Chicken & Vegetable Puree

This soup came out of necessity and what I had in my fridge. Since the Botox injection in my throat yesterday I’m having problems swallowing. The speech pathologist warned me about it but I didn’t realize how annoying it would be; having partially paralyzed vocal cords makes it easier for things to go down the wrong tube.

Anyway, right now soup is the easiest thing to eat (probably because of the injections as well) so I combined the fresh vegetables and herbs from my mom’s garden, added a little chicken stock and chicken, cooked the shit out of it and then tossed it into the food processor. It’s very tasty and has a deep, rich red color due to the beets.

4 large carrots, rough chopped
2 medium onions, quartered
3 medium beets, quartered
4 cloves of garlic
2 quarts chicken broth
4 chicken thighs, boneless skinless & quartered
2 sprigs of fresh sage
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 lemon, cut in half
A pinch or 2 of sea salt

In large soup pot, combine carrots, onions, beets, garlic, sage, thyme and chicken broth. Simmer on low for about two hours. Add chicken, salt and both halves of the lemon. Simmer for another hour or so, until chicken is falling apart. Remove from heat and fish out the lemon halves and herb stems. Carefully pour or spoon soup into a large food processor or blender (my food processor holds 9 cups & it just fit). Puree until smooth.