The darkness of winter has completely ruined my ability to take good photographs of food. I lieu of a fancy flash like Deb of Smitten Kitchen has, food just does not photograph well in artificial light. Food, being natural, requires natural light, and lots of it, to look good in a picture.

I made chicken noodle soup with homemade stock last weekend, and man, it was delicious, but I never got a good photo.

OK, OK, I did get one photo, it’s the soup in a jar, photographed in evening fluorescent kitchen light:

…but that’s not very appetizing, is it? Please, just use your imagination to picture a lovely steaming bowl of soup, perhaps a sprig of parsley, mmmm…

So anyways, we started by roasting a whole chicken on Friday night, boiled the carcass down into stock on Saturday night (see my post on Chicken Stock), and then made soup from some of the stock on Sunday.

This is one of my favorite ways to make chicken noodle soup, but of course, all manner of veggies and herbs could be substituted, based on whatever you have on hand. Oh, and I used gluten-free pasta for the noodles, but any noodle will work fine.

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, large dice
• 2 carrots, sliced into rounds
• 2 ribs celery, large dice
• 1-2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 can yellow corn
• Herbs, I like thyme and rosemary, fresh or dried
• 3-4 oz. dry spaghetti, broken into thirds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients except spaghetti to pot and simmer for about half an hour. After half an hour, add spaghetti and cook until noodles are soft.

A few notes: My homemade stock is exceptionally thick and rich (think jello), so I use about 2 cups of it, with about 4 cups of water. I roasted this particular chicken with chunks of garlic under the skin and sprigs of rosemary tucked inside, which infused the stock with both of those flavors, so I didn’t need to add either to the soup.

I’ve been looking for interesting things to do with the surplus winter squash we’ve been getting for weeks and weeks from our CSA. I’ve made Elise’s Pumpkin Bread, with the addition of a streusel topping, for the folks at the office several times. The other obvious thing to do with the squash is soup, but I’m not too fond of traditional sweet squash soups with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices. Then Deb over at Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe for Black Bean Pumpkin Soup, which sounded awfully good. The problem was, when I went to make it today, I hadn’t paid much attention to the ingredients list, so instead of 3 cans of black beans, I had 1 can of pinto beans, and instead of canned tomatoes, I had tomato paste, and instead of cumin, I had curry powder, and then I wanted to experiment with this new smoked pimento I got the other day, so the recipe underwent a bit of a metamorphosis. Like the Black Bean Pumpkin Soup that was the inspiration for this recipe, this is squash soup in which the squash is not the main character, but plays an important supporting role. The tomato paste and the smoked pimento give it a richness and a depth, and a deliciously subtle spice.

Smoky Spanish Soup

3 or 4 T. butter
2 medium onions, chopped
3 or 4 ribs of celery, chopped
2 t. curry powder
2 t. smoked pimento
1/2 t. black pepper
1 can of beans
1 small can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups pumpkin or winter squash puree
4 cups water
10-12 oz. cooked ham, diced small
3 T. balsamic vinegar

Saute the celery and onions in butter with the curry powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. When the onions have softened and are beginning to brown, add the beans and tomato paste. Mash up the beans a bit in the can with a fork before tossing them in. Add the squash and the water and simmer for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to meld. After the soup has simmered a bit, add the ham and vinegar, and its ready to serve.

Delicious!

Hubby and I baked a whole chicken last night, always the beginning of a delicious journey as the carcass is turned into stock, which is then turned into some kind of soup. (I’m not the only one who loves the carcass, either.) Our version is really simple, and I think making your own stock is one of those things that is pretty difficult to f*** up, as long as you’ve got a little sense.

As you boil the bones, the gelatin comes out of them, which is what makes your homemade stock solidify after it’s been in the fridge, but what also gives it that rich velvety texture when it’s hot.

Chicken Stock

• Chicken Carcass
• Veggies and Herbs (Carrots, onions, and celery are basics. The leaves of the celery add extra flavor, and our favorite herb with chicken is rosemary. )

Throw in some salt, pepper, herbs, whatever you’ve got on hand, and simmer it all together for a couple of hours. Then strain out the solids and put the liquid in the fridge overnight, so you can skim the fat off the top the next day.

I like to freeze a few containers for future use.

Commence making delicious soups, stews, risottos, and whatever else your little heart desires.