Zucchini chowder

Mom gave me an oversized zucchini since she had an overabundance of them (how could she miss so many??). I was hoping Mr. Fix-it would make stuffed zucchini, but after waiting a week, I figured I should do something with it.

This was an easy soup; I just used what I had on hand. I diced up the zucchini, along with some onion, carrot, and celery, and tomato. I sauteed the onion w/some olive oil, then added the rest of the veggies and enough water to cover. It turns out I didn't have any chicken stock in the freezer or pantry, but I did have a chicken breast in the freezer, so I chopped that up too and added it to the soup. The only seasonings were the usual salt, pepper, and garlic. Oh, and some chervil.
I was going to add some pasta or frozen corn, but didn't have any corn and I couldn't fit the pasta in the pot, lol. The soup turned out better than expected, I think because the tomatoes were so flavorful. This soup is a great way to use up those leftover veggies in your fridge. I think you could add almost anything to it.

Peruvian Chicken Cilantro soup

Recently, I made Peruvian chicken cilantro soup. It was a mix of this recipe and this
one.

Based on what I learned from my first attempt, here's my version

Peruvian Chicken and Cilantro Soup
Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 lbs chicken quarters
3 medium peeled potatoes, diced (6 pieces each)
6 T rice, washed and strained
1 celery stalk
1 T fresh chopped garlic (you definitely need this much)
1 tsp salt or to taste
8 C water
1/2 bunch cilantro blended in a 1/2 cup of water
1 to 1 1/2 cups veggies (a mix of diced green beans, diced carrots, corn, and peas; can use fresh or frozen veggies)
lime wedges

Directions:
Place water, chicken, potatoes, rice, celery and garlic into a 5 qt pot and bring to boil over heat; once boiling, reduce to medium heat for 20-30 minutes (or until chicken is tender), stirring occasionally.
Add the cilantro mixture, green beans, carrot, corn and green peas.
Remove the celery stalk and chicken. Discard the celery. Separate the chicken from the bones and shred into chunks. Place back into the pot.
Let simmer for 5 more minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with a piece of lime on the side.