Chicken Soup

1 - 3 to 5 pound chicken, quartered
12 cups of water
3 carrots
1 stalk celery
1 to 2 parsnips
1 onion
1 Tbsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper

Optional:
1 parsley root
1 clove garlic
Several sprigs of fresh dill
1 sweet potato
1 zucchini

Clean chicken and remove excess fat. Fill an 8-quart pot with the 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Place chicken and vegetables in pot. Add salt and pepper. If using optional ingredients, chop parsley root; peel garlic, leaving it whole, pierce with toothpick in order to remove easily. Add both to soup with the dill. Dice the sweet potato, slice zucchini and add to soup.

Simmer covered for about 2 hours. Remove garlic. Serve hot.

NOTE: To remove excess fat, prepare soup in advance and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Fat will congeal on top. Remove, and heat soup before serving.
 
USE: 8-quart pot
Yields: 8 to 10 servings