Homemade Chicken Stock becomes Italian Wedding Soup

I have to say, sorry Steph, but I am way more excited about Back to Basics then A Platter of Figs! I browsed through the cookbook and found so many simple and beautiful recipes that I know I will be trying lots of them. It felt way more accessible I think because I use tons of the ingredients that are in the recipes already.

I have always wanted to make my own stock so when I saw the recipe on page 61 I knew I was going to make it. I went to Target and got a 16 quart stock pot then to the grocery store to get the veggies and chickens. I already had tons of those nifty plastic containers at home so I knew this adventure was meant to be. I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen, it was amazing! I washed veggies, chopped them up, placed the chickens in the pot, nestled all the veggies and herbs around then poured in the water. It was fun taking pictures of the food for this blog...I felt like a real food photographer LOL. Wow was that stock pot full to the brim when everything was in!! I could only find a 16 quart pot and perhaps a 20 quart pot would have been better....I could not fit in the last onion it was soooo full!! I brought the stock to a boil....It did spill over some because it was so full. It made some pretty impressive sounds and bubbles as the chickens and veggies settled and softened over the 4 hours. My house was filled with an amazing fresh and delicious aroma : )

I knew that I did not want to just make the stock and that be the end of it....I wanted to try that delicious stuff right away! Italian Wedding Soup pg 72 was a perfect choice. 1) because most of the ingredients in the stock are in the soup so I just had to buy a little bit extra it made shopping easy and cheap...so many veggies!!. 2) because I knew I would really be able to taste the essence of the stock as it was the stand out ingredient in the soup! As the stock was simmering away I mixed and rolled out the mini meatballs, super cute!! I cut and prepped all my soup veggies(I opted for kale rather than spinach because I love the intense earthy flavor and hearty texture for soups better than spinach) and waited for my stock to be done!!

When the stock was done I used a ladle to scoop it out of the stock pot and pour it through a tight mesh colander into a glass liquid measuring cup. Then I poured from the measuring cup into my containers. There was no picking up that whole pot and pouring it into anything...disaster for sure! This was the easiest method for me : ) It made 4 full quart containers plus enough to make my soup that night!! It was a delicious pot of soup, I highly recommend this recipe. I only made half the amount and it fed me and my husband for 2 nights!

The stock that I did not use right away I refrigerated, then scraped off the fat layer the next day and put them in the freezer. Now I have stock ready for the holidays. I left one in the fridge and last night I made smashed yukon gold potatoes and mixed in the homemade stock...soooo yummy. One comment when the stock cools it is pretty thick...not like the stuff at the store. I would say before you mix it up it is almost like half set jello...freaked me out a little but if you mix it up well it is not as weird. It smells and tastes amazing...worth the effort. I will be making it again!

Amy