Homemade Stock

I'm one of those people who is very careful to bag up my kitchen scraps and shove them in the freezer. However, I'm not very careful to remember they're in there and need to be used. I just had to trash two gallon sized bags of freezer-burnt scraps that would have made lovely stock. Of course, the only reason I thought about this was that on the same day that I was actually making stock, I cleaned out the freezer so I could have room for the finished product. It's funny how that works.

It's also funny how I have time to jack with freezing individual cubes and properly storing them but insist I don't have enough time for other things. Like washing those dishes in my sink. Life's priorities are a little screwed at times, I think.



Stock is one of those great things though that makes me feel like an actual cook and not just some mangey college kid. It's the ultimate kitchen recycling ritual. The only thing that could make it better would be a compost pile out back to throw the cooked vegetables into. I had a nearly full bag of baby carrots and half a package of celery, neither of which I eat. I buy both those things for the rabbit and nothing else. The only reason I used that celery in the chicken salad was because I felt bad and I was trying to get over my celery issue. Of course, the rotisserie chicken was for me and so was every bit of that carcass. Throw in an old red onion and a few onion tops from these gorgeous locally grown sweet onions and it's on its way to stockdom.



It's also very helpful in keeping my spice drawer in order. I don't realize I'm out or running low in anything until I need to use it. This batch was on the bland side- I added too much water- so I definitely added quite a few different kinds of spices. I also picked off a few leaves from my window herb garden. That's right. Fresh herbs at my fingertips. I bought a cilantro and basil plant and am trying to sprout Italian parsley, sage, and chives. I'll let you know how it goes.