Chicken Soup Basic

1 whole chicken
1 large carrot
1 large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tblsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
4 tblsp of butter or oil


Prepare a Mirepoix:

Prep:
chop the carrot into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
slice the celery into 1/4 inch slices
mince the onion

remove the innards from the chicken. You can toss,
cook and eat, make pate or give them to the cat.
rince the chicken inside and out with cold water
leave to drain in the sink

In large stew or stock pot over med-high heat 
Add the butter or oil saute the carrots, onion and
celery until the onions are soft and the aroma fills the room
drop the chicken breast down onto the mirepoix let it sizzle 
for a minute or two then add enough water to cover the chicken
add the rest of the spices and let the water come to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer with a lid on
for about 1 hour.
using a fork and tongs remove as much of the skin as possible
and toss it add water to cover the chicken by about an inch.
let simmer for another hour.
Using tongs remove the bones the meat should just fall off
if it does not let the chicken simmer longer and try again.
once the chicken is off the bone you can cut the bigger pieces
up if you want to.

At this point you can add rice, noodles, barley, carrots, potatoes,mushrooms
or anything else you think you might like fresh scallions or dill, beans or 
corn can be nice. Play around with it and make it your own.