but does it cure you?

Yes, I agree it is a pretty box of tissues, It's all flowery and springlike, but it isn't my favorite companion and there are a lot of things I would rather be doing than blowing my nose. Yes, I have a sinus infection and no, I am not very patient about getting well. I want instant gratification. I want to be healed like........ yesterday.


I can remember my father giving me some particularly nasty medicine and saying "if it doesn't kill you, it'll cure you" .......gee thanks. He was also famous for making us hot toddies, the southern cure
all, back in the day, for anyone over the age of birth suffering with a respiratory illness. I wish my father was still around, because I could sure use one of those hot toddies now that I have actually reached the age of reason. maturity... well, you know.


Since I don't have the ingredients for a hot toddy, I guess I will think about making some chicken soup from last night's leftover chicken that my sweet mama made. Bless her heart, she is still cooking at age 87.

This is my recipe, which I have been making for years, It kind of varies each time, as I use what I have on hand. 


The first thing I do is make stock. 
Remove all the usable chicken meat from the chicken carcass to save for making sandwiches later or for adding to the soup.

Break up the leftover bones of the carcass a bit, so they don't take up as much room in the pot. Put the leftover bones into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Add a yellow onion that has been quartered, some chopped carrots, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, celery tops, and some peppercorns.

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to a bare simmer. Add salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper. It sort of depends on how big your chicken is. You can always add salt to the soup later. I'm not a big salt eater so you may like it saltier.

Cook for at least 4 hours, uncovered, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface Keeping it uncovered will get the stock to reduce.

Remove the bones and veggies and strain the stock, ideally through a fine mesh strainer.

Now it's time to make the soup.

Return your stock to the pot and add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Add some parsley and a couple cloves of garlic. Add seasoning - poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram and/or a bouillion cube. Cook at a bare simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. Finally I add some noodles and some reserved chicken simmer until done and voila you have your soup. 

I've never actually figured out if the soup cures you , or if all that work you do preparing it sweats it out of you. Either way, it seems to work and it tastes really good.