Lunchbox Liz

Last week my husband made roast chicken for dinner. He stored the bones in the fridge for a few days before he dumped them in a pot with a bay leaf and some black pepper just before leaving for the day. I tended the pot for most the morning, which meant reminding myself not to leave the house with the cooking stock on the stove. Making stock is that simple. You simply simmer bones in water for a good part of the day. The rewards of homemade stock are many. Chicken soup was used to cure the flu because the gelatin from the bones repair damage to our digestive track. Gelatin is a form of protein that is made when the collagen in the bones, skins, and cartilage of animal bones is broken down. This is the same stuff from which gummy bears and Jell-O are made. Most commercially available stock is devoid of gelatin and very high in sodium. It is the gelatin in the stock that traditionally made soups thick.
I love the culinary evolution of one meal leading to another. A chicken dinner produces stock for cooking barley. The barley water is saved to cook a pot of pinto beans. That chicken did not die in vain.

Today’s Lunch
Taco Salad

Beans: Soak 1 cup of beans in water overnight. Drain the next morning and place in a pressure cooker with enough stock to cover the beans. Cook under pressure for 30 minutes. Remove from head and allow the pressure to disipate before removing the lid.

Toss chopped lettuce, kohlrabi, carrot, celery, steamed beets, avocado, and 1/2 cup of beans. Sprinkle 1 tsp cumin over salad and add your favorite dressing.