24 October 2009

22 October 2009

Victory Garden

So, I was flipping through a recent issue of Oprah mag and I came across a fantastic idea. What, you don't subscribe to Oprah? You totally should. It is way more positive than other glossies and with the exception of the front page, letter from the editor, and the last page, there isn't a lot of Oprah in it.

That's all besides the point.

I was reading an article about cooking for one* or maybe it was about sustainable kitchen behaviors but in it, the author recommended that you save your produce scraps -- onion skins, root veggie stubs, leafy greens -- in the freezer and then you can make a stock. Like Carl Weathers ("You got yourself a stew!").

So I've been saving up all the dribs and drabs. And... well, I also bought one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. And that carcass got added to the pot, too.

Last night, I finally made the stock. And it just made my house smell like fall. I let it boil away for a few hours, adding more water, a bit of salt, some rosemary I found kicking around, and I just felt... so adult. And frugal. And green.

On the menu for the weekend: making risotto. With my stock. Making rice. With my stock. Crafting cooked starches. With my stock.





*hello, men folk! I subscribe to Oprah, blog, watch a lot of crappy TV, and read articles about cooking for one.