I'm not particularly adventurous in the kitchen - mostly because cooking has always been somewhat intimidating to me. I am, however, making an active effort to cook more often. When you cook from scratch, you have complete control over what goes in your body, and it's the only way to guarantee that what you're eating comes from places that you're ok with.
Last night, I made chicken stock for the first time. I had eaten part of a roasted chicken from Whole Foods, and I didn't want the rest to go to waste. Now bear in mind that I don't have any of the appropriate equipment for making stock. A friend asked me if I had a stock pot, and I said, "What's that?" She looked at what I did have and suggested that I split the chicken in half and use my 2 largest pots to make the stock, so I did, which made it possible for me to make a reasonable amount.
I had no idea how foolishly simple it is to make chicken stock. Put the chicken carcus (skin and all) in the pot. Cover with cold water. Add vegetables, salt, pepper, and any herbs and spices you want, and then simmer for hours and hours. I took a trip to the farmers' market where I bought carrots, spring garlic, shallots, spring red onions, and spring Walla Walla sweet onions. (Only in Seattle are there spring onions at the end of July). The spring onions had the stems still attached, so those got thrown in the pot. I didn't use the Walla Wallas in the stock - just their stems. I want to eat the onions themselves because they are the tastiest onions in the universe. I bought cellery from the store - unfortunately, I went to QFC, which has the worst selection of produce in the world so they didn't have any organic available, but it's within walking distance of my apartment, and sometimes you have to make compromises. I also threw in some fresh rosemary from the garden.
Once I was done cooking the stock, I tasted the result, and other than not having enough salt, the stock was amazing. I added the necessary salt until it was to my liking (which is still pretty low soduim), strained the stock into gladware containers, and put them in the freezer.
I feel rediculously accomplished for having successfully made something that always intimidated me. Now that I know how simple it is, I'll be making it much more often.
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Ah stock! What would I do without it?? I keep a large jar in the 'fridge to collect a few days' worth of good quality, washed veggie stems, ends, green parts, etc., and when I have enough, they go into a large saucepan with some water, simmer for 30 minutes, sit until cool, and then the strained stock goes back into the 'fridge (or freezer) to await its destiny. I like to store it in straight-sided canning jars, because they freeze well, and there's no worry about plastic leaching into it or anything.
ReplyDeleteGo you!
BTW, veggie stock is cheap, flavorful, and if you don't season it, very versatile when you need it.
I like your thinking. When my freezer has more space again, I'll have to try veggie stock.
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