How to Stretch a Chicken, Part III

Well, it's now day 3 and all I have left is the carcass. Plus some leftover potatoes and carrots which I had roasted with the original chicken. So what to do? Well, I considered making chicken stock, which I usually do. But my freezer is stuffed with food and I wanted something warm. The obvious answer is chicken soup.

I'm assuming that most people reading a food blog have made chicken soup. (If this isn't the case for you, you can post a comment or email me at toni AT mission valley acu (one word) DOT com.) I made my stock with sea salt, and left all the little bits of chicken which came off the bones floating in the soup. After removing the bones, I added some fresh carrots and spinach which I had bought fresh, washed, par-boiled and frozen. If you've got leftover white beans or mushrooms, they'd be excellent in the soup. At the very end, I added the leftover potatoes and carrots, as well as some leftover butternut squash which I diced. I kept these in long enough for them to heat.

I love herbs, and use them in cooking all the time. I don't always think about which herbs I'll use in any particular recipe. I use my nose to decide that. Sometimes I'll just sniff the jars of herbs to decide which one smells like it would go with this particular dish. Since the chicken soup is kind of yellow in color, I'd be comfortable adding a touch of curry powder. A healthy dash of Hungarian paprika or red chili powder would also add some welcome heat in the winter. Or if you're in a different mood, you can add a dash of balsamic vinegar or squeeze some meyer lemon juice into the soup and add some fresh herbs. If you're feeling particularly cold, and maybe you have a runny nose, try adding some ginger to your soup. Ginger has wonderful warming properties, so it's great for when you're feeling cold. Not so good when you've got a fever.

Enjoy!

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