The Quest for Chicken

And not just any chicken, might I add. I'm looking to buy an organic whole chicken. Or, as Jane Redmont just wrote in a recent post, "chicken with whole, sustainably raised, died-while-listening-to-Mozart-and-watching-PBS, in the prime of life, happy, hormone-free, fed with healthy stuff, chickens."

You see, Jane just posted what sounds like a wonderful recipe for chicken soup and stock. I have never made homemade chicken soup before, and since I have Columbus Day off, I figure that the weekend will give me the perfect opportunity to make some wonderful soup.

So yesterday I started calling around to find out where I could buy such a special chicken as the one that Auntie Jane described. I called two local health food stores; they carried "sustainably raised, died-while-listening-to-Mozart-and-watching-PBS, in the prime of life, happy, hormone-free, fed with healthy stuff" chicken breasts. No, no, I explained, I want the whole chicken.

So today I asked a colleague who is also a serious foodie. I told her I really didn't want to drive the half hour to Whole Foods for "sustainably raised, died-while-listening-to-Mozart-and-watching-PBS" chicken. I wanted the whole damn chicken! She suggested I try the Nature's Promise line at Stop and Shop.

So that will be my next stop, although I really would prefer a smaller, local store. That way I can really trust the quality of my goods. Keep your fingers crossed!