Leftovers have been reconfigured into new. I plunked the pile of tomatoes into my huge pot and cooked them down last night with all the fresh basil in the house. This morning with coffee I sent the green and red through the foley food mill and ended up with a slightly watery, gorgeous pot of sauce. I am continuing to cook down inspired to pick more tomatoes as the abundance is there and another pot on the stove while I work is no biggie. A chicken breast, all the leftover sausage, all the leftover corn, some onions and garlic and a baseball bat sized zuchinni is in another pot with stock and gigantic couscous for a version of recycled soup. All the jam is in nice screwtop canisters in the freezer, ready to give away. Next batch, peach.
As you know, with the weather turning—my passion for making roasted stock happens. I was at the CSA and had a very inspiring conversation with a new friend and her approach to stock. She was parsing the “tops’ bin—pulling out carrot and beet greens, stocking up on chard and other things to go into her stock. She loves cucumbers and zucchini in her stock but was effusive about all the veggies and the flavors they add. When I asked her about the flavors of some of the greens, she was cute in saying she wasn’t really sure about the flavor they added but it was full of minerals and chlorophyl, so why not add more nutrition to the soup. She makes soup for her family, for her friends. It seems that soup is her culinary embrace—warm and deep, satisfying and filled with contentment. She also has been the boneyard pioneer for me in buying the 40 lbs of fresh chicken backs and necks from the Regional (on my to do list)—and cranking out gallons of stock. The backs and necks word has are gorgeous (do I sound like a grandma or what?)—and cheap ($12 for 40 lbs). My friend was enthusiastic about that experience and couldnt be more positive about the quality of bones and how laden with meat they were. I think I will wait until the colder weather can support this activity by allowing me to put hot pots on the porch to cool and separate the fat out of the stock. Another reason why the change of weather can be tremendous.
It is computer study hall with the grey day. Kitty is partaking of fashion shows. Alex is doing music and Jacob is writing. Shady is fully asleep and twitching. Rob is power napping. Books await for me. I need to charge my iPad before the deep dive into fiction.
Later.