I started making vegetable stock after reading about how much sodium store-bought stock has. It is a long process, but I learned it from my mom and it's quick and easy. The vegetable stock that I found a recipe for is quiet simple to make. Just chop onions, celery, and carrots. Cover with water, add bay leaf, boil for one hour and whola!
http://www.amazon.com/Glace-Poulet-Classic-Roasted-Chicken/dp/B000PGQSUU
I bought some lamb steaks at Assi Plaza recently, craving the flavor of lamb, and found after cooking one that themeat was really really tough. So, I thought it could be something I could turn into fajitas (lamb fajitas sound pretty cool)but better, perhaps a stew. So I found this recipe:http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222618And compared to Mark Bittman's soupy dal recipe, about all that happens is..1. mirepoix and meat sauteed together.2. tomatoes added3. carrots added later, along with spinach.Cooking time is about the same, spices about the same. So, the essence of the recipe is nothing more than lentil soup plus meat.So I'm chopping my meat into cubes and look at all these bones and think, "Sad to waste these," so I throw them into a simmering pot of water.I throw in a couple pieces of chicken too (with the idea I fetch them later, shred them and use for a salad or something), garlic, and any vegetablewastes I'm generating while I'm prepping for the soup.Now to some extent this is needless, as lentil soups can generate their own broth, but thought the idea of soup plus stock might not be bad on a long afternoon when time isn't really a factor.This is an ongoing process. I have no idea how it might turn out.FnS.