Chicken Soup for my Soul

When I showed people this picture, the first thing they asked is "what's that stuff in the middle?" It's pastina. Read on to find out more.

One of my specialties as a cook is soups. I heart soups. I heart making them. I heart eating them. I always have. One of my favorites is chicken rice soup. Homemade of course. Let me tell you a little about my typical Monday. What does this have to do with soup, you ask? Keep reading and you will find out. Monday is the day that I clean the house after being lazy all weekend. I usually do laundry all day. Zoey and I chill, and we go grocery shopping. Most of the time I don't feel like cooking on Mondays so I pick up a rotisserie chicken. We either eat it straight up or in a casserole or something but we never eat the whole thing. Later on in the week, I take the chicken and make soup. Well, that's what I did when it was cooler outside. The past few weeks have been so hot and humid that I haven't felt like making soup and I was starting to crave it. Then, a miracle happened! The weather cooled down! It was in the lower 60's the other day which felt like winter after having 90+ degree heat for a while. It was rainy too. Perfect soup weather. And I happened to have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge. The stars were aligning. Here is my recipe and method for making chicken soup. It's not an exact science and it's really hard to mess up, so experiment away!

Chicken Soup

Stock Ingredients:
1 Rotisserie Chicken Carcass
3 stalks Celery, cut into large pieces
1 large onion with skin left on, cut into large pieces
2 parsnips, unpeeled and cut into large pieces
3 carrots, unpeeled and cut into large pieces
1 head garlic with skin on, cut in half horizontally
8-10 Whole Peppercorns
1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
Any combination of the following fresh herbs; Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, Dill, Sage. Leave the stems on. They have lots of flavor. This is also a good time to clean out your veggie drawer in the fridge if you have things that are on the way to being rotten. The only things I really wouldn't put in are cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, caulifower, etc. Just nothing really smelly that will take over the flavor.

Stock Directions:
Put everything in a big ol' pot. Cover with cold water. If you really want to, you can roast all of the veggies in a big pan with olive oil in a 400 degree oven until they are brown on the edges. It gives a little extra flavor, but it will taste good either way. Bring to a simmer and keep on a low simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer, the better. It's better if you don't let the water boil. That's when that nasty foam forms. If scum rises to the top, scoop it off. When you have extracted the flavor from the veggies and chicken, strain into another big pot or bowl. Most people throw the veggies away but you can find me hovering over the pot eating the parsnips and carrots. Take the chicken out and set aside until it is cool enough to handle. Pick the chicken off the bones and set aside.

Soup Ingredients:
Chicken stock from above
Chicken picked from above
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Parsnips, peeled and diced small
Olive Oil
pinch of fresh nutmeg
*8-10 Slices of American Cheese (the more processed, the better), optional
Pasta or rice

Soup Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add all of the veggies and nutmeg and sautee until veggies are tender. Add the chicken stock and chicken. Bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the slices of cheese and stir until it's all melted in.
   
2. In a seperate pot, cook your pasta or rice according to the package directions. A little tip is to keep the pasta/rice separate and add it to each individual bowl. Never make the starch in the soup unless you are going to eat all of it the same night. We like leftovers and don't like mushy pasta or rice, so we keep it separate. And that's it. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
   

*You may think this a strange ingredient, but let me tell you something... it is delicious. Start with a few slices, taste and add more if it needs it. (Side note: Zak introduced me to cheese in soup. I think it's one of those family things that you grow up on and think it's normal, but really, it's not. Like in my family how we put cream cheese on banana bread. I thought everyone did it until I went to college and my roommates thought I was a weirdo.) The cheese just adds a salty velvetyness that you can't get from anything else. You can certainly omit it if you don't have any or are opposed to processed cheese. I know my mom is. The soup is really good without the cheese as well.