Stock: The Base of 7 Soups in 7 Days

So, I like to fancy myself a smart person that does smart things! I have been, for years, saving the ends of all my vegetables in Ziploc bags in my freezer. You know, you cut the top and the bottom, off of a bell pepper before you cut it into strips... the ends of the asparagus, (you've heard them referred to as the woody stems...),the bottom part of celery that hold the whole damn bunch together... I throw those pieces into the "stock bag" Even when I over buy fresh tomatoes or simply do not have the time to use them all; I throw the whole thing into the freezer. I THROW EVERYTHING INTO THE STOCK BAG! Stems from the fresh tarragon... nothing should ever be wasted!

See, I have plans for all of that waste! If I had a house and a garden I guess that waste would go into the compost bin but, I live in a fabulous apartment and have no garden or compost bin. Viola! Freeze it and use it for stock! [#@$?ing Brilliant!] Sorry for the language but, I just get really excited with how incredibly smart that is not to mention how economical it is over the long run.

See, I never really got into store bought stocks. Too much sodium, blah! blah! blah! Again, if anybody out the in cyberspace can tell me why I need MSG, hydrolyzed whatevers, and all that other stuff only scientist really know what it is... Life, precious life, doesn't need to be that convenient for me!

I love knowing that because I put my tamale pot [remember the one I bought at my local Mexican grocery store: the one I make my mom's chili in] on the stove, filled it with cold water, dumped in the bag of frozen "veggie-waste" [which I don't have to purchase again to make stock because it is already in the freezer ready to go...] with a palm full of kosher salt, an onion, a few peppercorns, bay leaves, celery or whatever else I happen to have hanging out in the veggie drawer... Along with seafood shells, bones, hawks, knuckles, backs... And, did I mention it is a great way to use all of your nubs at the end of the nutmeg kernel [I ONLY USE FRESH GRATED NUTMEG!]... Oh! Wait! Before I forget: this is a great chance to use big pinches of all your great Penzeys spices... I can have a great stock in an hour or so. Just remember to always start your stocks with cold water a simmer the flavors into a perfect marriage: try not to boil stocks they benefit best when you allow the flavors to come together slowly. And, if I can be really honest: it is less expensive that store bought chemical stock, and it taste better.

"Love and homemade goodness better feeds a soul" direct quote from my very own self person!

By know you may have figured out that food is really important to me. This is one of the reasons that the people which you cook for, [yourself included!] will appreciate you and all that you do, and the way that you do them. Here is an example: homemade stock, hand-cut fresh veggies, protein or no protein: GOOD! Cans of chemical crap provide "no love!"... besides chemical crap soups just won't taste like yours; because, although chemicals can do lots of things - they can never replace the love that goes into the good intentions of smart cooking!

Besides, even if you are the only one who knows that: you made the stock from scratch, you cut the hand selected fresh veggies yourself, poached the organic free-range smart chicken breast... isn't that enough??? For me it is! Knowing that I intentionally took the time [and it really isn't all that much time in the big scheme of things] to feed my people [and, doesn't TIME=LOVE anyway?] with fresh chemical free crap... Well, it just makes me feel good! Oh, I love making me feel good!

STAY TUNED FOR: 7 SOUPS IN 7 DAYS - first installment starts 05 February 08