Book of Days Tales

The third Wednesday in November is designated as Eating Healthy Day in the United States by the American Heart Association. For my money, every day should be Eating Healthy Day but I will applaud the effort anyway.  Despite the parade of unhealthy dishes I present here, I do not eat them all the time. Most days it’s veggies, fruit, fish, and whole cereals and legumes (and no alcohol or caffeine or salt).  One item I will promote today is my stock pot. I always have one on the hob because I hate wasting food, and the results are healthy. 

The Stock Pot

You need to start with a good-sized stock pot; one that holds around 12 quarts (which is the size of mine).  Half fill it with cold water and then slowly raise it to a gentle simmer. To kick start the stock you can add a bouillon cube if you like. Then, as you start cooking, toss all of your scraps into the pot – vegetable peelings, bones, apple cores, and whatever else would end up in the bin – except anything moldy or suspicious (that should be tossed). Then simmer and simmer and simmer and simmer, adding scraps all the time. When I was able to use an Aga range in England it was simple to keep the stock pot turning over 24/7. Now I have an induction plate I keep it on low during the day. It needs to be refrigerated at night, so you need a sizable space for it in your refrigerator. It will take about a week to get the broth in the pot to the point where it is flavorful, and after that you can go to town. Add seasonings as you feel the need. When the stock pot is ready for action you can use the broth for soups, stews, gravies, or what have you. 

About once per week you need to strain the solids out of the pot which you can do with a slotted spoon, or by using a colander or sieve. Discard the solids and reheat the broth back in the stock pot. Keep adding more scraps and also top up with water as you go. You can continue in this manner for quite some time, but there will come a day when you need to just clean out the pot because too much gunk has accumulated on the sides. Sad day.  Take the hit and start again. I’ve used a stock pot in Cambodia for 5 years (cleaning it out about every 3 months).  I make a lot of one pot meals, because I live alone, and the stock pot is my go-to when I begin.