(Chicken Soup Primer)

It's a big pot, and it's got this straining pot that nests into it. Fill it with water to about 3/4 full. Set it to boiling.

You'll need a chicken. An uncooked one works, but what I like to do is to get one of those rotissery chickens from the market. It's all cooked and seasoned so you are halfway to chicken soup already.

I'll take the chicken and strip all the tasty bits off, chop them into bite sized nuggets, put 'em into a container, and put that in the 'fridge 'till later. If you start with a raw chicken, you'll have to strip the meat off the bones after the stock has cooked for awhile, after the movie (see below).

All the other bits: skin, bones, gristly bits; they go in the pot. Rinse the juice out of the container the chicke came in, that's concentrated chicken flavor, and pour it into the pot.

Now, clean out the vegie drawer of the 'fridge. Slimy stuff goes into the compost bin, as does anything that is obviously a beachhead for a fungal invasion. But limpy kale, celery ends, chunks of turnip, that half an onion from two days ago, carrot ends, all that kinda stuff: chop and throw in the pot.

Salt is good. Use some, but not too much. Pepper, too. Some thyme wouldn't hurt, plus a bay leaf or two, a teaspoon of basalmic vinegar, some sage, couple garlic cloves...

Bring to boil under cover, then back off to a simmer for a while. Watch a movie or something.

At this point, I like to take the pot off the stove, cover it with a big towel or two, and leave it for a few hours. Overnight is great. I'm a lazy cook.

After letting the stock sit for awhile, put it back on the stove and bring it to a simmer. This is where having a stock pot pays off. Pull the nesting sieve out of the pot, removing all the large chunks of leftovers and chicken bones out at once. Strain the broth into another pot or container for freezing.

Now that you got broth, you got soup. Set it to simmer and chuck the meat back in there. Add chunks of carrot, celery, onion, kale, peas, rice, noodles...whatever you want or have on hand. Keep on low simmer, in a crock pot, or on top of a wood stove for constant enjoyment on a cold winter day.