A Tip and a Tool for Friday

TIP  A full freezer is an efficient freezer, and here are some excellent, cost-effective ways to fill it!  Use a gallon-sized freezer bag to save all of your veggie scraps (such as garlic, onion, carrot, and celery ends) rather than throwing them in compost, or worse, throwing them away.   Just pull the bag out of the freezer and toss in these scraps whenever you cook!  When the bag is full, you can use these to make a brilliant homemade vegetable stock.  These bits are actually the best-tasting parts for making stock--so not only do you get more bang for your veggie dollar (more significant if you buy organic), you get some mighty good and pretty dang easy-to-make broth.

I normally combine the veggie-scrap bag with a chicken carcass bag (see below, though you can skip the chicken or add another set of meaty bones) in a large pot, add water to cover, bring to a boil and then simmer for hours. I make sure I add ginger if I have it (that freezer bag is a good place for ginger peels), and herb stems like parsley along the way (though don't get too crazy with the herbs), and peppercorns to the stock.  I never add salt, though.  Strain the broth when you're done, reserving the liquid and tossing all solids in the trash,  and then measure off amounts into glass jars (which I conserve rather than recycle).  Place them in the fridge for a few hours before placing them in the freezer to prevent glass-jar explosion, which spoils all the cooking love. (You can also fill ice cube trays with stock and then store these cubes in quart-sized freezer bags.)

If you prefer chicken stock, use another gallon-sized freezer bag to store raw or cooked portions of chicken.  Since whole chickens are cheaper anyway, simply buy one, chop it up for the usual parts, and throw the rest in the freezer bag.  Then throw leftover bones in there, too, rather than throwing them out. 

TOOL  If you work with dough at all, anything that needs to rest from corn tortillas to bread, King Arther's Dough Whisk will be your new best friend.  I confess I got mine in a happy accident--for some reason, it was included in a box of goodies I'd ordered, and I keep thanking the generosity of the employee every time I use it!  It is So. Much. Better. than a regular whisk--not only does its circular shape mix up dough faster and more thoroughly, but less dough sticks to it (and what does stick is much easier to clean off).  Truly one of my favorite favorite baking tools and a must have for any baker!