The weather has finally turned and Fall is here. The nights are consistently in the low forties requiring that we permanently turn on the heat for the Winter. Over the last two weeks I’ve been slowly bringing out my winter clothing and packing away the sandals, shorts, and beachwear.  I actually look forward to Fall and the cooler temperatures even though the snow comes along with it.

‘Any good soup requires fresh veggies.’

As the garden and yard work are coming to an end it’s time to look over my Winter inventories.  I’ve picked up a good supply of books and other reading material over the last two months which should carry me well into 2016. Add to that the Kindle books I intend to purchase and I’m good to go.

Everything that could be harvested from the garden has been canned, frozen, and dried.  The garden will be officially over in three more days and I can put it out of my mind for a few months. My last cooking chore for Winter preparation was the making of a batch of my chicken and rice soup. This recipe I picked up from an old Korean women in 1968 and it’s remained one of my all-time favorites ever since.

‘Looks bad, tastes wonderful.’

It’s not terribly difficult to make and each batch is usually good for ten to twenty large bowls that can be frozen and used for months without any ill effects.  Basically you take a large whole chicken and drop it into a gallon of salted water, bring it to a boil, cover it, and cook it until the chicken falls completely apart.  Add your favorite spices and herbs as well to really get the flavor of the meat to a high level and cook it for a few additional minutes.

‘Even better than pulled pork.’

Fish out all the bones and cartilage, remove the chicken and shred it, and immediately return it in the pot.  Add onions, carrots, leeks, or any other veggies you desire.  Last but not least add two cups of either rice or barley.  I prefer the barley flavor but as a compromise with my better-half this batch will contain rice.

‘The final product.’

This is comfort food of the first order and is always good for what ails ya. With all of the soups, chili, salsas, and breads stored away we can now sit back and enjoy the Winter (except for the snow of course).