Close Call

Phew, that was a close one. I woke up yesterday feeling very not myself. Achey, sore, lethargic, nauseous and downright just gross feeling. I was worried i might be getting sick, but didn't quite remember what that feels like. I haven't been properly 'sick' since graduate school in 2005, it's been a good run. I've been 'almost sick' a few times - feeling that touch of 'ew' and loading myself up with garlic, onions, white tea and echinacea just in time to beat it, but haven't succumbed. I feared the worse yesterday, but health has prevailed!

It's amazing how a few days away from nourishing, homegrown/locally grown 'real food' can help to beat down the immune system. It amazes me that there are people out there that rarely eat real food and actually expect to be healthy. Taking multi-vitamins is a decent substitute when you can't get real food, but a pale, pale comparison to the natural team work of whole foods and their corresponding vitamins and minerals that work together.

Pocket and I spent a lot of the day yesterday curled up in nap position.

How did i beat it this time? I took it easy. I didn't eat all day (I can tell i'm sick when i have NO appetite, as i always have an appetite) save some orange juice (with no added sugar or preservatives) and a few bites of locally grown melon and plum. I pounded the echinacea pills (that are none too fresh and probably not overly effective) and I did take a multi- V to help compensate for the week away from homegrown food. Most importantly, i went to the local store and bought a side of locally grown chicken and began boiling it. I removed the skin and most of the fat, leaving some (i feel chicken fat has some benefits) and boiled that sucker with some local, organic shallots, garlic, bay leaves, a splash of white wine and enough water to cover all well. As the day went on i added more water, onions, cabbage, blue potatoes, hot peppers and finished it off with some salt. The house smelled amazing, and my spirits lifted.

Like feeding a sick dog boiled chicken and rice, my spirits rose immediately. Even after my first nibbles of chicken while the meal cooked, i felt a bit less sick. I went to bed earlyish, and slept in (woops, i'm supposed to go to work today) after some serious night sweating (T.M.I.?). My body has always been good at hitting a fever, or sweating hard to work out an illness. It came through for me again last night, and i've awoken fresh and ready for a new day. I'm almost disappointed, i kind of like curling up on the couch being doted on - but there are things to do, so i better get to doing them!

What do you do when you start feeling sick?

Use Every Last Bit

I bought a chicken this weekend (a butchered one this time, though we were accosted by some heavy persuasion to purchase a young pullet on Saturday - we resisted). I was almost out of stock in the cupboard, so it was time to 'stock' up again. (har har har). Last stock was turkey - a nice rich golden color, this time around it was chicken - a yellower broth, but just as full of nutrition and goodness.

I boiled the chicken whole, after removing the breasts and thigh meat which i cooked up for dinner with some lovely roasted veggies and a white wine sauce. I simmered that bird along with a carrot, some celery, some malabar spinach, onions and garlic from the garden plus some salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves right off the tree. The aroma was mag nee feek! I simmered it all evening only turning the heat off when it was time for bed. I left the pot out over night and stuck it in the fridge in the am, skimming the fat once it hardened. By this late afternoon i seperated the bones and other bits out and brought the stock back up to a boil to condense down before canning. The meat and veg chunks were separated out in this way, allowing me to use up EVERY part of that bird:

Good meat for us - mixed up with some fresh, homemade mayo to be a delicious and decadent chicken salad.

Bones cleaned to dry (in my car) until brittle, at which point i'll grind them up to make bone meal for feeding the plants (Thanks, Susy at Chiot's Run for the brilliant idea of drying and grinding the bones!).

Nasty meat, questionable skin and fatty chunks, sad vegetable parts all go to the chooks. No, it is not gross, morbid, cannibalistic, or unhealthful for the chickens to eat cooked chicken. It may be DISTURBING,  but it's actually good for them. And they enjoy it. A LOT.

Belina says "This is delicious. Give me more. MORE."

So here i have 8 lovely pints of homemade chicken stock, plus 2 ice cube trays in the freezer. Not a bit of the bird was wasted, and everyone in the household from myself to my chickens to the plants in the garden will benefit from the nutrients taken from that fryer.

Do you clean your plate? Do you compost what you don't finish? What tips do you have for using up every last bit of something?

This post was also seen in Simple Lives Thursday - check it out!