Rainy Day Chicken Soup

It's been raining for the last few days. The plants are happy and I'm liking not having to blast the air conditioning in order to heat up the kitchen. However, the temps have dropped from the 80s to the 60s and I've been craving some warming, comfort soup. This recipe is a twist on my friend Gina's chicken soup.

Here's what I did...more or less: 

• Removed the innards from a whole chicken and put it in the stockpot with a gallon of water.
• Threw in the stuff that you would usually put in the compost bin:  leafy ends and middle of a bunch of celery, ends of carrots, a whole onion cut in half (skins, ends and all), and 5 garlic cloves.
• Seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and bay leaves.
• Brought to a boil, reduced heat, and simmered for about 5 hours. While it was cooking, I stirred it every now and then and, as the chicken fell off the bone, I removed the bones and the skin from the broth with a strainer spoon.  
• Then, I used a small wire mesh colander thingy to scoop out the onion peels, the rest of the fatty skin, and the carrot and celery ends. 
• Finally, I poured the whole contents of the stockpot into a bigger colander with a big bowl underneath. I left the colander full of cooked chicken on the counter to cool. When it was cool enough, I washed my hands well and picked through the chicken to remove all the bones and cartilage.
• I put the deboned, cooked chicken and the broth back into the stockpot and added in a bunch of diced carrots, a couple cups of sliced mushrooms, a bunch of diced celery, a couple tablespoons of minced garlic, more of the aforementioned seasonings, brought it to a boil again, reduced heat, and simmered for about 30 minutes.
• I skimmed the fat off the top of the broth, added in two boxes of orzo, another 2 quarts of water, brought it to a boil again, reduced heat, and cooked for 12 minutes (per the instructions on the box of orzo).

Voila!  Chicken Soup for a rainy day dinner. I received the highest praise possible from my picky children who usually only taste my soups. They each ate two bowls for dinner and told me it was the "bestest" soup I ever made.