My Very Best Soup Ever

My Blue Leg chicken is still giving us great meals. It started as a roast chicken with crispy skin and wonderfully moist and tasty meat. Then it was chicken salad, followed by chicken sandwiches. Finally, it was chicken broth that made the basis for the best soup I've ever made.

This is a riff on Tyler Florence's Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup. I used my homegrown Paul Robeson tomatoes (they are incredibly rich and sweet) and added two ears of fresh corn that the recipe didn't call for; at this time of year I add corn to as many dishes as possible - it's just too delicious to miss! The chicken stock was made from the bones of our Sunday chicken with onion, celery and carrot added to the water as the broth bubbled into chickeny heaven. Because we are spice wimps, I used only one jalapeño chili and was careful to remove the hottest rib. The resulting soup was warm but not volcanic.

I'm not kidding when I say this is the best soup I have ever made, hands down, bar none, end of the dance. The color, the rich scent, the flavors were perfectly balanced and the addition of creamy avocado and salty, crispy tortilla strips added varied texture with the corn and cilantro. I can die happy - I have achieved Sopa Nirvana.