chicken noodle soup for the sick soul.

When I was twelve years old, I gave up eating red meat. Four years later, I gave up all meat. I spent all of my adult life as a vegetarian. I learned to cook with tofu and beans, with all kinds of vegetables, with spices and sauces, but I completely missed the part of life where I might have learned to cook with meat.

Two and a half years ago I ate meat during a month in Turkey and discovered that I loved it! Since then I've been calling myself a recovering vegetarian. I eat any and all meats that arrive in my vicinity. Steak in restaurants, chicken shwarma, and all manner of deliciuous meaty things. But I have no idea what to do with any of those things at home.

Which is how I, soup-lover extraordinaire, come to be staring at the various kinds of chicken at the local deli, with my mouth agape. Boneless, skinless breast. Family packs of thighs, bone in or out. Roasting chickens. Wings. 5.99 a pound. 7.99 a pound.

My head spun.

How much of what kind of chicken do I need to make this damned chicken noodle soup? I'm sick, my head full of phlegm, pushing out all semblance of intelligent thought... And I want soup.

Here's what I came up with. We'll see how it works out.

~5 lb chicken (thighs and boneless breasts)
3 leeks, sliced thinly
1 bag baby carrots, chopped small
3 stalks celery, sliced
i jally, minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 cups egg noodles
6 c stock

saute leek, carrot, garlic, jally, celery
clear a space, then add chicken to middle. brown on each side ~ 3 minutes. Add 1 c stock to gather the browned juices. Add herbs and salt n pepper to taste. Add rest of stock. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chix, tear off bone and/or cut into bite sized pieces. Add back into pot, along with the noodles. Cook another 10 minutes or so.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Eat.