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Dust off your crockpot
Mar 25 2010 Do you have a crockpot stored away in the back of your closet? Take it out and dust it off, crockpots are a great convenience kitchen tool to use, even as the weather is getting warmer and you are lightening up your meals. Sure, I love to use my crockpot in the cold wintry months for soups, stew, chilis and all of that, but in the spring weather I have a different idea. Crockpots are the perfect way to make an inexpensive batch of nutrient and mineral rich stock to incorporate into everything, using fresh local, organic ingredients as the base. If you have bought organic stocks in the store, the kind that come in cardboard boxes you are probobly paying at least $2.99 per quart; quite expensive, high in sodium and many additives. Try my simple formula and enjoy the benefits of healthy, delicious foods- (that are cooking while you sleep). Take out and dust off your crockpot. Combine 2 parts onions, peeled and coarsely chopped (this can be a combo of onions, leeks, scallions, shallots, whatever you have), 1 part carrots, scrubbed and chopped, 1 part celery, scrubbed and chopped (those little inner leaves are good too), 5-6 sprigs fresh parsley, stems and all, 10-12 whole peppercorns, 1-2 tsp dry thyme leaf or a sprig or two of fresh, and 1" piece of kombu. Kombu is a sea vegetable high in potassium, iodine, calcium, vitamins A, C and trace minerals. I always add a small piece of kombu to my stocks, soups, stews to add flavor and nutrition. You can find kombu in the macrobiotic section of any good health food grocery. Cover vegetables and seasonings with cold water, cover crockpot with lid and turn on low and cook for 8-12 hours. In the morning strain stock, cool and reserve or freeze for future use. I generally do not add salt to the stock but prefer to include it in the finished dish that I am using the stock for. You can add other vegetable trimmings to your stock if you wish. Pleas don't use the stockpot for a garbage can, only use fresh vital ingredients, not items that are ready to throw away. Some nice additions are; mushroom stems, ends of zucchini or yellow squash,, tomato trimmings, green bean trimmings. |
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