mixed in with the cucumber slices.

They are so crisp and fresh looking.

Pour white vinegar to the halfway mark of your pickles.

Then fill the jar the rest of the way with water.

Put a lid on the jar and shake gently to be sure everything is well mixed.

Then simply put in the refrigerator over night so all the flavors can blend together.

They are delicious as a starter like at Jestine's, on sandwiches and more. 

The small jar will be a hostess gift when we join friends for a Fourth of July cookout.

We will enjoy the other jar at home.

Jestine's pickles will keep in the refrigerator for a week or two -

if they last that long!!