Chicken Scratch Soup

I think chicken soup has a bad reputation.  Well, maybe the bad reputation belongs more to who the soup is associated with:  sick people.   When most folks think of chicken soup, they think of being under the weather.  But when I think of chicken soup, I think of this luxurious, brothy, nutrient-filled, from-scratch concoction bubbling softly on my stove top, and the weather doesn't come to mind at all.

Okay, maybe it does a little bit.  But only because these cold, damp, dreary days almost always put me in the mood for some comfort food.  So, here's how I go about meeting that need.  It involves:

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 large carrots
• 4 stalks celery
• 2 large leeks
• 1/2 cup chopped dried plums
• dash of salt
• 2T butter
• water

This recipe is based on one I saw in a stunning clean-food cookbook at my local library, and when I remember what the name of the book is, I'll post it here.  Give me time...and a prayer or two.

And now back to our story...

First, I put the whole chicken in a pot and cover it with water. 

Am I the only one who finds beauty in a raw chicken?  Maybe it's because it's one of my homegrown, free-ranged, rainwater quenched beautiful birds.  I feel clean just looking at the picture.  I never thought I'd say that.  Let's move on...

Next, I add in the leafy green tops of a couple of my garden leeks.  Looks strange, doesn't it?  Strange, but oddly intriguing...

The leek leaves are followed by 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, roughly cut into 4" sections or so.  A sprinkle of salt tops it all off and then...

This gorgeous assembly simmers slowly for an hour or so, while the flavors release and mesh into a lovely opaque broth.  I think broth is beautiful, too.  Just saying.

Then the chicken gets pulled out, and I remove the white and dark meat from the bone.  (I won't comment on how nice and moist I think the chicken looks, but I bet you get the point.)

I break up the carcass and add it back to the broth, and let the pot simmer while I get started on the next step.  Here's that beautiful broth I was talking about.  See what I mean?

Okay, this step involves chopping two stalks each of celery and leeks...

And tossing them into a skillet greased with butter.  Ooh-la-la!  Suddenly I'm French.  Except I was a Spanish major in college, so "Que bonita!".  That's better.  Wish I had an upside down exclamation point on my keyboard, that expression would be so much more authentic.  You linguists understand.  Everything's better with an upside down exclamation point.

Well, it only gets better from here because now it's time to toss in the chicken!  My-oh-my. 

And while the chicken, leeks, and celery are all sizzling merrily along, I take the broth pot off the burner and strain out all the vegetables and remaining chicken.  I am left with the most tantalizingly silky chicken broth you could ever imagine.  Go ahead, imagine it.  There are no words, right?!

And here comes the grand finale...the broth goes back in the pot, the chicken and veggie mixture in the skillet gets scooped into the broth, and then, just to jazz it up a notch, you toss in some dried plums  (otherwise known as prunes, but since they also conjure up some less than savory thoughts, we'll use the other name.  It's classier.). 

I had a photo of the dried plums, but it wasn't flattering at all.  I thought I'd spare you.  I can't risk letting a book be judged by its cover, because the flavor they add to the soup is spectacular!  Just don't look at them as you're cooking.

Because when this is your end result, it's worth all the effort...and a weird ingredient or two.

Homemade chicken soup, made from scratch.  It's so mellow, soothing, and healthful, don't wait until you're sick to try it!  Maybe if you try it, you won't get sick at all.  I think I'll have another helping!