Back in November I blogged about attempting to make stock, not entirely successfully. At the time I said I was intending to try it again, but I only recently remembered to start saving the trimmings.
This time my base was a mixture of parsnip peel, squash peelings, leek, carrot trimmings, and courgette ends. The mixture reflects the shift of seasons while I was collecting the and freezing the trimmings. Based on past experience I initially excluded onion skin but in the end chanced a small quantity. Following a chat with a friend who makes their own stock I also removed any broccoli and cauliflower trimmings.
As with last time these were put in the slow cooker and covered with boiling water. I did consider adding some flavourings but I decided that as I didn't know what I was going to use the stock for it made sense to keep the base simple and add seasoning later.
The slow cooker was then left on auto while I took my first trip to the coast in over a year.
The resulting stock was a great improvement on last time and was actually useable! In the end it got used in an asparagus risotto.
For everyday use I think stock cubes will remain my go to, but this is a useful approach to getting the maximum use of out my veg and while probably be something I continue to experiment with (don't worry, I promise not to blog every variation!).
Now I'm pondering my menu for the week ahead which needs to include two packed lunches, and two evening meals which are easy to assemble when getting home around 7pm. Also trying to plan a suitable time to go to the supermarket which fits around commuting and avoids the weekend. I suspect that next weekend's Confined Kitchen may involve a take away, but that won't be sustainable in the longer term and I need to adjust to the new routine in the New Normal. Wish me luck! (I appreciate many of you have been facing the challenges of returning to the workplace/commuting for a while now and I'm not suggesting my concerns are in any way unique or more significant than others.)
It's interesting watching you experiment - glad this was more useable! And great to see the sea vicariously.
ReplyDeleteDon't apologise at all for the routine change throwing you. We do all have to face it at some point, but it's still individually unnerving, not to mention tiring. A takeaway reward definitely sounds like a plan.