Liberation by Chicken Broth!
No, seriously. I mean it. We will now have an official "Chicken Broth Day" every Autumn, and here's why...
Sunday, November 5th, 2023
Dear Freedom Friends,
As a child, I was blessed to have a mother who grew gardens wherever we lived. And we lived many places. By the time I turned 21, I had lived in 26 different homes. Yes, that many! My Dad never (in my memory) ate out at a restaurant. Everything was cooked at home, including our bread. I hated the store bought stuff offered at friends’ houses, because it was thin and crunchy, like cardboard, compared to the rich, dense, flavorful homemade bread I grew up eating.
When I moved out, around the age of 18, I had to make every penny stretch. One way I did this was by copying my parents. Entertainment was always free (bike riding, hiking, swimming in the river, playing solitaire or games with friends, and reading books from the library) — and food was always homemade. To me, this was normal. I quickly realized, I was odd.
When I was 19, my boyfriend and I moved into an apartment in a rough part of town. Almost all of the apartments were Section 8 housing, sirens wailed every night, and grocery shopping was very educational. There was a Lucky’s down the street, and I began to notice the differences between how I shopped (and I grew up under the poverty level, which is why we always cooked at home) and how people paying with food stamps were shopping. Their carts were filled with convenience foods. Cold cereal, store bought bread, boxed rice and pasta mixes, soda pop, canned soups, chips, frozen waffles — all the stuff that comes in boxes.
Then there was my cart.
Potatoes. Buttermilk. Whole Wheat Flour. Yeast. Milk. Cheese. Onions. Garlic. Vegetables. Fruits. Oatmeal. Brown sugar. Butter. Raw meat. Peanut Butter (the kind that separates, not the kind with added oil and sugar). Jam. Frozen O.J. Olive oil. Tortillas. Pasta and pasta sauce, that I amended with mushrooms and hamburger. And, after Halloween, I’d drive out to abandoned pumpkin fields and fill my car. We ate a lot of homemade pumpkin pies with homemade whole wheat crust all winter long, and I toasted the seeds!
Naturally, I wanted to share my thrifty ways with others.
Not knowing I was breaking the law, I told my boyfriend, “Hey! All these families could save so much if they cooked homemade meals, and then they could sell their Food Stamps for cash, and get ahead!” Yeah, he stopped me from putting up “Free Cooking Class” signs all over the neighborhood and probably landing myself in jail for Welfare Fraud. LOL.
Still, even at that young age, I saw homemade food skills as liberating. Empowering. Valuable. And, I love it when I am reminded of this — which happened yesterday and today. Let me share my discovery with you, just in time for the holidays!
When you think of vegetable or chicken broth, what comes to mind?
Me too! So, imagine my surprise when I went to the store to buy chicken or vegetable broth for a homemade Butternut Squash Soup and the ingredient list was sadly short? Here is Pacific Brand Organic Free Range Chicken Broth:
I was sort of okay with this, but for me, all broths should have a few standard vegetables in them, so I went looking for something more…and I found a Vegan Veggie Broth for about $8.00 a jar.
Ingredients: Water, Natural Flavoring, Autolyzed Yeast, Salt.
I was flabbergasted! And, there are other problems with store bought broth. Hard, dry bouillon cubes usually have weird added ingredients to make it shelf stable for years (decades?), and the liquid broth is a heavy, mostly water product that costs a lot to transport, due to volume and weight.
I usually make a chicken or beef based soup, so the broth is created during the soup making process. But, if you’re making a Butternut Squash Soup, which calls for chicken broth (but no actual chicken in the recipe), then making the broth isn’t part of making the soup. Thus, my problem.
So, I stewed on the issue. I pondered the issue. And I came up with a plan that will make wintertime soup-making super easy this year!
How to Make 3 Months Worth of Broth with 1 Chicken in 1 Day
Buy a Large Organic Chicken
Crock Pot Whole Chicken Overnight 10 Hours (fill crockpot with water)
In the Morning, Saute 1-2 Onions in Olive Oil in 2 Huge Pots
Add an Entire Head of Garlic to Each Pot (or as much garlic as you like)
Remove Meat from Cooked Chicken & Set Aside
Divide Chicken Bones & Skin in Half & Place in the 2 Pots
Add 1/2 the Concentrated Crock Pot Broth to Each Pot
Add Big Chopped Carrot Chunks, Celery, Onion, Salt & Pepper to Taste
Add Herbs (Optional - Less Seasoning is Good for Versatility)
Add Water Until Pots are Full & Simmer for 2-3 Hours
Cool & Strain
Fill Some Mason Jars (Leave Space to Expand in Freezer) with Just Broth and…
Fill Some Mason Jars with Chicken Meat + Broth
Be Amazed That You Made 3 Gallons or More of Great Broth!
Freeze Most - Use Some Fresh
My recipe (with all the good stuff) cost less than $20 for 10 “Boxes” worth of exquisite chicken/vegetable broth. Those “boxes” cost an average of $5 each. I just saved $30 for a superior product!
I Wish You Happy Wintertime Soup Making!