Turkey-Corn Soup -- the absolutely, positively must-have holiday leftover recipe in our house.

The recipe I have developed is based loosely on the chicken-corn soup served at late summer church suppers in south central Pennsylvania where I grew up. These good Church of the Brethren country folk hauled out huge cauldrons and cooked all day under canopies that blossomed in the church yard.

Served with cole slaw and crackers, crowned by cake or pie made in the kitchens of these cotton-clad women, the meal was at once simple and superb.

I was just a kid, but since this was a rural community, I'm betting the chickens scratched in local farmyards and the noodles made by hand. The corn I know was harvested across the road from the church, husked on the spot, and cut off the cob in the shade of a friendly maple tree. The resulting rich soup shimmered under the layer of chicken fat that rises to the top of the kettle.

Thanksgiving is one of the few events that persuade me to put meat on my table; some traditions are irresistible. And when we eat with friends, I beg for the carcass or fix a turkey of my own just for the delight of left-overs.

Foremost among them: Turkey-Corn Soup. But I do modify mine until it meets my criteria for low fat and few calories.

Ingredients:

One turkey carcass, with most of the meat already cut off for hot turkey

sandwiches, turkey tetrazzini, and turkey-and-gravy on waffles (don't

laugh -- it's terrific).

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 garlic clove

about 8 cups water

salt to taste

2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes

2 ounces spaghetti (broken into short pieces) or fine noodles

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped coarsely

(Quantities are approximate -- best cooked by guess and by golly.)

Directions:

Cook turkey carcass in water with chopped celery, onion, carrot, and

garlic until meat flakes off bones with your fingers. Remove carcass,

drain, let cool. Meanwhile, chill the broth in refridgerator overnight

until fat has congealed on surface.

When carcass can be handled comfortably, pick meat off bones. Discard

bones, skin, gristle.

When ready to make soup, remove fat from top of broth with a slotted

spoon. Depending on family's tastes, remove veggies from broth and

discard, or leave in, and return broth to heat. Stir in turkey meat,

bouillon, seasonings, spaghetti (or noodles) and frozen corn and cook

only until corn is heated through. Stir in chopped parsley at last

minute, adjust seasonings, and serve hot.

Makes about 10 servings (as if you could eat just one), with about 80