Making broth from scratch
I’ve been feeling tired the last couple of days, and I’ve been frequenting parenting boards more than usual since it’s easier to be online than to be actually doing stuff when I’m this exhausted. Tonight I just have had enough. I’m so bothered at the many, many posts that sound great in theory (the overwhelming majority), but are producing self centered little monsters, that I just don’t feel like writing about parenting today. There are a few voices of sanity from experienced moms, but it seems many young moms are so caught up in nice sounding philosophy that they are quick to accept advice from people who haven’t successfully produced good results from what they are espousing. The advantage of these suggestions is that they seem easier and sound very enlightened. It’s like a huge ocean of lousy parenting suggestions. 
So I decided to shift mental gears and instead I will share with you how to make chicken stock. Especially in the winter when kids aren’t feeling good, it’s great to have some germ fighting chicken soup on hand! Lots of people think that making chicken stock from scratch is hard and think that adding soup mix is necessary to give it flavor. I don’t know where this idea came from, since there’s nothing much easier than homemade stock. My kids make ours on a regular basis, and every time, it is delicious! I had a couple of turkey carcasses in the fridge today, and this is the perfect use for them.
Put the chicken/bones/whatever you are using in the pot, covering it with at least a couple of inches with water. Some people like to skim it after bringing it to a boil, to make the soup clearer, but I stopped doing that years ago. Once it is boiling, add your veggies - onions, garlic, parsnip, carrot, celery, turnip, rutabaga, squash, tomato - use as many or as few of these in combination as you like. Personally, we use most of the veggies listed - they make for an incredibly rich flavor. Just peel the vegetables and pop them in the pot; don’t worry about chopping them up.
Once the soup is boiling again, turn it all the way down and let it simmer, for hours. I sometimes start a large pot before I go to sleep, and leave it on the lowest setting overnight. When I wake up, the house smells amazing and there is a delicious pot of soup waiting for us. The long cooking time is really important in giving the flavors a chance to meld and deepen.
If you want to put a couple of tablespoons of vinegar in, that will help leach vitamins from the bones and adds to the nutritional value. If not, it will still be good for you. Some people also like to let it cool in the fridge once it’s finished cooking and then skim off the fat from the top - I don’t do this either anymore, but just in case it’s something you want to try, I’m mentioning it.
When it’s finished, I take out the carcass, and take all of the turkey meat off of it. Then I use it in a turkey pot pie for another night’s dinner. I end up with so much soup that we have soup as a first course for one meal, and then later in the week, add rice to whatever soup is left for a hearty lunch meal. Amazing how much good eating can come from a turkey carcass that most people would throw away!
Avivah