Winter is coming?

Tomorrow I'll be saying "Winter is here."  The temperature is predicted to drop from mid-60's to mid-40's.  There are some last minute gardening chores to be done (yeah, those callas haven't gotten dug up yet), but I'll be pretty much done with the outdoors until the February thaw - hence the name change on the blog.  I'm making lots of soup already!

Mind you, this is a rough stab at the recipe, as I make soup the old-fashioned Grandma Konecko way - I taste it as I go and adjust as needed.

Chicken Soup

For the base:

• Roasted chicken bones (I recently used a 3 lbs pack of chicken backs, which I was very happy to find.  I often use saved bones left over from spatchcocking whole birds, but it takes a whle for me to get enough for a pot of soup)
• 2 quarts chicken stock/broth/water
• 12 whole peppercorns
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 medium yellow onions, quartered
• 2 stalks celery, broken into pieces
• 2 carrots, broken into pieces
• 4 whole sprigs fresh dill
• kosher salt to taste

Simmer together for a couple hours, then strain out all of the solids - return the stock to the pot

To finish:

• chicken meat (I pick it off the roasted bones, but you can use about 1/2 lb chopped cooked breast/thigh meat)
• 2 more stalks of celery and 2 more carrots, chopped relatively small 
• a few handfuls of egg noodles, fillini, or other pasta
• kosher salt to taste
• a sprig or two of dill, chopped (leaves only)

Cook the celery and carrots until they begin to soften, add chicken, and noodles (my husband likes "homestyle" where the broth gets a little starchy - Mom and I always made the noodles separate and added later).  Finish with some fresh dill after taking off the heat.