Back to normal...Chicken soup

Yay!
It happened fast. The grapefruit seed extract does wonders for sudden yeast attacks. I used 10 drops in cool filtered water, twice a day the first day and once a day the second. Aside from some problems on my hands, everything is normal and I'm back to my normal diet, whatever that may be.

I always forget to post my grandmother's (and possibly her grandmother's) chicken soup recipe. I've made a few adjustments to it.

Variation #1: for purists

1 whole soup chicken with gizzard, heart and neck, preferably organic, preferably pastured. I don't trust kosher chickens these days. Only 2 companies appear to have a chokehold on this business and that's not good for business or chicken-raising practices.

Back in the day the hens used to come with an occasional unlaid egg which would also get thrown into the pot. My mother told me that she and her sister used to fight over the boiled, soft-shelled egg when it was done. I believe that feet may have shown up in the broth as well occasionally. The only thing that wasn't there was the liver, head and beak. The liver makes the soup taste "gamey" according to my grandmother, which I've also found true. I can't speak for the other verboten parts. :)

1 whole onion
1 whole parsnip (not GAPS friendly, but super-tasty and traditional)
1 whole carrot
1 or 2 sprigs of fresh dill or a pinch or two of dried dill (I can't eat it, but perhaps you can!)

Wash the chicken with cold filtered water, inside and out. place it in a large soup pot or slow-cooker. Wash the organ meat and put it in the pot, too. Fill the pot 2/3 of the way with filtered water and place on the stove. Turn the burner onto high.

Wash and peel the onion. Leave it whole. Wash and scrape the parsnip. Cut into 3 or 4" long pieces. Wash and scrape the carrot. Cut into 3" or 4" long pieces. Put all the veggies in the water. Cover and wait for the water to boil. (Or cover slow cooker and go do something else for a day. Now isn't that much easier?)

On a stove: Turn it down immediately to simmer. Go do something else for a few hours, checking it occasionally. After 3-4 hours, it's soup.

When it's cool enough to handle, scoop out the chicken, organ meat and veggies. Eat the soup chicken with the soup or in the soup. The organ meat is good, too.

Version #2: for non-purists

2 chicken backs/necks
Organ meat if you can get it (not liver)
1 onion
1 carrot
1 parsnip (unless you're on GAPS)

Put it all into a pot, fill 2/3 with filtered water, and follow all the instructions above.

Pour the soup into jars or containers for storage. If in the fridge, after 3 days, reboil for 3 minutes before eating. This can be done for two or three sets of three days. Freeze before this deadline.

To make a nice veggie soup, cut up whatever veggies are in season. If you're on GAPS, peel and seed the veggies. Saute in tallow, lamb fat, coconut oil, butter or similar fat until slightly browned. Add broth. Add cut up chicken/organ meat if you like. Bring to boil. Simmer 20-25 minutes.