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cover and cook on low for 6 hours, until the chicken and vegetables are tender.

serve the soup over couscous in individual bowls.

serves 8

Raj Chicken Vegetable Soup

Fragrant with curry and filled with vegetables and a hint of apple, this chicken soup makes a delicious change of pace for lunch or dinner. Serve the soup over rice, if you are looking for a heartier presentation.

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon sweet curry powder (see savvy)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

2 cups diced small new potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted, for garnishing

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, apple, curry powder, and flour; sauté until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

transfer the mixture to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Stir in the chicken broth, honey, chicken, and potatoes, stirring to distribute the ingredients.

cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5½ to 6 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

serve the soup garnished with the toasted almonds.

serves 8

* * *

curry savvy

If you prefer your soup with a bit more spice, add ½ teaspoon hot curry powder along with the sweet curry powder. This will give you about a 7 on a 10-point heat meter.

more curry savvy

Curry powder should smell fresh. If yours doesn’t have an aroma or smells flat, toss it and buy new. Penzey’s Spices carries a variety of curry powders and they are terrific, but you can find curry powder in your grocery store, too.

Saigon Chicken Rice Soup

This simple soup with a complex character is inspired by a favorite of mine at a local San Diego area restaurant called Le Bambou. Flavored with ginger and chili garlic sauce, it is filled with shredded chicken, rice, and delicate ribbons of carrot, green onion, and Napa cabbage.

8 cups chicken broth

4 chicken breast halves, skin and bones removed

3 dime-size thin slices fresh ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

½ cup grated carrot

1 cup thinly sliced Napa cabbage

6 green onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal

2 cups cooked jasmine rice

pour the broth into the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

place the chicken in the bottom of the slow-cooker insert with the broth and add the ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, and chili sauce. Cover the cooker and cook on high for 4 hours.

strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, at the end of the 4 hours, and shred the chicken.

return the chicken and broth to the slow-cooker insert and add the carrot, cabbage, green onions, and rice. Keep warm on low for up to 2 hours before serving. If the soup thickens, add more broth.

serves 8

Cajun Chicken Gumbo

Gumbo makes me smile—it’s simple to prepare and reminds me of New Orleans, a city with a rich culinary heritage. I make it to soothe our souls during the winter. Gumbo is one of those recipes that you can tinker with and it always turns out delicious. Try using other meats or seafood, and garnish it with green onions and, of course, filé powder (crushed sassafras), which is de rigueur in the South. This gumbo begins with a roux, which you can make the night before putting your gumbo into the slow cooker. Although the roux is not hard to make, it does require some attention, so leave yourself some time to make it.

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup all-purpose flour

1½ cups chopped onions

1½ cups chopped celery

1½ cups chopped green bell peppers

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Old Bay or Creole seasoning

1 pound andouille or other smoked sausage, cut into ½-inch dice

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups bite-size pieces cooked chicken

1 bay leaf

3 cups cooked long-grain