A Stock Answer

I bought fish on my way home from work yesterday (yes, I occasionally work Saturdays).  I nice little filet of dover sole.  I am almost out of turkey from my last bird and thought a little fish would be a nice change of pace.  I had some mushrooms and wanted a good fish and mushroom dish.  I found one that looked really good.  It was almost within my diet rules, although I would have to omit the chili flakes (remember, Meme, no peppers!), but I discovered I was missing a key ingredient.  I had no vegetable stock!  I had two turkey legs leftover from the bird I’ve been eating for the last week and some, so I could make turkey stock, but I thought that might throw the flavor off.  I wanted to eat fish, not turkey-flavored fish.  What to do?

So, last night I made vegetable stock.  It is a remarkably simple thing to make.  I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner.  We have a lovely fresh produce market about halfway between us and town (which means about 10 miles away), Voss Acres.  I ran down there and picked up everything I needed that I didn’t already have. 

Basically, vegetable stock is made from a bunch of aromatic vegetables, a few herbs, and a little bit of effort.  A very little bit of effort. 

First, pick your vegetables.  Use any form of onion you want, except maybe sweet onions.  I used two regular yellow onions and a bunch of green onions.  A few stalks of celery adds a little seasoning.  (Keep the leaves 0n, that’s part of the secret.)  I had one carrot and two parsnips, so they went in the pot as well.  I had some leftover fresh parsley.  I don’t much care for parsley as an edible item, at least I never have in the past, so I was glad of an excuse to use it.  I bought a little fresh thyme.  And of course I have bay leaves on hand.  I say of course because I’ve been making a lot of turkey stock and every stock recipe I’ve ever seen calls for bay leaf.  I could have added some dried rosemary, but I saved that for my turkey stock this first time.  Everything needs to be scrubbed then chopped.  Don’t peel anything.  You want the pieces small enough to release their goodness, but large enough to strain out.  Between half an inch and an inch should do.

Take a large stock pot, add a little olive oil and sauté the vegetables before you add water.  You want to cook them for about 5 to 10 minutes, enough to make them limp, start releasing the goodness.  Add about 2 quarts of water, and bring it to a boil.  Then reduce the heat to allow it to simmer and forget it for 30 minutes.  I made a double batch, so I increased my cooking times a little bit.  But I came out with something nice and darkish and smelling wonderfully.

I will be tasting it later today, as I prepare my fish with mushrooms tonight.  No, I didn’t taste it yesterday.  By the time I had the stock made, fast day had begun.

I can hear you now.  Fast day?  Is there a mandatory fast in this diet that she didn’t tell us about?  No, there isn’t.  I fast for religious reasons.  Once per month.  Today is fast day.  Twenty four hours without food, spending the time we would be eating and preparing our meals in spiritual pursuits.  And we donate the money we would have spent to the church’s fast offering fund – which is used to provide for those in need.  It’s a win-win situation.  We gain spiritually, both through the self-discipline to avoid food and through the extra time spent in prayer, scripture study, and other time devoted to God.  And someone who may be without food or other essentials receives the assistance they need.  Everyone is better for it.

I speak of it lightly, because I am afraid to share my faith sometimes.  Afraid people will be offended for some reason.  But fasting, coupled with prayer, is a powerful thing.  God listens to us.  He truly does.  And he gives to us when we pray.  He gives answers and blessings to meet our needs and to help us to grow, both as people in this world and as children of God.  And I think the more we put into our prayers the more he is able to benefit us through them.  Fasting shows we are willing to sacrifice for our love of God.  And opens us to more blessings than we can comprehend.

Well, this is a longer post than I’d expected.  I’ll report on how well the vegetable stock worked.  And I’ll share the fish recipe I am trying tomorrow.

If you want to follow a regular recipe for the vegetable stock – I based my version on one found on allrecipes.com.  It’s listed as Basic Vegetable Stock.  Enjoy!