Christmas traditions spiral through the years of my life, having earned their keep, whether on the farm or in more recent days. The wreath was secured, the tree was festooned, and the Santas escaped storage bins for their annual Christmas frolic on the mantle. The stockings were hung, the packages wrapped and gifts exchanged. Cookies were baked, rolls were frosted, scones were buttered and wine was mulled. Cherished family gathered, relaxed, partied, and departed, returning to everyday life. And so for another year, the fa-la-la is finished. The only remains? A few pine needles and a tin of leftover cookies, determined to complete their mission, however stale they may be.
Oh! And the prized, well-picked turkey carcass from the holiday dinner. One of the reliable traditions of holidays on the farm was the appearance of turkey vegetable soup with rice on the day following a menu of roast turkey. Because just like the story of stone soup, Mom would park the turkey bones in a huge stockpot, add a few aromatic vegetables and poultry friendly herbs and let it simmer for hours into golden, fragrant stock. (She skipped the stone, though…) The resulting liquid gold was made immediately into soup, with extra frozen by the quart for future food adventures.
I am a bit of a sucker for chicken soup, and I’m not particularly picky about the variety. Greek avgolomono? Check. Chicken tortilla soup? A favorite. Italian wedding soup? Definitely. A mammoth bowl of steaming pho? Absolutely. But there’s something about the homemade chicken soup made by your mother… must be in the genes. This is the soup I crave when I am sniffly, when the weather is damp and chilly, or when I simply desire a taste of home. An added blessing- the lush flavor of this soup belies the fact that it is much lighter than the holiday fare in which I have so recently indulged. While one bowl of soup won’t make amends for all the holiday delicacies with which I’ve been stuffed, it’s virtuous enough to feel like a fresh start. Yes, I know; I hear your protests, but we all need our delusions!
I don’t try to tweak or fiddle with Mom’s soup. It’s prepared exactly as I remember her making it. It’s such a simple dish that directions and amounts were never actually documented; I had to write it down step by step as I made it in order to have a recipe to post! One does need homemade stock for this soup. The quality of the stock is such an integral part of the flavor that substituting anything else will be disappointing. If making stock is new to you, the following link using option #1 explains how to make stock using leftover bones from roasted poultry.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_stock/
Once done, the addition of chopped vegetables, herbs and rice finishes the soup. Mom always added the bits of turkey found clinging to the bones after the big simmer, and if she had it, some leftover turkey gravy to enrich it. Yes, the delusions continue…
Traditions, old and new, keep us grounded in life. Making homemade chicken soup is a tradition worth pursuing.
Turkey and Vegetable Soup with Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice I cook it separately, in chicken stock
- 2 qts well seasoned turkey/chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups sliced celery
- 1/8 tsp celery seed
- 1/8 tsp dried sage
- 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup green beans, sliced into 1-inch pieces fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup peas fresh or frozen
- 2 cups chopped turkey/chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup turkey gravy, leftover optional
Instructions
- Heat the stock in a large soup pot, to boiling. Add the carrots, celery and herbal seasonings. Return to a boil, and then simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the green beans and peas, simmering an additional 10 minutes, or until they are tender. Stir in the chopped turkey or chicken and pre-cooked rice. If leftover gravy is available from the roast poultry, stir in to enrich the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow simmering for 10 additional minutes to blend flavors. Serve hot.
You make it sound great! My mother made soup often, but I did not really care for her’s.
If I roast a chicken sometime, I now have something to do with the bones.
We eat soup frequently in the cooler months. I often have a quart of this one in the freezer, handy when the sniffles win the argument!