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Carrot and Orange Soup Challenge by Scotty Brand

As a Scotty Brand Blogger, I am loving the boxes of goodies arriving with instructions on how to make something that I haven’t made before.  This week, the challenge was to make Carrot and Orange soup, which I managed quite easily.  I had a couple of packs of carrots torn open and being chopped within about 10 minutes of them arriving at my door.

I didn’t read the recipe properly and thought that it only needed 600ml stock and so quadrupled the contents as my boys eat huge portions of food.  Don’t make the same mistake as I did, as I then had to up the milk quantity by four times as well – AND transfer my soup into a much bigger pot.  I’ll give you the Scotty Brand quantities and not mine, as we ended up with an obscene amount of soup which is now stored in the freezer for other cold days to come.

I also made the cardinal mistake of doing kids homework while I put the soup ingredients together, and I had put the butter in the microwave to melt.  It was after the soup was eaten that I discovered I hadn’t put it in the pot.  I have to say, the soup without the butter was delicious, so I’d say it was an optional ingredient and all in all, the recipe is fabulous and can cope well with some modifications.

Scotty Brand blogger badge

Ingredients

  • 450g Scotty Brand carrots sliced
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 65g butter
  • 65g plain flour
  • 600ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 600ml milk
  • 1 orange (juice and rind)
  • Salt and finely ground pepper
  • 5ml nutmeg
  • 5ml parsley

Method

  1. Melt butter and add onions and carrots  (I just added the onions and carrots to the pot with the stock and flour).
  2. Cook gently, and stir in the flour and cook for a further 1/2 mins (oops, I missed this step).
  3. Add milk.
  4. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  5. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then simmer for 20/30 minutes  (you really have to stir frequently because of the milk).
  6. Liquidise before adding orange juice and shredded rind (I left out the rind as one of my boys doesn’t do bits in soup).
  7. Serve sprinkled with parsley and, if you like, a dollop of fresh cream or plain yogurt.

Enjoy
Scottish Mum Blog

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Guest Recipe: Sloppy Joes Burger by Claire T

This Guest Recipe from Claire, aka ninjakillercat.blogspot.com/ and @needaphone on Twitter sounds amazing.

Sadly Claire didn’t manage to take a photograph, so that means that I will just have to go and make it so that I can get one.  I’m sure my boys will love giving it a try.

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The trick to this recipe is to brown the meat well, on high heat. Don’t crowd the pan , work in batches and don’t stir the meat until it is well browned on one side. It helps to use a large cast iron pan, or an anodised pan, as these pans can handle the heat and are relatively stick-free.

Ingredients

  • 1Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced carrots or sweet pepper
  • 1 cup chopped onion ( about 1 medium onion)
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 2 gloves garlic,minced
  • Salt
  • 1 1/4lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce ( or 1 15 once can whole tomatoes, pureed)
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • 2 turns of freshly ground pepper
  • 4 hamburger buns

Method

  •  Heat love oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat. Add the carrots and saute for 5 minutes. ( If you are using peppers instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions).
  • Add the chopped onion and celery.
  • Cook. stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. remove from heat. remove vegetables from the pan to a medium-sized bowl, set aside.
  • Using the same pan ( or you can cook the meat at the same time as the vegetables in a separate pan to save time), generously salt the bottom of the pan ( about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon).
  • Heat the pan on high. Crumble the ground beef into the pan. You likely need to do this in two batches, otherwise you will crowd the pan and the beef won’t easily brown. Do not stir the ground beef, just let it cook until it is well browned on one side. Then flip the pieces over and brown the second side.
  • Use a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef from the pan ( can add to the set- aside vegetables), salt the pan again and repeat with the rest of the ground beef.
  • If you are using extra lean beef you will likely not have any excess fat in the pan, if you are using 16% or higher, you may have excess fat. Strain of all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
  • Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan.
  • Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well.
  • Add ground cloves. thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Adjust seasoning to taste.
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Undercover Elder Care on Panorama – Abuse of our Elderly – Rant Corner

I’ve just finished watching the Panorama programme about Elder Care, where a woman tells her story of how her mother with Alzheimers was abused by the very people who should have cared for her.

Suspicious about bruises that had appeared on her mother’s body, she recorded video footage from a hidden camera which showed her mum being more or less thrown into her bed at 5.30 pm by two carers from the Philipines.  They talk in their native language and manhandle her poor arthritic body disgracefully.

Several carers come and go and don’t really speak to her.  The TV is switched on and off for the carers benefit and in the morning, she is bathed by the same carers who saw her last 13 hours earlier, slapping her hands away when she protested in pain.

One carer complained about the low wage at about £6.50, so what we have is a culture of angry people taking care of difficult patients that the carers really can’t be bothered with.

The breakfast carer ignores Maria, and she is speed force-fed by a carer who doesn’t speak to her.  The carer puts on the TV to watch it for herself, and switches it off again when she leaves.  Maria is left to stare at the ceiling for most of every day.  They treat Maria as no human should be treated.

Maria’s daughter said that she had lived in that environment for a year.

Although against company policy to have a male carer alone with a Client, a single male carer treats her roughly, twists her arm, hits her and swears at her.  There is no compassion, no care, and no help from the people she needed to help her.

He lifted her by her head and when she cried out, he slapped her in the face.  He hit her 6 times in while he gave her a wash in the morning.  Recruited from overseas to work as a nurse, he was trusted, and failed the woman he was paid to care for.  Maria, unable to shout for help, in permanent pain from her arthritis, and a victim of sustained and deliberate abuse, was a helpless victim and an easy target.

By the end of that programme, I found myself crying for the predicament Maria (and the hidden sufferers) find themselves in.

I’ve touched on abuse in homes before, when I blogged about the Castlebeck Affair, and I recognised that it is likely this type of thing goes on in care homes up and down the country, but Castlebeck had warning signs that people ignored.

This is from a home that had a good reputation.

Why did the home allow this to happen?

Ash Court responded that the abuse Maria suffered was an isolated incident.  Well, I’m not going to apologise for saying that an answer like that really doesn’t give me any confidence that our kids, elders and disabled are really being protected from abuse when the Companies are employing cheap labour who can hardly speak the language, let alone have proper training to care.

The CQC report doesn’t seem particularly helpful either, and this is where I struggle.  Those of us whose relatives need residential care need to know our people are being cared for.  It’s inexcusable to say that if they had found abuse they would have taken action.  The majority of hopefully isolated bullies carry out their abuse when nobody else is looking.  Where this gets worrying, is that it was 5 different carers in 2 days carrying out the abuse.

I do strongly believe that all carers involved in looking after any of our people should be paid a fair wage to attract good quality carers.  They should also be able to speak the language of the people they care for, to a good enough level to be able to communicate with the people they are looking after.  The last stipulation should be that they have a minimum specified amount of training on how to treat vulnerable people.

When I was much younger, I once walked past a care home and an elderly man was banging on the window and shouting help from a second floor room.  Instead of acting, I walked past as I saw a carer enter his room, thinking that he would be properly cared for by the staff.  I want to kick myself for that now, as the care home had a bad report a short while later.  I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

I am glad that my grandparents were both cared for at home.   My mother drives me batty at times, but I would struggle to let her stay anywhere that I think she might not be looked after.  I also know that for every bad care home, there are probably dozens of fabulous ones, but we don’t know what is going to happen when we put them under someone else’s care, do we?

As a teen, I did some work in an old people’s home for my Duke of Edinburgh Award.  Yes, I hated most of it.  I was very young, and in a place that stank of wee and poo, and with old men and women ordering me around.  I wasn’t disrespectful, even when an old woman called me her servant, although I tried with all my might to avoid helping out in her room.

I did enjoy the common rooms and talking to the residents when they had lucid moments, and reliving some of their lives with them.  I regularly helped an almost bed ridden cancer patient get his illicit baccy supply, and I’d get him up into his chair and wheel him out for some fresh air while he puffed his lungs black.  It was a sad day when I turned up for my shift and he was gone.

For many vulnerable inmates and residents, there is nobody to care.   For goodness sake, even our prisoners get treated better than lots of our vulnerable citizens.

Controversial, yes, truthful, yes.  I am not ashamed of that.  There must be valid reasons for the human rights of our care home residents to be treated with respect, and have their time filled and occupied by people who actually know what a heart is.

The concerns in my Castlebeck Panorama blog post haven’t changed, and every story like this just puts the notch of anxiety just that little bit higher on the top list of things to worry about for special needs children through their lives.

People are so cruel, but others are so kind.  I don’t believe in the retribution from God things, or all things happen for a reason.

The only things I believe people have to fear from in this world are :

1 – Other People

2 – Other People

3 – Other People

4 – Natural Disasters & Unforeseen Circumstances

I don’t actually blame all the carers who find themselves in this vicious cycle as they’ve generally been failed too.  They are often put into situations they have no idea of how to act in, and often work unsupervised, untrained and very understaffed.

I do completely blame the stupid money grabbing greed of the corporate investment and capital finance world who insist on making care a business with huge profit margins to make.

If the corporate big wigs took less profit, carers could have more training, go through more rigorous recruitment schedules and see care as a “career” and not just as a temporary stop gap that they fully resent until something better comes along.

I also appreciate the wonderful carers who do exist out there, and for whom people who act like those in Ash Croft and Castlebeck give a bad name.  How must they feel to see what goes on in the no hope homes?

Yours disgustedly at seeing more evidence of senseless abuse.

Scottish Mum Blog

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Guest Recipe: Seafood Broth from Graeme Taylor

Guest Recipe from Graeme Taylor of Scots Larder, and also found on Twitter as @scotslarder

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I love seafood, you can’t beat it for freshness, flavour and for sheer enjoyment of experimentation and it goes so well with so many ingredients, it complements chorizo, and the fresh herbs and white wine make it zing. It’s also great to watch everyone get messy as they wrestle with heads, tails, claws and shells!

I threw this soup together with what I found available in the fishmonger and supermarket but really it’s all about experimenting with what’s available and in season.

I made my own stock using the bones from the gurnard with stock vegetables but you could use a cube if heads and bones offend you or even a shop bought pot of stock, many fishmongers do excellent ones. I just don’t like to see flavour going in the bin so made my own.

This will serve 4

Ingredients

1 Gurnard filleted and chopped into bitesize chunks
100g clams
100g squid chopped into rings
Dozen mussels
150g king prawns
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin cannellini beans
50g chorizo piccante finely chopped
2 shallots finely chopped
Splash white wine (just a splash, not a sploosh, there’s a big difference!)
Tiny splash sherry vinegar (maybe 1tsp)
Dessertspoon finely chopped dill
2 small ladels fish stock

Method

  1. In a medium pot sweat the chorizo in a little olive oil until it begins to give up it’s colour then add the shallots and cook slowly until soft.
  2. Add the gurnard and coat in the orangey oil to brown a little and then add the tomatoes.
  3. Add the sherry vinegar and beans and bring to a slow simmer.
  4. Meanwhile clean and de-beard the mussels and clams making sure you discard any dead ones. The end of this recipe is all about timing, nobody wants cold or overcooked seafood.
  5. When you’re happy with the flavour and consistency of the soup, probably around 15 minutes, put a little olive oil in the bottom of a hot pan and then add the mussels, clams and white wine, cover and set timer for 4 minutes.
  6. Add the prawns to the soup and give the shellfish pot a shake but don’t take off the lid or the cooking steam will all be lost.
  7. When the buzzer goes drain the shellfish pot into the soup to get all the flavour the clams and mussels have given up along with the white wine.
  8. At this point put the squid into the soup as any more than two minutes will render it elastic band like!
  9. Take the mussels and clams from their shells except a couple for decoration (not essential unless you’d like to impress somebody!) and add to the soup.
  10. Take off the heat, stir through the dill, correct for seasoning and serve in warmed bowls with a huge chunk of Guinness soda bread.
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Guest Recipe : The Best Carrot Cake in the World from Lindsey Cave

A lovely Guest Recipe from Lindsey, who you can find on Twitter as @MrsVanderCave, with her blog at backofbeyondbaking.blogspot.com.  That topping is perfection by the look of it.

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carrotcake

This recipe is actually for a carrot cake but it makes a big cake which can sometimes be a bit OTT, particularly if you like to watch your weight! So I came up with the idea of making individual cakes using half the recipe. This recipe has been named as the best carrot cake in the world ever after I used it in the school cookery book that I collated for my son’s school PTA fundraiser

The recipe below is gluten-free and for a full-sized cake but it is easily transformed back into a regular recipe by swapping the gluten-free flour for ordinary plain flour and excluding the Xantham gum. For 8 muffins just half the recipe and bake for around 18minutes.

The best Carrot cake in the world ever!

Pre heat the oven to 180c. Grease and line two 20cm cake tins. I use my cake tin liners from Lakeland.

Ingredients

250ml corn oil
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g gluten-free plain flour (I use Doves gluten-free flour mix)
2tsp Xantham gum (Doves Farm make this, you can get it in Tesco and Sainsburys)
1.5 tsp gluten free baking powder (check the label on your baking powder)
1.5tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/5tsp salt
1.5tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
115g chopped walnuts
225g carrots finely grated
5tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp soured cream
For the frosting
175g full fat cream cheese chilled
25g unsalted butter at room temperature
225g icing sugar sifted

Method

  • Place the corn oil and sugar in a bowl and beat well with an electric mixer until thickened.
  • Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. The mixture should now be pale and fluffy.
  • Sift the flour, Xantham gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt into the egg mixture and beat well.
  • Fold in the carrots, walnuts, vanilla extract, and soured cream.
  • Divide the mixture between the tins and bake in the oven for 1hr 5minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the tin comes out clean.
  • Once cooked, turn cakes out of the tins onto a wire rack to cool.
  • For the frosting place all the ingredients in a bowl and whip until light and fluffy.
  • Sandwich the two cakes together with a little of the frosting then cover the whole cake with the remains of the frosting. Swirl the frosting as you go to give the classic carrot cake look.

 

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More delicious foodiness. Turkey and Potato Soup made with Scotty Brand Potatoes

Making potato soup is a big Scottish thing I think.  It’s often so cold here that soups are ideal for little snacks and to warm us up when we’re cold.

 

One of Scottish Mum and no measuring recipes again, and I just judge how much goes in by the size of my pot.  I used a big pot for this, so I used a whole 2kg bag of gorgeous Scotty Brand Kestrel potatoes which I was sent to make meals with.

This served 6 people about 3 times, so if you have a smaller family, make half the recipe, or freeze for future meals.

Ingredients

  • 2 kg potatoes diced
  • 0.5 kg carrots chopped
  • half a small turnip – chopped
  • two small or one big onion
  • turkey leg
  • salt
  • pepper
  • stock cube x 3

Method

  1. Make stock from the Turkey leg.  I used it straight in the pot, and let it simmer for two hours with the stock cubes and enough water to cover the Turkey leg completely.
  2. Remove the Turkey leg.
  3. Make sure there are no Turkey bits in your stock by straining the liquid.
  4. Add potatoes, carrot and turnip and onions.
  5. Add water to cover.  I just fill with water from the kettle till all vegetables are covered by a good couple of inches, often  more.
  6. Simmer for 40 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked.
  7. Salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Serve with warm bread.

The one thing no foodie will say is that the soup should be spoiled by the addition of anything else, but one of my boys won’t eat home made soup unless it is a tin of Heinz Tomato Soup.  We compromised and he has his own little pot which is mixed with Heinz.  He still gets the goodness of the Turkey and Potato Soup so I’m  happy not to fight this battle.

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Guest Recipe: Vodka and Tonic Battered Fish & Wedges

Todays Guest Post is from theperfectbadmummy.wordpress.com, who is @mrsaimeehorton on Twitter.  Her recipe for vodka and tonic battered fish & wedges is not something I would have ever thought to try, but it sounds very tempting to give a go.

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Food for 2

I get a little bit excited when I learn a new kitchen “skill”. Probably more then is normal. Then, I love to make it a bit different, especially if it involves alcohol.

For the Fish:

2 chunky white fish fillets

4oz/110g Self Raising Flour

175ml of Tonic

Double shot of Vodka

Salt & Pepper

Extra Flour for dusting

1 pint of Vegetable Oil

For the Wedges

4 or 5 large potatoes – peeled and cut into wedge shapes

Cajun Spice

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C – pour the oil into a roasting dish and pop in the oven to heat

2. Sprinkle Cajun spice over the potatoes and put them into the hot oil and allow them to fry gently for about 10 minutes, until they are soft but still pale.

3. Lift out of the pan and leave to cool slightly on greaseproof paper.

4. Mix the Flour, Vodka, Tonic, Salt & Pepper in a bowl until it becomes a thick batter

5. Dip the cod in the batter until it is thickly coated

6. Place in the oil and cook for a few minutes until the batter is crispy and golden

7. Leave to drain on greaseproof paper

8. Add the potatoes back in the oil to finish off and crisp up

9. Serve with Mushy Peas or Salad and a vodka and tonic with a slice of lime.

YUM.

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Personalised Gifts for Teenagers

This is a featured guest post.  Who couldn’t use a little extra advice these days about what to buy for their teens.  I had a look at their gifts and I am sorely tempted to get the birthday chocolate pizza for my eldest, mixing the two things that he loves would be fabulous instead of a cake.

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Have you ever had the pleasure of shopping for a teenager? If you have then you probably have learned it is no easy task. Teenagers are for the most part very difficult to please. Knowing this, gift givers often agonise over exactly what they should give them. One type of gift they may want to consider giving is a personalised gift. When giving this sort of gift to a teenager, they appreciate the additional thought that went into making it personal. When choosing personalised gifts for a teen, you want to consider their interests and hobbies to make sure the gift fits them.

For those teenagers who are into sports, a sport related personalised gift can be an option. It doesn’t matter if you are buying for a girl or a boy, if they are into a particular sport; this is always a safe bet. The specific item will vary depending upon their interests. Duffle bags and golf bags are a good personalised gift that any sport loving teen can use. Other sports items that can be personalised include water bottles, hoodies, t-shirts and more.

Today’s teens are very tech savvy as they definitely are more wired than previous generations. Often choosing an accessory to go with these electronics is a good idea. These accessories can often be personalised. All sorts of cases and covers are made today for Kindles, iPads, laptops and iPhones.

Teenagers all are very protective of their rooms as this is their space to escape from the rest of the world. A gift idea that any teen would love is some sort of personalised wall art or décor for their bedroom. When choosing this personalised gift, you can consider the interests of the team. You may also consider colours as some teams may have specific colour themes that were used in decorating their bedroom.

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Guest Recipe: Mutta Roast (Egg Roast) by Sheba Promod from Absolute Indian, Cooker School and Spice Boutique

The recipe attached is provided by Sheba Promod of the Absolute Indian, Cooker School and Spice Boutique.   The website has a lovely little shop for Indian spices and I was quite surprised to learn that Turmeric is actually known for it’s antiseptic properties.

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Egg Roast (Mutta Roast)

Ingredients

(serves 2-3)

 3 hard-boiled eggs, halved

3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil

½ tsp. mustard seeds

2 medium onions, finely chopped

8-10 curry leaves

1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

75 grams chopped tomatoes

¼ tsp. turmeric

½ tsp. chilli powder

½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. garam masala

This dish is normally served as a breakfast dish in Kerala alongside Appam (similar to a thick pancake and made from ground rice and coconut) However, it can also be served as an accompaniment to other Kerala curries. I must admit though, I find it truly heavenly just on its own or perhaps with some bread to help mop up the extra onions. It happens to be one of those meals that I craved when pregnant but wished my mum had been around to make then for me! She made them slightly differently, with luscious mounds of the onion masala served on top of the clean, cut eggs and then warmed through in the oven. Just as delicious!

 What makes the dish so mouth-watering is the abundance of onions. You may be rather alarmed with the quantity of sliced onions you have prepped for just 3 eggs but believe me, the sweetness of the slow cooked onions and the sharpness of the tomatoes (with of course, a kick of chilli) make this a delectable way to eat those simple little eggs. Perhaps try this as a variation to scrambled eggs one Sunday morning? You’ll want to make them again and again!

Heat the oil in a shallow non-stick pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds and fry for 2- seconds (they should sizzle immediately on contact with the oil). Reduce to a medium/low heat and fry the onions for 5 minutes to soften. (Bear in mind you do not want to brown them) Add the ginger, garlic and curry leaves and fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

Combine the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli and black pepper into the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until the oil begins to separate from the masala. Season with salt and garam masala and then gently add the eggs. Mix well to warm through the eggs, being careful not to crush them.

Serve with fresh, warm pooris and pickle.

Notes

A simple way to split boiled eggs in half is to use a piece of thread lengthways across he egg – this gives you a clean cut without crumbling any part of the yolk or white.

 This dish can also be served as a starter or canapé. Simply top the warm, halved eggs with small mounds of the onion masala and serve. I promise you, totally mouth-watering. However, no more than 1 egg per person or you may find your guests stuffed before dinner!

 

 

 

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Making Stock Recipes for Slow Cookers Begins With Experimenting

How we make our stock is the difference between good and ok food from our slow cooker recipes.

It doesn’t matter if we are making soups or casseroles, the basis of good stock makes our meals perfect.  Cooking with a slow cooker is easy, but not satisfied with the results I was cajoled and encouraged by my mother on many occasions for the use of stock cubes in my recipes.  I still do use them for some recipes, for where speed is needed, or I haven’t got time to make or buy stock.

Using stock cubes works out where we are using herbs and spices to flavour meals, as they can often disguise the lack of real stock, but this post is to show you how to make stock that can also be frozen for the future.

Myth

All stock has to be meat based.

Types of Stock

The world is your oyster.  We can make stock out of almost anything ingredient wise.  When we are making slow cooker stock, we can put our ingredients in, and then just forget about them.

Bones, meat, poultry, vegetables and even fruits can be used to make our stocks with.

The key to good stock is to allow it to simmer slowly and absorb the aromas and flavours.   Don’t allow your stock to boil, or it will change colour.

Method

If you want lovely white stock, place bones, vegetables or fruits into slow cooker, add water to cover your ingredients and simply put on the lid and simmer on low for 8 hours.  Leave the stock alone to simmer, no stirring.

If you want brown stock, roast your ingredients first, or add some colouring.

Using Stock in Meals

Skim off the fat when it’s cool.  I put mine into the freezer for half an hour so that the fat rises to the top and is easy to skim off.  You could use a muslin or cheesecloth to strain it if you don’t have a handly sieve, or at a push, wait until the fat hardens into white lumps and just lift it out using a spoon.  You’ll find a way that works for you.

Freezing Stock

  • Remove as much of the fat as you can.
  • We don’t have to reduce the stock to freeze it, but if space is an issue, you might have to.
  • The best way to reduce stock is simply to put it onto the cooker, and let it boil away most of the water, but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.