Place chicken in large pot with cover (a 7 quart Dutch oven is perfect).
Add enough water to cover the chicken, then add the bay leaf plus a little parsley, turmeric, sea salt, and black pepper to taste.
Bring to a rolling boil and skim off fat, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for about two hours (or until chicken falls apart easily), stirring occasionally.
Turn off heat.
Use tongs to remove chicken into separate bowl, then shred chicken, discarding skin and bones.
Discard bay leaf.
Skim broth again if necessary, then add shredded chicken back in along with veggies, thyme, garlic, parsley, turmeric, cayenne, sea salt, and pepper. (See Note)
Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for another 2 hours or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.
Serve hot!
Notes
If you use a larger chicken, reserve some of the cooked shredded chicken for other purposes rather than adding it back into the soup. Use it in everything from chicken fried rice to chicken & avocado taquitos!