sunday supper: nor'easter sunday

The grossest day we've had in a long long time. One of those days when you don't want to do anything but lay around, watch TV, read, and eat junk food. I certainly didn't have it in me to cook anything elaborate, and luckily the perfect dinner on a rainy, stormy day isn't elaborate at all. Chicken soup.



There is definitely no recipe for this soup. My soup is all about using up leftovers and jamming it full of veggies. I made the stock with the carcasses of those cornish hens from last week, simmering them with various veggies and herbs for about 4 hours. It made the apartment smell homey and delicious. Once the stock was complete, it was quick work assembling the soup. I sauteed some onion and garlic, added the stock and some barley, ginger slices, lemon juice, and any dried herbs I felt like throwing in. I simmered that for about 30 minutes, until the barley was almost cooked. That's when I added most of the veggies. I don't like super soggy veggies in my soup, and since the stock had been simmered for hours with carrots and celery and onions, the flavor was already there, no need to add them to the soup so early. I dumped in the carrots and celery, some fresh corn that I cut off the cob, chopped Lacinato kale, and finally, a bunch of leftover chicken that I had shreded into bite-size pieces. Just a few minutes of simmering the assembled soup, adjusting the salt, pepper and lemon juice, and throwing in any chopped fresh herbs that I had lying around and it was all done. This thick and hearty soup was more than enough for a meal on it's own, but I threw in some crusty baked bread so sop up some of the broth. We went from a chilly, soggy night, so warm and toasty and full.