broth

  • onions
  • shallots
  • spring onions
  • chives*
  • coriander
  • peppercorns
  • salt
  • thyme
  • garlic
  • celery
  • carrots
  • water
  • ~ 3 hours

not usually, but sometimes

  • * whatever we have, not always all these oniony veg … is that even a word?
  • bell pepper — if it needs to go it’ll do more in the broth than in the compost, the same with a potato or two
  • any green in the fridge we want to add (aka: get rid of) such as spinach, lettuce, etc.
  • any herbs (or most, I don’t add basil no matter how much we have in the garden)

we call it clean-the-fridge broth

And we make enough to freeze ~4 cups in storage bags | store in smaller amounts also for when we need a little bit only. Use mainly for soups, but could be for anything, really, even risotto. I make vegetable broth much more often than chicken broth.

lentil soup

  • salt pork
  • garlic
  • celery stalks — full, discard after
  • tomatoes

Could be cooked sauce, canned tomatoes, even paste in a pinch — which we also save in a baggie when we open a can and don’t use it all. I have two small, clear plastic containers in the freezer with items like these — so they’re easy to find. Otherwise, they’d get lost in the jungle.

  • cheese rind — keep a baggie of these in the freezer also
  • salt + pepper as needed, depends on the broth
  • broth
  • lentils — prefer French (Puy) lentils because they seem hardier 
  • ~ 1 hour, more or less

i asked Santa for

a bread machine years ago and he said: Uh, no. Appliances are forbidden presents. To which I responded: Ok, I’ll get it myself after Christmas, but it is the only thing I want. THAT WAS EASY!

  • bread flour
  • yeast
  • salt
  • water
  • ~ 3 hours

We do make bread by hand (use ‘we’ lightly): Soda Bread (needs no rising time) and Gros Pain — they are simple and super crusty. Must have a photograph somewhere …

April 24 and this is on my mind