Cold? Make Some Soup!

Do you feel like curling up with a book and some soup in front of the fireplace? With cold weather still surging through the northern regions of the world, our promise of spring-time weather seems too far away indeed. Warm up with some homemade, chicken soup. Instead of using a broth from the grocery store, take some bones with meat on it or a carcass and make your own from scratch. Not only will your soup be healthier and taste better, you'll save money too . If you make a large batch, you can portion out smaller amounts and freeze it for eating later. Here's a recipe for making your own chicken broth:

• 1 organic, pasture-raised chicken carcass or chicken bones with some of the meat left on them, including skin - use your favorite pieces such as breasts, thighs, or legs (or use them all)
• Carrots
• Celery
• Onions
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley
  

Fill up a cooking stock pot with filtered water (as much as you want for your soup), and put it on the stove. Cut the carrots, onions, and celery, and place them in the pot along with your carcass or chicken bones. Add the salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Bring the contents of your stockpot to a boil and then turn down to low. Allow your soup to simmer for roughly 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, remove all the meat from bones and carcass. Discard bones.

You can add anything to your broth that you'd like. Here are some ideas:

• Vegetables - corn, peas, mushrooms, zucchini, green beans, bok choy, shallots, cauliflower, broccoli.
• Rice, potatoes, or sprouted-grain pasta (try Ezekiel bread pasta)
• Additional meat - chicken or turkey
• Other spices - cumin, chili powder, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf, cilantro, garlic, gingerroot...the sky's the limit!
  

If you add anything to your broth, be sure to put it in all at once and then bring your broth to a boil again, and turn down to simmer for at least an hour (especially if you have put in raw meat). Visit World Famous Recipes for a variety of different types of chicken soup. Be sure to replace any processed foods used in these recipes with whole foods.