Taking Stock

One of the key ingredients to making great soup is homemade chicken stock. And here's the big secret - it's far superior to store bought...and so simple to make. When Nancy was pregnant with Gavin she craved soup all the time, and earlier this week I made some chicken noodle soup and noticed my existing supplies of chicken stock had dwindled. So today I made another big batch which I will freeze in pint sized mason jars. That way I will always have some on hand when needed - lovely jubbly.

Many folks save leftover chicken carcasses to make stock, but I find if I use a whole chicken or chicken quarters I will end up with some moist and yummy shredded chicken for use in other dishes such as chicken salad or enchiladas. I don't roast the bones beforehand which would yield a fuller flavored brown stock (which I think is less important than in beef stock), but by leaving the peel on the onion I still get a nice dark color which works well in everything I've paired it with.

The onions, carrots and celery form the "holy trinity" or "mirepox" of aromatics that make your kitchen smell divine as they simmer.

Ingredients
4lbs chicken quarters (or whole chicken cut up)
2-3 large onions, unpeeled and quartered
5 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
3 pieces of celery, cut into thirds
1 head of garlic, unpeeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
Your choice of herbs (basil, parsley, thyme etc)
A small handful of peppercorns

Dump all the ingredients in the largest stockpot you have (I use a 12 quart All-Clad) and add cold water. Cover and bring to a boil, then remove the lid and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain the stock and discard all the solids except for the chicken and carrots. Sieve it through a fine mesh to remove all the fine particles (I like a more rustic soup so I usually skip this step).

Eat the carrots - they're delicious.

Once cooled, shred the chicken and use in other dishes.

Allow the stock to cool and then portion out into containers. Store in the refrigerator overnight so the fat will come to the surface. This can be skimmed off before freezing, though it helps preserve the stock, so you could also leave it on there and just skim it off after defrosting.

Interview

I was browsing around Blogland this evening and came across a neat idea - an interview chain. It sounded like fun, so I jumped on in. If you'd like to play along, here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond with five questions (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

These interview questions are from Holly.

1. What is your favorite thing about running/living in Texas?
We have a great outdoor climate, a kicking live music scene and fantastic food, but the absolute best thing about running here is the people. We have a great trail running club and culture in Austin. I've met so many great people and made a bunch of good friends through running.

2. Now that your 100 mile race is over... what's your new goal?
Don't know yet - I'm still working on it (though a new baby will be my next endurance challenge!!!).

3. When was it that you decided to become an ultrarunner?
The Fall of 2007. I was one of the coaches for a marathon training group and my wife was training for her first half marathon at the same time. I promised her I'd run the long runs with her, so she would meet me after my group run and I'd push our little boy in the jogging stroller alongside her. Since I was putting in the extra mileage I decided to enter the Sunmart 50k. It was my first trail run, I had a blast and wanted more.

4. What has been your worst running injury?
I've been really lucky with running injuries. I broke several bones in my rugby days, but the worst injury I've had running is a sprained ankle.

5. What is your favorite pre-race dinner?
If I'm at home, spaghetti and meatballs or grilled salmon with baked potato and rice. At Bandera (where the choice is much more limited), a great big pizza hit the spot. (Yes, pizza is definitely allowed - one of the great things about ultrarunning).

Thanks Holly, that was fun.

It's a boy!!!!

Well Nancy and I went to her ultrasound appointment this afternoon and got some great news - the baby is active and healthy. We also found out it's a boy, so Gavin gets his wish for a little brother (and I get my pair of opening batsmen*).

Being a parent can be a strange thing. You love your kids unconditionally and find things affect you emotionally in ways they never did before - yesterday this article brought tears to my eyes and made me want to just rush home and hug Gavin.

But this is a happy day. We have no idea of names yet, but here are a few we probably want to avoid (check out the comments - they're hilarious).

* cricketing reference

Driver Needed for Smelly Runners

I have a 12 man (and woman) team running the Texas Independence Relay on March 7th and 8th. It is a 40 leg, 203 mile route that goes from Gonzales (where the first shots in the battle for Texas Independence were fired) to the site of the final battle at San Jacinto. We have rented two vans, but one of our drivers has dropped out. So if anyone out there is interested in driving some smelly runners around all weekend in a van filled with beer and pizza (and why would you not?), please let me know asap. We will have a fun time and make it worth your while.

And news from the running front: Rocky Raccoon didn't do it, Bandera didn't do it, marathons don't even come close any more, but those damn hills of Jester, Beauford and Courtyard did. Yes, I'm sore today (mostly my quads from holding back on the downhills). Jeff F. was kind enough to show me around the trails at St. Eds yesterday evening and I could feel the ghosts of those 15-20% gradient ridged monsters in my legs. And I thought I was good at hills!!!

St Eds was a great place to run though. I've never been there before, and I haven't run with Jeff in so long I thoroughly enjoyed catching up. And since we started at 4:30pm, I was home by 6pm so could still enjoy the evening.

No running today - it's Fat Tuesday!!!

Husband Survival Guide : Tip #386

Do not make facetious comments* when your wife burns the rice beyond all recognition. It is very dangerous and may well subject you to threats of physical violence.

* comments such as "what the hell did you do to my saucepan?" and "oh look, I've found some grains that may be ok" will not improve your chances of survival.

Jester Nother Run

Last year the "Austin Runner" magazine published a list of the top 10 toughest hills in Austin. I no longer have the magazine, but it's a useful list to have so here it is.

	Route	Difficulty Rating
1.	Beauford Dr	10
2.	Courtyard Dr	10
3.	Jester Blvd	9
4.	Ladera Norte	8
5.	Rain Creek Pkwy	6
6.	Mount Bonnell	5
7.	Lost Creek	5
8.	Wilke Dr	4
9.	Stratford Dr	2
10.	Exposition and Balcones	2

This morning I met up with Roger at 5am to do a 9 mile hilly run that incorporated the top 3 (Beauford, Courtyard and Jester). It was a really cold morning and we had a great run, averaging just under a 10 minute mile pace which was pretty good considering all the hills involved.

Roger was going on to run Ken's loop, but I headed off to the Hill of Life to meet another group of friends for a greenbelt run. It was still cold and my hands quickly got numb. I had some gloves in the car, but for some reason I left them there. My hands did warm up after a few miles, but my fingers swelled up with the cold and they still look like fat sausages. Despite that, it was a beautiful morning for a run and a good chance to catch up with some chat and banter.

And it all added up to a lovely 20 mile day, done and dusted by 9am which is always a bonus.

If anyone wants to try a really good hilly run, I mapped out the Jester loop here, but be careful on the portions that go along the shoulder of 2222 and 360.