Soup starting

That last couple of weeks have been a little challenging. First I was on vacation and got sick, sick, sick. As in sounding like I was hacking up a lung sick -- and I was camping!

Second, I got home and was still sick. Then my partner got home and she got what I had. So chicken noodle soup was the special of the day for this weekend.

Anytime I roast a chicken or debone chicken for another recipe, I immediately make stock. Just chicken and a little salt -- no veggies, no other spices. This way, the chicken stock will be ready to be used anyway I see fit. I can always add the other stuff later.

As I was saying, the chicken broth came in really handy this weekend. I put the frozen broth, a 16 oz bag of frozen peas, a pound of carrots, four celery stalks, a large onion, three bulbs of garlic (keep cloves whole), four bay leaves, a couple of teaspoons of thyme, a teaspoon of black pepper, and a pound of mushrooms in a very large pan. I added five thighs and drumsticks to the mix and covered with water. Then I let it simmer for a couple of hours. After an hour, I pulled the meat, removed the bones, and replaced the meat. I also pulled the top two cups of fluid and set it in the fridge to separate. About half an hour before we wanted to eat, I added the defatted broth and thick country noodles.

The soup was really, really rich with a wonderful, silky mouth-feel. The soup was not really garlicky, probably because I left the cloves whole. I put so much stuff in it that the soup was somewhat stewy (but without a really thick gravy), so it was incredibly filling.