the stock market

the market may be down but my stock is up! my first venture into the stock market and i come out a winner. you just have to listen to your advisers, follow the rules, trust your gut and all will be well in the end.

which stock did i invest in?

chicken.

okay, okay, so i'm joking. but in all seriousness, i had a breakthrough monday night. i made chicken stock for the first time ever. i'm quite proud. i've roasted many a chicken and have always discarded the carcass without thinking twice. well no more. my days of buying chicken stock from the store are over.

i would like to thank my personal adviser, mark bittman, for his coaching. i would definitely recommend him to anyone who is going to consider any kind of investing. 

investing in the kitchen, that is.

basic chicken stock
adapted from how to cook everything by mark bittman

there are many, many stock recipes out there but this is the one i had on hand. ingredients may vary, cooking time may vary, subtle flavors may vary, but i feel like any recipe will get the job done, really. also, when picking out fresh herbs at the grocery store make sure you come home with what you mean to get. i went to the grocery for the sole purpose of picking up some parsley but managed to come home with cilantro. i still have no idea what happened..

i used the leftover bones and carcass from the 5 pound chicken i roasted saturday night. it is important to have some meat on the bones in order to get a meaty flavor. makes sense.

3 to 4 pounds chicken parts and/or bones
1 cup roughly chopped onion
1 cup roughly chopped carrot
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery
1/2 tablespoon of dried parsley or 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley (see parsley note above)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt, plus more if necessary
about 4 quarts water (16 cups)

combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. bring just about to a boil, then partially cover and adjust the heat so the mixture send up a few bubbles at a time. cook until the meat falls from the bones and the bones separate from one another, at least 2 hours. (i let mine go for 3 hours.)

strain, pressing on the vegetables and meat to extract as much juice as possible. taste and add salt if necessary. (my method was to use tongs and pick out the large parts and set them in a colander in the sink. i then used a fine mesh strainer over another stock pot to strain all the little pieces.)

refrigerate, then skim any hardened fat from the surface. refrigerate for 4 to 5 days (longer if you boil it every third day, which will keep it from spoiling), or freeze.

yield: 3 quarts