Saturday, January 26, 2013

Rainy Day Kitchen Time

Another day of steady rain; not a storm, just a constant easy downpour sometimes light as mist and sometimes heavy as rain.  Constant.  Yesterday, we had rain as well.  I was busy in the kitchen -- my favorite rainy day activity is cooking (when I have energy).  Today, I'm engaging in my other favorite rainy day activity: reading a good book by the fire.

After lunch yesterday, I got a pot of chicken stock going on the stove.  When I roast a chicken, I throw the carcass in a freezer bag and save it until I get the urge to make stock.  I brown the bones and any clinging meat and skin in oil.  Then I add whatever vegetables I have on hand - in this case it was an onion, celery tops, carrot, fennel tops and a leek.  I gathered rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage and a bay leaf from the garden.  I tied them together with string and tossed the bundle into the pot with everything else.  I filled the pot with water until everything was covered and let it simmer on the stove for a couple of hours. 

I tasted it for salt, strained it, and put it in tupperware containers destined for the freezer.  I kept enough out for the soup I planned to make for dinner.  Homemade stock is easy and tastes vastly superior to what you buy at the store.  It also makes the house smell wonderful.


While the stock was simmering on the stove, I made up a batch of homemade granola.  I mixed together oats, nuts, coconut, brown sugar and maple syrup with a beaten egg white (makes the granola crunchy) and baked it until it was toasty brown.  When it had cooled, I broke it into a bowl and mixed in dried blueberries.  I love granola on yogurt and on fruit. 

For dinner, I made a lentil soup with chard and sausage.  It was amazing!  I found the recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog and I highly recommend it.  HIGHLY recommend it; perfect for a rainy night.





9 comments:

  1. Once again I am blown away by your kitchen skills and industriousness. You must have a huge freezer or freezers. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are killing me here - fresh herbs no fair!!! Send all but the lentil soup to Montana please! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So true having your own stock. On hand. I freeze mine to. Good comfort food for these winter days. Fresh herbs on hand to. Your making me hungry here tonight. Wonder photo of your farm. I hope to see your huge strawberry patch in a few months. Blessings! Lara

    ReplyDelete
  4. OK! I'm sayin' UNCLE! This post has made me hungry. Everything looks great, and I'd like an order of that granola to go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love making my own stock! I actually like to freeze mine in ice cube trays and then transfer into a ziplock bag, that way if I need just a hint of extra flavor in something, it's handy. Plus it's easier to remove from the container than standard tupperware.

    I sure wish I was as organized as you though, you seriously seem to get stuff done every day. I'm lucky to change my clothes on a daily basis right now! The twins are getting easier but life is still hectic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like a grim grey Irish day. Cooking or reading a book in front of the fire are the best ways to cope.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That soup looks good; always nice to have on a cold rainy day. Your property is so nice! What a gorgeous view you have. Hope the sun comes out soon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My husband and daughter eat granola every morning, and I did not know you could make it yourself! I will definitely try this. (They'll thank you for it).

    Also... I once made chicken stock myself and the greyish, rather stinky, foam that covered the top of the pot grossed me out and I threw it away. What was it? Yours looks delicious. Did you get that foam?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I want to try both the chicken stock and the granola recipes. After that, I will be back for the soup :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting!