Soup & Sewing

Since I'm trying to be a little more thrifty (and I'm already pretty darn thrifty) I thought I'd try my hand at making my own chicken broth. We often buy the seasoned rotisserie chickens at Sam's Club - they are so good and so CHEAP! (less than 5 dollars). After most of this one was eaten, I picked off the leftover meat and put the carcass (isn't that a lovely word?) in a pot full of water with an onion (chopped in half, not peeled) a couple of cloves of garlic (again, chopped but not peeled), a few stalks of celery and a couple of carrots. I didn't season it because the chicken skin was already liberally seasoned. Then I let it simmer for between 5-6 hours, occasionally skimming the top.

I strained it through a fine mesh strainer (we call it our fencing mask, like Nigella) and then stuck it in the fridge. The next morning, I scooped the layer of fat off the top, although surprisingly there really wasn't much fat there. The broth was SUPER rich, so I used it in a 1:1 ratio with water, added the shredded chicken, a few carrots, an onion, celery, and garlic and let it simmer for a couple of hours. Right before we ate it I added some whole wheat organic egg noodles from our local bulk Amish food store. It was quite delicious, if I do say so myself! And the kids actually ate it.

On the sewing front, I finally finished my friend Renetta's table runner. I just made some improvisational log cabins and surrounded them with linen. Her only request was that it be framed with AMH's Garden Party polka dot. I'm pleased with how it turned out, especially considering it was my first real attempt at free-motion quilting. I'm sure it will get nice and puckery after its first wash.

Here's a litte detail of the quilting - I LOVE that mustard-colored thread and use it every chance I get.

Sorry about the dreary pictures - it was a dreary day.

Enjoy your Thursday - it's almost the weekend!! As Dawson would say, "Yay! Wow! Woo hoo!"