From my mom:

Hi Joey,

There is no "recipe" per se. And for the matzoh balls, you really have to see it. But, here goes.

Chicken Soup

Take a whole chicken. Rinse and clean it out really, really well. Remove all visible fat, run your fingers along the spine inside, and get out all the gooky stuff that kind of looks like a liver color and consistency.

Place in a large pot, cover with water, and boil for a long, long time, until the chicken falls apart when you touch it with a fork.

Remove the chicken, let it cool, remove the skin, the gristle, the bones, the veins, and cut or tear the chicken into pieces and put back into the soup.

Add:

• a whole bunch of sliced, peeled carrots
• a few sliced peeled parsnips
• some sliced celery
• some coarsely diced onion — one very large, or two smaller ones
• a whole lot of dill, chopped

You need a bunch of salt and some pepper

I don't measure any of this, I just play it by ear. I let the soup simmer until the veggies are soft and then add more salt or pepper if needed.

If you let the soup cool overnight in the fridge, the fat congeals on the top and can be easily removed.

Matzo balls

Separate 3 extra large eggs

Beat the whites until stiff with a mixer on high

Whisk up the eggs yolks or beat with a fork

Sprinkle some salt on the egg white

Pour in the yolks

Pour in about 1/2 cup of matzo meal

Gently fold the yolks and the matzoh meal into the whites

Gradually add more matzo meal, very slowly, and keep folding it in until it sort of makes a gentle noise like rice krispies does, and little air holes appear, kind of like in a sponge

Put the mixture in the bowl in the fridge for at least 15 minutes

Bring a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil

Wet your hand and gently shape a heaping teaspoon of the mixture into a ball and drop gently into the water

It should just bounce right up to the top

Keep adding the balls, making sure to keep your hands moist

Let it cook for about 30-40 minutes

I use a ladle and push the balls down and let them bounce up so they get cooked all over. They expand a lot while cooking

I then remove them and add them to the soup. They get their flavor from the soup, and they're so fluffy, the soup penetrates them

Hope this helps. It's easier if you see it!
Love,
Mom

The sublime result:

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