On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 08:31:23 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> wrote:

> After pulling the chicken meat from the bones, I diced the meat before
> returning it to the soup.

I normally use meaty bones to make stock, so my suggestion is to
remove the chicken carcass after an hour, strip it and continue
cooking the bones. Don't put the meat back in your soup until you've
defatted the stock and all the other ingredients have cooked through.
>
> My mother would add two things to her soup that I do not see in markets
> anymore. She would buy about six chicken feet, scrape the outer scales
> from the skin, and cook them in the soup.

I can buy chicken feet at Safeway (large national chain) and ethnic
groceries. I've used them a few times and - meh. I've been told that
wings provide as much gelatin, so try that. I don't use so much water
that I need to use feet or wings to make a rich stock that gels when
it's cool.

> Having bough a whole stewing
> chicken, Mom would find immature eggs inside it (mostly just yolk and
> definitely no shell). She would carefully remove the eggs and cook them
> in the soup a few minutes before serving it.

Maybe that's why quail eggs are so popular! People do serve eggs with
soup (not me), but I don't know how they are cooked.

> To serve the soup right
> away, Mom would wrap ice cubes in a clean dish towel to skim off much of
> the fat.

We have fat separators now. I ditched two one cup separators (gave
them to DD and DIL) for a larger one.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips.../dp/B0002YTGIQ



--
Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them.