If you make stock, you know that nurturing smell which permeates each corner of a home as it slowly simmers through the night. If you have never made a stock, you have to try...just once at least...get your biggest pot (or borrow a big one from your mother) and clean out your vegetable drawer. Add some bony chicken parts and let it simmer. In our house, I find the smell of a good stock simmering all night is enough to make an ailing child turn the corner. Whenever the heat of summer subsides, we have a stock pot on. By winter, our freezer has extra stock frozen, but we still make stock as the weather cools, and all winter long. We use stock in soups, stews, pasta dishes, risottos, and stir fries. I believe that the stock made from nutrient dense vegetables and herbs, consolidates their essential nutrients into a rich, spoon licking, brew which re-mineralizes the body and the spirit!

Ingredients Organic bony chicken parts - Carcass(es) (cooked or uncooked), necks, wings or legs 1 onion, chopped into ¼ inch squares 8 branches parsley (not the leafy tops) 2 bay leaves Several large branches of thyme (or whatever you have leftover from the week) 2 medium carrots, diced 4 celery stalks and leaves, roughly chopped Leek tops Onion tops any tomatoes, beans and zucchini left in the vegetable drawer 8 whole cloves 8 whole peppercorns 2 liters cold water or enough to float all the items Leafy tops of parsley

Method 1. Place chicken parts in cold water and bring to boil. Skim the foam that forms. 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for hours or even overnight. The longer you simmer the stock, the more flavourful it will be. 3. In the last 10 minutes of the stock simmering, add the leafy parsley to add extra minerals. 4. Strain the stock. You can reduce it further to intensify the flavour. 5. Refrigerate and then skim any fat from the surface. 6. Freeze in jars or use within a week.

For more great information about stocks, check out Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

We have written more about Thyme and its great attributes.