November Chit Chat

DawnEmbers

I need to figure out how to make stock/broth. The pre made stuff is higher in sodium than I'd like. I have a protein powder, it's just not one that I care much for as I've only tried a couple kinds so far. Not always easy to find the non-whey though I could just shop online. Next time I'll try a different one. It's not so bad to bake with but the vanilla flavor is just too strong most of the time when I just try to make a shake with it. That and I need a new big pot so I can make veggie chili. I use a couple different kinds of beans in it and can always add meat when reheating since it freezes well and makes many servings.

Maybe on the week I work only 32 hours I can get my apartment in a better food situation. Would be easier if I had stuff ready throughout the week instead of scrambling. Though the pb protein bar last night wasn't bad, though whey and I had cream based soup the night before so I need to not have dairy for a few days to balance it out. Clam chowder = delicious but not sure it's worth the struggles sometimes.

MissHolidayGolightly

You just boil a carcass in some water for a few hours. You can then add onions and celery and seasonings. Did that a couple times after T-give and had awesome turkey soup. I had to add a fair amount of salt, though, because it doesn't really taste like anything. Don't know if it's any better than low sodium stock you can buy.

canadianlbs

DawnEmbers wrote: »

the vanilla flavor is just too strong most of the time when I just try to make a shake with it.

i crush that vanilla flavour with lots and lots of plain yogurt, frozen in ice-cube trays, and a bit of frozen fruit of whatever kind. even so i can only tolerate about half a scoop of it to about a cup of yogurt and a handful of fruit. if it's the tartness you're after from the yogurt, like i am . . . then avoid the greek stuff. more protein but much too bland and it just tastes like spackle to me.

i know it marks me out as a nerd, but i do kind of love the stock thing. i honestly don't over complicate it; just a crockpot with water, and whatever bones i'm trying to deal with right now; forget about it till you feel like dealing with it; refrigerate; freeze. i've made stock out of chicken FEET.

DawnEmbers

I will have to try my own stock some day. I just get boneless skinless meat for now, so it will be a while plus I need a new pot. But some day.

I can't really add yogurt to the smoothie because it's hard to find non-dairy ones. I do like greek yogurt on the rare chance I eat any, but for now not something addable to make the shakes a better consistency or flavor. Eating more chicken and such will probably work out better cause the powder doesn't have that much protein compared to food options, just some slight convenience. But it's nice to add to things like pumpkin bread, gives a slight boost even if the numbers aren't that big.

MissHolidayGolightly

canadianlbs wrote: »

DawnEmbers wrote: »

the vanilla flavor is just too strong most of the time when I just try to make a shake with it.

...

i know it marks me out as a nerd, but i do kind of love the stock thing. i honestly don't over complicate it; just a crockpot with water, and whatever bones i'm trying to deal with right now; forget about it till you feel like dealing with it; refrigerate; freeze. i've made stock out of chicken FEET.

I got flashbacks to my grandma making soup with feet sticking out then serving from the pot with the feet sticking out. Shudder.

TravelsWithHuckleberry

Hmmm. Remind me to request the non-feet stock if I'm ever dining at your house, @Canadian.

canadianlbs

heh, i know. even i wondered what my hardcore self had got myself into when i got up the next morning and took the lid off the pot . . . they're just a horror story when they're cooked to a certain degree but haven't yet fallen apart. i can't ever do it without thinking of this appalling david lindley song called cat food sandwiches. which is one of the greatest things i've ever come across, but it leaves you with images you'll never get out of your mind if you play it all the way through to the end.

but anyway. compared with the absolutely stunning amount of fat that comes out of most chicken products . . . you don't see it in the regular way, i suppose, but if you make stock and then chill/freeze it it's impossible NOT to see two inches of solidified fat at the top. and the feet aren't too bad in that respect iirc. plus, cheap. plus, lots of chinese people and markets around here, so it's not the most upsetting thing my insular little caucasian eyes have seen for sale.

that would be, i quote verbatim, 'beef pizzle' in a supermarket only a few miles from here. i took a look at the package and i'm pretty sure it was exactly what you'd expect it to be.

my absolute best thing for making chicken stock though isn't the bones or the feet. it's these little strips that are probably left over once the supermarkets have finished making 'boneless skinless chicken breasts'. i think they cleaver through the cartilage of the breastbone or something, or they just snip off the last little inch strip of flesh where the tendon's embedded. might not want to stir fry it but it makes really grrrrreaaaaatt broth.