A Day in the Kitchen

I always start out with the best of intentions: grab some sad-looking bananas and tomatoes on the way home (because I could make something from them, instead of leaving them to be thrown out!), clean out the fridge and find I'm running out of time to get that batch of stock boiled up, pick up a couple of new recipes I'd like to try. I always start out optimistic, but after three hours in the kitchen I start to wonder just what I've gotten myself into.

At least this one doesn't need a lot of supervision.

On the plus side, that means it's time to review some more recipes: zucchini cupcakes, banana bread, and chicken stock.

The chicken stock is one I've made before, but since I'm doing it during the day this time and can actually take pictures of the process, let's start there. This is such a rewarding recipe in a lot of ways: it makes use of things you would otherwise throw out, you don't have to peel or finely chop ANYTHING, and everything you cook with it is going to taste amazing. I was genuinely astounded, the first time I cooked with my own stock, at just how much better the meal tasted.

(I had two chickens to use so the following pictures will show twice what you need for a single batch.)

Step One: chicken carcass (I put aside all the meat from this one to make risotto later in the week).

Step Two: halve an onion.

Step Three: roughly chop some celery and a couple carrots (don't even need to peel!).

Step Four: toss all of the above into a big (mine is 10L) stock pot along with a sprig of rosemary, some thyme and parsley, black peppercorns, three bay leaves and half a head of garlic (peeled and crushed - no need to chop it up).

Step Five: add six litres of water and bring to boil, then simmer for about five hours.

Step Six: drain the stock through a sieve and leave to cool before refrigerating or freezing.

I found this to make roughly five cups worth of stock, but it depends on how long you leave this as to how much of the liquid evaporates out/how concentrated the stock will be - it makes quite a thick stock, not as watery as the kind you'd buy in the store/mix up from powder.

Chicken Stock: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It takes just a few minutes to throw this together and not only does it smell amazing the entire time that it's cooking but I guarantee anything you make using it is going to taste twice as good as normal.

Once the stock was boiling happily away it was time to move on to a recipe I hadn't tried before: zucchini slice muffins, from the February edition of the recipe magazine my local supermarket puts out. This one was good, messy fun to put together and it would be great to make with kids (with a little supervision, of course).

Two zucchini, two cups SR flour, two eggs, two rashers bacon, a cup of grated cheese, 3/4 cup milk, one egg and 50g butter.

The process is simple - grate the zucchini, cook the onion and bacon, mix together the wet ingredients and then add them to the dry. The next bit is the part I just bet kids would enjoy - mixing it all together is a nice, goopy mess.

Mmm, appetising!

Then you spoon the whole mess into muffin tins (or, in my case, a cupcake tray) and bake at 180C for half an hour. So easy! So tasty!

Zucchini Slice Muffins: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Especially good while they're still fresh and warm, these easy little muffins have a great cheesy texture and are a great way to get some veg into little mouths.

I won't tell you how many of those I accidentally ate while I worked on the next task: banana bread. I found some adorable tiny loaf tins at the store and when I saw just how super cheap bananas are at the moment I knew what I needed to do. Banana bread is such an easy thing to put together, and also fairly simple to adjust to vegan diets (I've made it in the past with almond milk and non-dairy butter).

Four bananas to make a double batch - one loaf always seems to run out too quickly!

I love that this recipe also uses a less-desirable product - overripe bananas - that people otherwise wouldn't be interested in buying. Anything that reduces waste is a plus! I'm working from a recipe from the ever-handy Taste.com.au with a slight variation: while walnuts are commonly added to banana bread I'm just not that into walnuts. Chopped up cashews, on the other hand, I am a fan of, and I'd say I added about a quarter of a cup of them.

Don't look at the out-of-focus mess in the background, okay?

LOOK AT HOW ADORABLE THEY ARE.

Banana Bread: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
What can I even say: it's banana bread. It's delicious! Simple, everyday ingredients, stores well, easily adapted to dietary needs or restrictions. A winner every time.

Now, if you'll excuse me, half of the day is gone and I could use some time somewhere other than the kitchen.