Take a whole chicken, cut into the usual pieces. Include the back. In a tall stock pot, place a couple of peeled carrots, a coarsely chopped onion, a couple of celery stalks (the leafy ones), and a whole large tomato, chopped coarsely. Add several good grinds of black pepper, some salt, a small bay leaf, and about 1/2 teaspoon of thyme (crush it between your fingers). Stack the chicken pieces tightly on top of all this. Fill with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Skim off the bubbly brownish goo. Simmer for 1 hour plus. Remove the bulky stuff and drain the stock through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Pull apart the chicken (or eat it!) and chop the celery, onions, carrots, and tomato. Refrigerate everything. The next day, skim the fat from the top of the chilled stock. I throw a little bit of everything back into a sauce pan and warm it together. Check for salt (most people are used to canned soups and may not be ready for something not so salty). In the last minutes of warming, I may throw in some partially cooked noodles or some leftover rice. Spaetzle or dumplings are nice, too.
This is the first time I've written this "recipe" down. I hope I haven't forgotten anything.
