2026… Making Stock and Taking Stock!

I’m not sure why it took me so long to get an Instant Pot, but I was a quick convert. Even though it can be a little more fiddly than stove-top or oven recipes… it wins in terms of starting something, walking away and then having deliciousness awaiting you.

Making (Chicken) Stock

I have been very happy with it, making simple dishes, potatoes, rice (until I got a rice cooker, but that’s another story), soups, stews, curry. But the YouTube algorithm showed me something interesting: $6 Michelin (Chicken) Stock in 60 Minutes.

Pardon me, what? As someone that loves roast chicken and will occasionally grab a rotisserie bird from the supermarket, it was eye opening to realize that a pressure cooker can do this in a—mostly—hands off way.

Watch the video, or get the recipe and method at Chris Young’s site, but it’s pretty simple. Some vegetables, an entire shredded rotisserie chicken (meat and bones), water and patience.

His video is a thorough walk-through of what’s happening and why it works, but if you don’t need the science, you can follow the instructions and just make sure you’ve plenty of storage containers. One thing about using the Instant Pot is there’s no loss of liquid. Adding 2 quarts or so of water to this means you’re gonna get that back and then some.

I am trying to be better about saving my food waste for future use. I don’t compost, even though seeing the stand at the farmers market has been tempting. But I don’t make enough to really worry about it. The second batch being so onion heavy was because I grabbed a bag a while back when I really only needed one.

And this is proper stock. Once it’s strained, and chilled, it does that nice gelatin jiggle. Make sure you have a good sealed container for the fridge or freezer and it will keep. Or if you’re like me, you’re already using it when you make rice, or turning it into a quick noodle soup, or making a gravy. It’s not lasting long and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The cost bears out about even vs. buying stock or bouillon, but if you’re already cooking or roasting meats and saving the bones instead of throwing them out, this gets you a little ahead of the game.

I’ll admit that the stock made with just bones did not have the same “roast chicken” aroma and flavor of using the meat, but it’s still delicious. I make a lot of chicken, so this is staying in rotation! 🙂

Taking Stock (Life)

As to the other part of the title, my birthday is in a few days and I don’t have any super heavy feelings about it. I visited with my family last weekend and they got me a cake and we had a sort of celebration. Nothing major.

I don’t know what I want to do to treat myself at all aside from taking a day off to get a long weekend. As most of my friends are online, there isn’t anything in the way of a big gathering. I’m not the kind of creator where people will post public birthday wishes to me on their social media timeline, or selfies we’ve taken together or anything.

I’m just not that kind of popular (creator, streamer, actual player, etc.) y’know?

But aging is weird. My continued existence should be seen as a triumph, no matter what, but… like… this current reality sucks. So it feels more like I have to spitefully or defiantly survive it just to see what’s on the other side of these “interesting times” and hope things improve.

Even in the “treat myself” camp, I’ve been slowly cutting back on portions, dialing back the happy hours and brunches, so even if I do go out, my tolerance may be a little shot for excessive carousing. But perhaps I can find some new places, visit some old favorites and grab some foods that I wouldn’t normally make on my own. Make it special in some kinda way.

Still, happy almost birthday to me. The weather is turning nice, temperatures are starting to cool. We’ve got a few weeks until the start of Fall, but the vibes are already here.

Take care of yourselves, thanks for reading and oh, by the way: get your COVID and flu shots, they’re available now. 😎