digitS'
Garden Master
I was out this morning removing a skiff of snow and a thick pile of leaves from my carrot stash. The neighbors must wonder what I'm up to whenever I show up out there with my bucket and leave with muddy hands (cold too 
). The carrots were harvested from the garden last Fall and packed "cheek by jowl" in the hole not far from my kitchen door. After washing, these carrots (along with onions, celery, and potatoes) went into a nice pot of Winter stew.
Besides the quality veggies the secret to a fine pot of stew or soup is in the stock and that's coming from the freezer! It took me awhile to realize this fact and it was because of my tendency not to throw anything away. And to make a clear stock, something had to be sacrificed. So what were all these wonderful things I was throwing away - not really anything.
The first ingredient is bones. Anytime that we have a t-bone steak, roast, or even a chicken - the bones are saved and placed in an oven pan. Then the pan goes in a hot oven for, say, 20 minutes. Watch the pan tho' as all you want are nicely browned bones. After they are browned, the bones are transfered to a pot and completely covered with water. Let's say I used about 2 quarts of water; to this I'd add:
2 yellow onions, quartered
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery or a celeriac root, chopped
Oh no, I'm going to throw away these veggies! Not really - the onions (even tho' the tops were dried before I carried down to a basement shelf) are really just leaves. The bulb is the base of the leaves and after lengthy boiling, there really isn't anything left.
The carrots that I brought in this morning aren't so bad but there were plenty of culls last Fall - crooked and forked things. Also, the top inch or so of any carrot is rather coarse. All these are suitable for stock.
The celeriac plant is a very suitable (if ugly) garden vegetable. And, I'm not the greatest fan of the coarse, green outer stalks of the celery plant. Much better to use the tender inner stalks for what shows up in a bowl at the dinner table. All the flavor of these veggies are delightful and to them, I'll add:
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small bunch of parsley
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
4-6 black peppercorns
The parsley has been growing in the floor of my greenhouse all Winter. Well, not really growing so much but it's been there. Soon, more seed will be sown for this year's parsley. The thyme is currently under the last pile of snow in my yard but any herb can be easily dried by hanging in a small bunch in the kitchen for a couple weeks.
The pot is brought to a boil, the heat is turned down and it simmers under a lid for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Afterwards, the stock is strained thru a colander. The resulting stock, can be chilled in the fridge so that the fat can be removed. And, then simply poured into a quart freezer bag and set upright in the freezer.
Any boiled veggie or stir-fry benefits from the addition of stock rather than just plain water. Mashed potatoes are wonderful when the spuds have been cooked in stock. And, soup or stew . . . Well, what's your recipe (or secret) with stock??
Steve
). The carrots were harvested from the garden last Fall and packed "cheek by jowl" in the hole not far from my kitchen door. After washing, these carrots (along with onions, celery, and potatoes) went into a nice pot of Winter stew.Besides the quality veggies the secret to a fine pot of stew or soup is in the stock and that's coming from the freezer! It took me awhile to realize this fact and it was because of my tendency not to throw anything away. And to make a clear stock, something had to be sacrificed. So what were all these wonderful things I was throwing away - not really anything.
The first ingredient is bones. Anytime that we have a t-bone steak, roast, or even a chicken - the bones are saved and placed in an oven pan. Then the pan goes in a hot oven for, say, 20 minutes. Watch the pan tho' as all you want are nicely browned bones. After they are browned, the bones are transfered to a pot and completely covered with water. Let's say I used about 2 quarts of water; to this I'd add:
2 yellow onions, quartered
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery or a celeriac root, chopped
Oh no, I'm going to throw away these veggies! Not really - the onions (even tho' the tops were dried before I carried down to a basement shelf) are really just leaves. The bulb is the base of the leaves and after lengthy boiling, there really isn't anything left.
The carrots that I brought in this morning aren't so bad but there were plenty of culls last Fall - crooked and forked things. Also, the top inch or so of any carrot is rather coarse. All these are suitable for stock.
The celeriac plant is a very suitable (if ugly
) garden vegetable. And, I'm not the greatest fan of the coarse, green outer stalks of the celery plant. Much better to use the tender inner stalks for what shows up in a bowl at the dinner table. All the flavor of these veggies are delightful and to them, I'll add:1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small bunch of parsley
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
4-6 black peppercorns
The parsley has been growing in the floor of my greenhouse all Winter. Well, not really growing so much but it's been there. Soon, more seed will be sown for this year's parsley. The thyme is currently under the last pile of snow in my yard but any herb can be easily dried by hanging in a small bunch in the kitchen for a couple weeks.
The pot is brought to a boil, the heat is turned down and it simmers under a lid for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Afterwards, the stock is strained thru a colander. The resulting stock, can be chilled in the fridge so that the fat can be removed. And, then simply poured into a quart freezer bag and set upright in the freezer.
Any boiled veggie or stir-fry benefits from the addition of stock rather than just plain water. Mashed potatoes are wonderful when the spuds have been cooked in stock. And, soup or stew . . . Well, what's your recipe (or secret
) with stock??Steve
? Well ya see, the garden with my carrots is some distance away. Rather than going all the way over there to get the carrots, I bring 'em over here. But, I've found that they are much better left in the ground, soooooo . . . 
