Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Turkey/Chicken Broth

It's been suggested this is far too much work. I like knowing what's in the broth. I LOVE making something which will save us money from things we would have thrown out otherwise - veggie scraps and carcasses. 

Ingredients:
1 Turkey carcass
Drippings from turkey
Bag of veggie parts*
leftover gravy
3 - 5 bay leaves
8 or so peppercorns
6 whole cloves
salt to taste
4 Qts water (I just fill it to the top)

*I dumped in a LOT of thyme, rosemary, parsley, marjoram this time and it tastes much better - use your taste preferences.

*Bag of veggies - onion stops, carrot ends, celery pieces...whatever I have left over or from chopping goes into a a gallon bag in the freezer. When I make stock I dump it into the pot.

Directions:
Bring to a boil.  Skim off the foam that rises.

Simmer long enough for broth to reduce by 1/2 - this takes 3 - 5 hours. I've discovered if I let it reduce by about 1/4th - it is at a 1/2 when I remove the bones and strain the veggies.

Remove bones, strain veggies. I strain in my colander 3 or 4 times. If you want it without any bits of herbs - use cheesecloth.


Cool in fridge or out in snow on deck.

Skim the fat off the top.

Put into freezer bags or begin the canning process.

Some of the process is in this video at the 1:40 mark.

Spring Projects

It appears that ice management will play big in our first Spring in Alaska. More on this on the video.


Michael had no therapy or tests today. He had another sleepless night last night. Maybe a word on this is in order. This is not simply insomnia. Some have suggested we need to work harder at casting anxiety on God....while this may be true, it is NOT the main root of the insomnia around here. Some nights the tremors (external and internal) are worse than others and  keep us awake. Other nights it IS insomnia caused by meds. On top of the Parkinson's, Michael has a variety of chronic pain symptoms stemming from Gulf War Syndrome. GWS encompases a host of symtoms; both arthritis like, GI related and fibromyalgia - in other words his muscles and joints are both on fire.  The VA has been great at figuring out what was WRONG, but not so good at offering any answers to reduce the pain.  His pain level has not been below a 4 in years....and at times it's enough to keep him awake or pacing the floors.  He doesn't complain. It's amazing, isn't it?  He slept in today - and it was a well earned sleep.
I busied myself during this rare "at home" day with "house admin" type stuff.  I worked on figuring out a tricky insurance claim, in the process I discovered our prescriptions have gone up in price. I had a few women's ministry contacts to follow up - answering questions about the start of our upcoming Bible study and how to get on Facebook, solidifying details for April's Gathering. I finished the broth and canned it AND we had Orange Chicken (from scratch) for dinner. This continues to be a favorite and is healthier and cheaper than Panda Express.

The kids did school. The boys helped with ice removal. Stacia helped me with dinner and helped Bre with a walk. Michael gave me confidence the pressure cooker was working as intended.

We puttered around home.