Souper Saturday

Today for the first time, I could feel it! It wasn't a drastic difference from the day before but it was there! The first hint of Fall. The humidity that had hung in the air like a warm, wet coat seemed to have melted away overnight. The temperature has dropped a few degrees and summer is quickly giving way to fall. Summer we will miss you but, I always look forward to that crisp fall air, football, and all the foods and spices that signify fall. Pumpkins, pecans, apple pie, cinnamon, and the return of SOUP! During summer here in the southeast, soup is not the most appealing meal. The last thing I want to eat in mid July is a pipping hot bowl of soup. I know that there are many wonderful cold soups; gazpacho made from fresh ripe tomatoes and veggies or a soup of ripe juicy melon, Yum!
However, when that hint of fall is in the air, I crave a pot of simmering soup on the stove top that fills the house with smell of warm comfort.

Drawing from my Pennsylvania Dutch roots, I made a variation of my grandmother's Chicken Corn Soup. Grammy, being a good Mennonite lady with a large family, would poach at least two chickens in water onions, carrots and celery. Then let the chickens cool and clean the meat from the bones, put it all back in the broth and finish the soup. My mom always made her soup this way as well, and as a child, I loved helping take the meat off the chicken. The helper could steal a few pieces of chicken!

Today I really wanted chicken corn soup and not having the time or a whole chicken to cook, I grabbed some chicken stock and a couple of chicken breast and made soup. I added some new potatoes to my soup and I don't think that my grandmother put any potatoes in hers. That's the great thing about making soup, there are endless variations and it's a great way to clean out the leftovers in the fridge. So throw in whatever you've got on hand. Soup is great dish for beginning cooks because it's almost impossible to ruin!

Method

serves 6-8

10 cups chicken stock (I used homemade but any good stock will do)

2-3 chicken breasts

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 small yellow onion chopped

1 carrot sliced thinly

1 lb of new potatoes cut into small pieces

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup of fresh corn or frozen corn kernels

2 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 1/2 TBS fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

Put the stock, chicken breasts, celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, salt and pepper, in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 30-45 min. until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken breast and shred with two forks. Skim any fat from the top of the soup and return the chicken to the soup. Add the corn and cook for 10 min. Add hard boiled eggs and parsley. Adjust seasoning(I like lots of pepper) and serve.