Every Day is a Winding Road...

This is my Grandma Anna's recipe for Chicken Soup. I learned it on chilly autumn afternoons after school. I'd come home and she'd be watching Young and the Restless or The Mike Douglass Show and cooking chicken soup. The secret is the rutabaga -- so don't leave it out!

INGREDIENTS:

• One soup chicken (somewhere around 3 pounds or so)
  
• 1 lb. of fresh carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
  
• 1 small rutabaga (waxed turnip), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  
• 2 large stalks of celery, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
  
• 1.5 cups of onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  
• 1 tbsp. parsley (dried is OK; fresh is better)
  
• thyme to taste (I use about 1 teaspoon)
  
• salt & pepper to taste
  
• 1 lb bag of egg noodles, boiled al dente OR: 2 cups of cooked rice
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make yourself a highball to enjoy while cooking.
   
2. Wash the chicken (get rid of the insides!) and put it in a really big pot.
   
3. Cover the chicken with cold water.
   
4. Add the vegetables and spices to the pot.
   
5. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer.
   
6. Simmer the soup for at least two hours. Have another highball while you're waiting.
   
7. In the meantime, prepare the rice or egg noodles separately and set aside.
   
8. Remove the chicken from the pot and de-bone it. (OK, OK, Grandma never used to do this, but I always do because I don't like "surprises" in my soup.)
   
9. Shred or slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the pot.
   
10. Add the egg noodles or rice to the soup pot.
    
11. You can add extra water or broth, if you think you need more liquid.
    
12. Continue simmering the soup for a few mintes to warm the egg noodles or rice, and the chicken. Serve piping hot with lots of bread and butter.
    
13. Play Bingo or Canasta after dinner.

Serves a lot of people -- at least ten or so, and it freezes well, too.

I am STILL stuck on Young and the Restless--just like Grandma Anna. I TiVo it every day!
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