Chicken Soup

I just finished my pastry school homework for the night, and I feel much much dumber for it. Some of the questions were really hard to answer without sounding like I was making fun of the teacher. A prime example would be "explain the preparation involved in a dicing an onion." Now I'm no genius, but I would probably just.....remove the skin and dice it??? Honestly? Really? It was quite painful.

Today was just another lovely day. I worked selling cakes and flirting with customers. A beautiful italian boy came in so I gave him some free cake and promptly forgot how to talk, stand, and breath. When he left the store I fell into a heap of giggles and one of the girls who works at the shop looked at me and said "Cherry I have you all figured out."

I'm making friends with most of the shop owners up and down the street I work on. Its starting to feel more like home here. I'm beginning to form my own little community made up of sushi makers, coffee sellers and chefs. I love being able to walk up a street and know half the people who work there.

I've been feeling a bit homesick for Noosa over the past few days. I miss my friends and family of course, but also all the places I used to go. I miss my favourite cafes, the owners, the staff, and going to beach parties at night. One of my friends said to me this week that if I was still in Noosa we would probably be living in an apartment by the beach, drinking wine every night and sleeping under the stars. How much I miss this! It made me cry to think of the beautiful life I used to have there. Sometimes it was so easy and perfect. But on I push! There would be no career as a food writer if I just lay on the beaches everyday.

Melbourne is starting to get colder and darker earlier. Everyone seems to be getting sick with the seasons changing. So I'm going around to one of my friends houses tomorrow night to make her some chicken soup. Here is the recipe incase any of your friends are sick and you want to cheer them up.

Chicken Soup (for your soul and your sick friend's soul too)

What you will need:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Two chicken breasts
• 4 cups of chicken stock (its best if you make it yourself but if your naughty and lazy use the cubes.)
• 1 cup of cream
• 5 washed potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 cobs of corn
• 1 capsicum
• 2 rashers of bacon
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• A few chilli flakes

What to do:

1. Place some oil in the bottom of a pot
2. Dice your chicken, onion and garlic (the more garlic you use the better when your sick)
3. Place your onion and garlic in the pot and gently fry until its clear (do this on a low heat)
4. Add your chicken. Stir and cook till the outside is all white (don't worry if its not cooked through because it will cook more in the stock, and you don't want it going tough)
5. Add your bacon, cook till it has some colour.
6. Add herbs
7. Dice all your vegetables
8. Add the vegetables and cook (stir while cooking) for about 5 minutes
9. Add stock.
10. Bring to boil
11. Turn down to a simmer
12. Cook for an hour
13. Add cream
14. Season
15. Serve