Soup for the soul

After many days of sun and heat, today's weather was a bummer.  It was cold and rainy the whole day.  We went grocery shopping this morning and by the time I got home, all I wanted was a nice hot cup of tea.  I made curry puffs using pre-made puff pastry and while that was baking, Pete and I did some chores.  By the time it was ready, I had such a treat taking crunchy bites of the curry puffs and the tea warmed me up.

For such a weather, only chicken soup will do.  Also, I was hoping that the soup will be gentle on Pete's ulcer in his mouth.  It hurts him whenever he eats so I am trying to cook something that will make eating a less painful affair.

My chicken soup is a slowly and lovingly brewed soup.  First, I made a rich stock using one whole chicken, an onion, a carrot and a few celery stalks.  I let the stock boil until the chicken falls off the bone.  That would take at least two hours over slow fire.  I fished out the chicken, removed the meat and then put the bones back into the stock to boil a bit more. 

Then, I cubed potatoes, more onions, carrots and celery, chopped some cabbage and washed a whole ear of corn.  Once I'm ready to make the soup, I sauted the onions and celery and then when they were soft, I added the rest of the ingredients and the stock.  I cooked the soup until the potatoes were soft.  Just before serving, I put the chicken pieces into the soup.

It's a very hearty and rich soup.  It soothed me and warmed me up.  But alas, Pete still found it painful when he had his soup just now.  It's just past 6.30pm and although the sun is finally shining, I still feel cold.  Looks like another bowl, with a loaf of crusty garlic bread will be in order soon.  I hope Pete's ulcer will heal soon so he could enjoy the soup as much as I did.