Yes, it appears that chicken soup is universal. This miracle soup can cure your colds (or at least make u feel better ), warm you up, or simply hit that hunger spot.

In the US they use carrots, potatoes and noodles, in China they use ginger, various leafy greens, and many other cultures have their own little variations. from France, Italy, Greece, portugal, Canada, they all have their own versions, but one thing remains common...chicken and chicken broth!

Now, today in Belize is a bit cloudy and the temperature has fallen and it's going to start raining...so why not chicken soup? It alwyas tastes better when its rainy or cold or when you're sick.

Now on to the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 small Broccolli

2 med. Potatoes

1 Cho Cho ( a local squash in Belize not sure of the name in the US)

1 Cassava

1 small onion

1 whole chicken- quartered

1 carrot

1 bread fruit cubed

2 limes

1 bunch Cilantro or Culantro

2 Banana Peppers- fresh (also known as escabeche peppers)

salt, Pepper, hot sauce (marie sharp's if you can)

white/brown rice or noodles.

1. Take your chicken quarters and boil it in salt water. While this is cooking start chopping up your veggies into cubes. Any skins or stems or ends just throw it in the pot with the chicken so the broth can have a bit more flavor and nutrients.

* Chicken boiling in salt water with vegetable bits & pieces.

* Vegetables cubed and soaking

2. After Chicken is cooked remove from water into a bowl and let it cool. Strain vegetable bits out of the chicken stock, pour in cubed vegetables (above) and the water they are soaking in into the stock and let boil. While the vegetables are cooking in the stock season with salt, black pepper, to taste.  When chicken is tolerably warm shred the chicken from the bones and skin. Add shredded chicken to the pot of boiling vegetables , the Banana Peppers (escabeche peppers), cilantro  and noodles (you don't need noodles if you are doing it with rice) let boil for about 15-20 minutes.

Boil baby Boil!

3.  If you are serving your chicken soup with white rice you should put your rice to cook while the soup is coming together. 2 cups rice (about 4 servings) in 3 1/2 cups of water with a little bit of salt should do the trick keep it at high temp for about 10 mins and low tem for the rest of the time. Cover the rice this usually helps and have about 1/2 cup water on hand incase u need to add a little bit more.

when the soup is finished place rice in the bowl then soup on the top or vice versa. Now to make this even more Belizean squeeze about a quarter of a lime into the bowl and then add 4 drops of hot sauce, if you are really belizean you'll add more hot sauce but thats all up to personal taste and how hot you can go. Eat up and Enjoy it's a chilly chilly evening in Belize. By chilly i mean 71F...yes i know some might say that's not cold. Enjoy your soup and take it easy.

Tizzle Sizzles