All quiet on the western front..

GD is home and resting on medication from the hospital.
Many thanks for all your comments of support and kind wishes. XX

I made a big pot of chicken soup for everyone today for lunch.

It's a simple recipe, but filled the house with a smell that felt like a huge hug - just what was needed today, so I thought I'd share it with you here.

2 chicken wings and 2 drumsticks, or a mixture of chicken pieces to the equivalent.
2 sticks of celery, chopped up
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots - 2 roughly chopped, one cut up finely and kept to one side
3 leeks - again, 2 roughly chopped and one finely chopped and reserved
750ml made-up chicken stock
150g cooked pearl barley

1. Put the chicken in a large pan and just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off the scum from the top – this is important, as if you don't, it will give the finished soup a greasy, horrid taste.
2. Add the celery, onions, the roughly chopped carrots and leeks and the stock.
Add some black pepper.
3. Simmer gently for about 2 hours.
4. Strain the soup through a sieve.  Return to the pan, adding the remaining finely chopped carrot and leek and cook for 10 minutes until these are soft.
5. Stir through the cooked barley and serve with big chunks of bread.