In my haste to make room in the freezer yesterday, I accidentally left the frozen turkey carcass left over from Thanksgiving out on the side counter opposite the work area in the kitchen. Two hours later I found it, happily defrosting itself and making a puddle on the counter.
So, after dinner, a crockpot soup, I had to adjust my plans for the evening and begin an overnight slow cooking turkey stock. Into the just emptied and cleaned crockpot, I dumped the carcass, partially defrosted. I rummaged around and cut up a few onions, leeks and carrots. Into the pot with assorted dried and fresh herbs from the garden and cupboard. Copious amounts of water, some salt and pepper, and a ten hour low temp setting.
Off to read, then all night long the turkey cooked down to an aromatic rich stock ready for use this morning.
I strained off enough to fill three of my one pint freezer containers for later this winter, put a quart in the little fridge where wine and beer usually co-mingle with whatever doesn’t fit in the kitchen fridge, and added all sorts of veggies to the rich thick soup left in the crockpot. This afternoon I will throw some egg noodles in for the last hour of cooking, and dinner tonight will be turkey noodle soup.
Almost but not quite a Dark Days Dinner for the second time this week. The turkey was local, from Maple Lawn Farm. The carrots, leeks and onions were from the CSA. Herbs from my garden. The egg noodles are from the Shrewsbury Amish market, but aren’t made from local ingredients, so I ended up with a 90% locally sourced meal. If I open a Breaux semillon/chardonnay blend, from Virginia, and defrost some Atwater’s bread, I am pretty much eating a locally produced meal again.
AnnieRie Unplugged 