My chicken soup recipe- Is it Ashkenazi or something different?

Sometimes for Shabbat in the winter I'll make two big pots of this chicken soup, maybe a dessert, and maybe a salmon salad that doesn't have to be made before Shabbat (no cooking required). Any time any of us is sick is also an excuse to make it on a weekday. Ok, no more preamble; let's get to the good stuff! :)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (a package of, say, chicken thighs would also work, but boneless skinless probably would not come out right)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste (optional)
4-5 or more carrots, sliced
4-5 or more celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, whole (I've used yellow and red; both make the soup taste good but they're different)
1 leek, sliced (that's how we like it best but you can also use more or less half a bunch of parsley, chopped, instead)
matzah balls (optional; I actually haven't been making them lately because I found organic, whole wheat matzah meal at my Whole Foods around Passover time but that's it)

Put chicken in your biggest available pot, fill pot with water (you can estimate but if you want a measurement it's 2 and 1/2 quarts or 10 cups), add seasonings, and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, you can turn down the heat to a simmer if it boils over. Now add veggies and cook for 1 and 1/2 hours. If you forgot the seasonings before or decide you want more, go ahead and add them at any time (but I think the soup comes out best when they're added immediately). If you're including matzah balls, follow your recipe's instructions. (I don't currently have a good one to recommend but I do suggest using whole wheat if possible.)

So what do you think? Ashkenazi or not?

Warm Your Belly

The howling winter wind bites at my face like an angry dog as I trudge through the icy white mounds on the ground. My whole body is frozen solid. Just one more block until I'm home, I tell myself. Finally I push open the door to my apartment building, and when I pass through the portal between the merciless open air and the secure shelter, my skin begins to thaw.

It takes more than that to warm my belly, though. Upstairs in my apartment, I greet my family and head straight for the kitchen. I grab a pot and fill it with water. I chop chop chop and toss in this and that, and several minutes later my husband and I are sitting down to savor our hot, steaming bowls of soup....

I don't make soup from a recipe; I make it up every time. Basically, to make a soup that's yummy and a healthy, complete meal I just use:

-water
-Osem or Telma soup mix or chicken broth;
-any combination of veggies, e.g. carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, green beans, zucchini;
-some kind of protein like chicken, beans, nuts, or eggs (to make it eggdrop soup);
-some kind of starch such as brown rice, potatoes, corn, or whole wheat pasta;
-fresh herbs and spices like onions, garlic, ginger, parsley, and/or any kind of dried herbs and spices;
-pepper;
-just a bit of salt, or no salt at all since there's plenty in the broth already
-sometimes pasta sauce and/or soy sauce.

There's no uniform cooking time. Soup with potatoes or dry beans probably needs at least 20 minutes, while chicken needs to be cooked through thoroughly, usually at least a half hour. Brown rice could also be done in a half hour if you cook the soup on high the whole time, but make sure there's plenty of water if you're going to do that. I sometimes end up with rice pilaf instead of soup if I don't put enough water in. Pasta needs the cooking time that's given on the package, while soup without any of these items might actually be done in, like, five minutes. Also, the order of ingredients doesn't matter, but I would recommend putting the water in first and having it cook while you add everything else.

I find, during the winter, that I make soup for dinner several nights a week, but it comes out different every time since I use a different combination of stuff every time.


Please leave comments with other tips, ideas, and/or questions about winter soup!