and a good stock is paramount to a good soup. without it, it's like a movie with no previews to get you warmed up or like not exfoliating before you spray tan.
you'll need: a big pot
2 quarts water
32 oz chicken stock (from last time or store-bought)
a whole chicken (i butchered mine. literally.)
2 lemons cut up and wrapped in cheesecloth (because i'll be making lemon chicken soup)
celery
onion
garlic
fresh bay leaves
salt and pepper
i bought bulb onions, because i like the flavor. i cut 6 of them into wedges and peeled an entire bulb of garlic.
i sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil and salt and pepper for about 10 minutes while i butchered my chicken.
then i threw the chicken in and gave it all a stir. i waited another five minutes and poured the water and stock over the chicken and veggies.
i added an entire bunch of celery, including the leaves (i'm weird and like to pick out the stalks that aren't fully green. so, not really the entire bunch.) and 6 fresh bay leaves as well as the lemons in cheesecloth.
then i cooked it, covered, over medium-high heat for 2 hours. which is about the time i woke up on the sofa, realizing i wasn't going to make it to full-fledged soup that night.
so, i threw it all in the fridge to make soup later. (that blog coming soon.)