Title: Celery Soup
Description: During the summer, none of us want to cook heavy dishes, and Jack and I often will just have a soup and salad supper. Celery is not often served cooked in the States, as it is in England. This is one of our popular soups when we had our tea room, and it is a light and delicious soup.
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (2-3 lb.). 6-8 cups water. 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped. 8 medium leeks, trimmed, rinsed, cut in slices. 1 bay leaf. 1 tsp thyme. 2 chicken bouillon cubes. Salt and pepper. ½ lb pitted prunes, halved. ¾ cup white rice. 3 Tbsp fresh parsley.

Instructions:

1. Wash the chicken and season inside and out.

2. Place in a large saucepan, and cover with the water.

3. Add onions, leeks, bay leaf, thyme, crumbled bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and prunes.

4. Cover and simmer gently about 1½ hours, turning the chicken over halfway through cooking.

5. Remove any froth occasionally.

6. Lift out the chicken and, when cooled, remove skin and bones, and shred the meat coarsely.

7. Remove the bay leaf.

8. Return shredded chicken to the broth.

9. Add the rice and parsley, and slowly simmer until the rice is cooked. (If adding cooked beef, add the last 10 minutes of cooking).