Sweet Sunday

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. Usually we reserve Sunday for just the three of us to spend in our cozy little nest. Darling hubby gets to get his arm all salty and aggravate his aquarium inhabitants, and I get to play at being domestic by baking treats for the toddler's breakfast for the coming week. We top it all off with an old-fashioned Sunday dinner. Not tonight though - tonight we are going to Ichiban, yum!

I loathe waste as much as I love Sunday. I really, really do. Admittedly I have some wasteful habits, like my paper towel and paper plate addictions, but truly I try to avoid being wasteful. I especially try to not be wasteful with food. So on this Sunday I am taking care of a couple items so they don't go to waste.

Part I: Talk Carcass to Me

First on deck is making chicken stock. I roast a chicken at least once a week and then save the carcass to use later. I like to have at least two carcasses before I make stock, since it is kind of a time-consuming process. Not that you're busy the entire time making stock, but it does take two days so I like to make it worth my while. While I'm waiting for those carcasses to show up, I add things to the carcass bag in the freezer along the way. I save the trimmed ends from carrots and celery. If an onion or the garlic is looking wilty, it goes in too. This way, by the time Stock-Making Day is here, I've got everything I need in the bag.

This is so sexy, you're thinking. I know, carcass talk is always sexy. So let's get this thing started.

Step 1: Stick the carcasses and veggies in a stockpot and cover with water.


Step 2: Bring to a moderate boil over medium heat.

Step 3: Lower the temperature so the contents of the stockpot are gently simmering. Hold down the contents with a sieve. I use my steamer basket for this.

Step 4: Occasionally skim the scum that forms on the surface of the water.

Oooh, "skim the scum". I like the way that sounds. I know. I told you this was sexy.

The carcasses and veggies will gently simmer in this manner without any intervention, except for the scum-skimming, for a number of hours. I try for seven hours, but I will take five.

When simmering and skimming is complete, strain the stock from the stockpot into another, smaller pot. Refrigerate this overnight. The fat will coagulate on the surface which will make it easy to scrape off the top. If you were a really vigilant skimmer, there may not be much of a fat layer at all.

Underneath that fat will be the stock, all nice and wiggly like jello. It is the gelatin you've harvested from the bones of the carcass that make this so. It also allows your stock to have lots of flavor without all that fat, you lucky skimmer, you.

Oh, yeah, talk carcass to me. Focus!

You still have to divvy up the stock into manageable portions for freezing. I like to save it in mostly two-cup portions. When you are ready to use the stock in a recipe, boil it for two minutes for safety. Alton Brown told me that.

Part II: Time to Bake

So, now you think you're stuck at home with a pot of chicken bones. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? While I monitor the stockpot, I take this time to bake. Now the toddler only has one week of school before summer break and he already has breakfasts in the freezer. Time to bake for others - namely my girlfriends at school.

Let's see. What is there around here that I don't want to go to waste. I know. Those bananas over there look like they need to be used.

I want to bake banana bread so I must find a recipe that is eggless because the Rad Librarian does not eat eggs. She prefers that they hatch into chicks. I go to my favorite baking resource, The Fresh Loaf, where I immediately locate an eggless banana bread recipe. That's why it's my favorite baking resource!

First up is the mashing of the bananas. The kind individual who posted the recipe gave a faboo tip - stick them in your Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

Wait. You mean I can mix all the ingredients in a single bowl? Only one bowl to wash? I know, I know, too good to be true. Let's do this thing.

The toddler must help when I am baking. It ensures him first dibs on things like chocolate chips. So he peels and mashes the bananas for me.

I see. Child labor. Mind your own business.




We assemble the line-up: 1/2 cu applesauce, 3/4 cu white sugar, 1 cu all-purpose flour, 1/2 cu whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 heavy tsp pure vanilla, and (yes!) chocolate chips.

The toddler adds the ingredients to the mixing bowl.


I pour the mixture into the mini-loaf pan Coco gave us.

The pan goes into a 325 degree oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes. When the loaves pass the toothpick test, they rest on a rack until completely cooled.

But the crumb! The crumb! I want to see the crumb!

Here it is: