Seriously, though, I have been on a stock making kick lately! It's the best =) I loosely follow the method I found here at the Fabulous Foods Blog. She suggests saving vegetable scraps and meat bones in the freezer until you are ready to make a batch of stock, which I just LOVE, because I don't really have time to make stock at the drop of a hat. So, I can keep my ingredients in the freezer until I can set aside some time to do it. And really, it's not that time consuming. I mean, you just put everything in a pot, cover with water, and simmer for a few hours. Basically, I put whatever vegetable scraps I've been saving into a pot (about a gallon sized freezer bag worth), then I put the meat bones (or leave them out if I'm making veggie stock), then I season with a little salt, pepper, a couple of bay leaves, and some fresh parsley. Simmer that for a few hours, then strain, cool, and put into containers for the freezer. The worst part is putting the stock in containers. I recommend using storage containers that have measuring tick marks on the side, which I got from my oh so generous neighbor this year for Christmas. And, my mother-in-law recently gave me a carton of Blessed Salt (is that supposed to be capitalized???), and I use that, so the stock is good for the body and the soul ;). Speaking of my mother-in-law, she also saves the juice/stock when she cooks a ham for things like red beans and such. So far, I've tried vegetable, shrimp, and chicken stock, but I am going to start saving both beef and pork bones, so hopefully I can try that soon....I think you are supposed to roast those first. And let me tell you...that shrimp stock makes for a fantastic gumbo!! I have a batch of chicken stock brewing as I type, so get thee to the kitchen and make some yourself!
