I'll have to start working again on Monday, but until then I have a few days to mellow out and prepare for, well, Monday.

I'm back in SoCal with Mark and Lester.

We're feeling well enough, but not super well, so I decided to make chicken soup--quite the project as it turns out. I made stock from scratch with sauted onions, leek, and hacked up pieces of chicken--bones and skin, too--braised and then simmered in water with bay leaves and salt. This is the most hands on stock I've ever made, but the cooking time was only 40 minutes (20 braising and 20 simmering). I put the chicken breasts in with the water, and they were perfectly finished at the same time as the stock. This was nice, because I just cooled and shredded them and then added them to the soup at the end. After that, the rest was easy--potatoes, parsnips, carrots, etc. I also added some savory, because I have it, and fresh ginger, because ginger is good for every kind of illness. The end result was very good.