Taking Stock

Whew, it was windy today. No kidding, a pair of skates and a sheet would have gotten me where I needed to go a lot faster than the van. With a little lift, I'd have been airborne walking through the parking lot!

I had a doctor's appointment at eight this morning. Eight! Y'all, I'm usually still asleep (or trying to be) at eight. Aww, don't get mad at me...I often go to bed after two in the morning, so eight isn't as late as it sounds.

They did the NST (Non Stress Test), and we'll be having them every week from now until Sprout pops out. That's when they wrap a funny little belt with a sensor on it around my middle and a fancy machine reads Sprout's movements and how her heart rate changes as she does the Cha-Cha in there. I don't like the time they take, but I am rather find of the comfy chair...I dozed in it, this morning. Some day, I will have a recliner again...and you watch, I'll have a butt groove worn into in no time.

I potzed a little in the kitchen and in the Blue Nowhere when I got home, played some board games with the Evil Genius, got some turkey stock on the stove, took a nap, ran some errands, came home and put the finishing touches on a pot o' soup.

Want a quick tutorial on making stock? Too bad, you're getting one anyway.

My favorite stock:

The remains of a turkey or chicken that you made for dinner a night or three ago.
Three or four celery stalks, washed.
Three or four carrots, scrubbed but not peeled
A slice or two of onion.
Salt.
Pepper.
Water.

Place bird leavin's (if there's meat on the bones, leave it - you can always use it later for soup), celery, carrots, and onion slices in a large pot. Fill with water just until the contents are covered. Add a good shake or five of salt and a few grinds or shakes of pepper - don't worry, you can always add more later.

Place over medium heat just until it begins to boil, then turn it down and let it simmer. how long? Umm...I have no idea. I let mine go until the scent drives me mad and fills the house with its goodness...or about half the day. A few hours, at least.

Let it cool - sometimes, when I'm pressed for time, I put the whole pot in the fridge to deal with another day. If you do that, just bring it to a simmer again, let it cool, and you're good to go.

Pour the contents through a strainer into a large bowl or another pot. Refrigerate the liquid overnight, or at least for a few hours. You want the fat to rise to the top and solidify so you can easily skim it off.

If you want to make soup, pick the meat off the bones and save it, then discard the rest of the solids.

Once you skim the fat off the stock, you can decant it into containers and freeze it for bloody ever. Really, I've had stock for a year or so before using it, and it was fine. Aside from the obvious (soup), you can use stock for cooking rice, lentils, beans, making gravy, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, and anything else that requires savory liquids in the cooking.

I'll post a soup recipe some other day...this post got long on me! Meanwhile, I think I'll go throw a few biscuits in the oven and enjoy some of the turkey soup I made this evening...good winter food for a chilly night, eh?

Do you have a favorite soup?