Chicken Soup with Turnips and Wheatberries

Making chicken soup from scratch is one of my favorite ways to spend a day off. There's just something magical about spending the day with stock simmering on the stove, isn't there? So, in honor of Dr, King yesterday, I made chicken stock and soup. I want to empower ALL OF YOU to make your own stock - the flavor is incomparable. It takes a while (in my opinion, a good stock needs at least 3 hours), but you can just leave it on the stove while you do other things. Homemade stock keeps in the fridge for about 5 days, but keep in mind that if you aren't making soup right away, you can also freeze it in small portions so you have it whenever you need it.

As you can see below, this is a two step recipe. Stock first, then soup second. After I strained the stock, I added chicken (from the strained stock), carrots, celery, turnips (my new fave!) and wheatberries, but you can add whatever you like to the soup. Secretly, I used wheatberries because they were out of barley at the store, but I liked it! They added a nice, almost "crunchy" density to the soup. If you aren't eating the soup right away, I would suggest cooking the grains seperately, so they don't absorb too much of the broth.

Happy chicken stock and soup making!!

Chicken Stock
Makes about 10 cups

1 (3 1/2- to 4 1/2-lb) whole chicken, cut into pieces if you would like

2 celery ribs, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 medium onions, left unpeeled, roughly chopped

6 fresh parsley springs

1 bay leaf

4 qt cold water (just fill up the soup pot)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large and skim froth. Reduce heat immediately and gently simmer (so that only a few bubbles rise to the top at once), uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, 3 hours.

Remove chicken, then pour stock through a fine strainer into a large bowl and discard solids. If using stock right away, skim off and discard any fat. If not, then chill, covered, and discard any solidified fat.

Chicken Soup with Turnips and Wheatberries

Serves 4-6

10 cups homemade chicken stock

Shredded chicken (from stock, remove all skin, bones and fat)

3 turnips, cut into small chunks

2 carrots, cut into "pennies

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 cup cooked wheatberries

Bring the stock to a boil. Turn down heat and add turnips and carrots. Cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft but not falling apart. Remove from heat, and add chicken and wheatberries.