Bone Broth

If you really want to make changes to your overall well being, beginning with your gut, then you need to think about bone broth. It's not as arduous a task as it might at first seem. The most important thing I've learned in taking steps to improve my digestive function through the introduction of beneficial foods is that it's important to make the process as easy as you can. Otherwise, it's easy to write the whole effort off as too much hassle. I've done quite a bit of experimenting with bone broth and in the process my freezer has filled considerably. Now I'm not the world's greatest house keeper by any means, but one thing that living on an island where you can buy nothing in the way of real food whatsoever has taught me is good freezer stock control. In simple terms, if it seems likely that it will never come back out, then it's not going into my freezer in the first place. Because I do not want to be dealing with it in two years time, thanks. So my original approach to bone broth making, where I froze assorted bones in the form of cooked and uncooked chicken carcasses, legs of lamb and lamb chop bones.....well that made the whole broth making task look like hard work and it made the freezer a bit gruesome, to be honest. It also meant that this big soup making task I had dreamed up was easier put off till some distant future date when I could be bothered to defrost all the necessary bones and also line up lots of fresh vegetables. I found that dealing with raw chicken carcasses meant there was a lot more to worry about in terms of  both preparation and cooking time. It turned out that stock made from lamb bone didn't agree with me....red meat never has. So I re-thought the whole thing and streamlined it into a much simpler process which goes like this:

• Buy an organic, or pasture raised chicken on Saturday.
• Roast and eat it on Sunday.
• On Sunday evening, make chicken broth with the carcass.
• On Monday prepare a very simple chicken- noodle soup which the children will eat and not moan about.
• Have this for two days.
• Freeze nothing!

I hasten to add that I am no bone-broth making expert and that there is a link to resources written by much better qualified people below. However, here is what I do. 

To make the Bone Broth :

• Place the carcass from the roasted chicken in a saucepan with about three litres of water, an onion, two cloves of garlic, some bay leaves, a dessertspoon of turmeric and a dessertspoon of Marigold Veg Boullion.
• Bring to the boil, boil for twenty mins and then turn the heat down to a boiling simmer and allow to cook for three hours.
• Check the water level periodically and add more as required.
• When the cooking is complete, pour the broth through a colander or sieve, allow to cool and store in the fridge overnight . I put in in a cast -iron saucepan and cover with a lid for use next day.
• You could just heat up this broth and drink it from a mug. Or, use it as a base for any soup. 

To make Chicken Noodle Soup

• Bring the Chicken Broth to the boil. 
• When Boiling add your choice of the following: Small pieces of cooked chicken, finely chopped carrots, onion, courgette, mushrooms, peas, pasta.
• You can use any kind of pasta, make the pieces nice and small by breaking it up. If using gluten free, add it in in the last five mins before serving.
• Thicken by adding a little cornflour mixed with water if desired. 
• Total cooking time is about ten minutes. Make sure the soup boils for a good 5 mins initially. 

Resources:

For quality pasture raised chicken: http://thefriendlyfarmer.blogspot.ie/
More about Bone Broth http://paleoleap.com/making-fresh-bone-stock/

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