Can you tell I think highly of homemade bone broth? I love it not only for its many nutritional benefits, but also because it is a such a neat way to use up all the loose odds and ends of my fridge and pantry. Today, I had lots of leftover apples that were too soft for anyone to like, and some squashes that everyone has had too much of. I threw those in there. I also had ordered some herbs from Frontier that were just a bit twiggy and nobody enjoyed them in a dish, but the flavor they impart to the broth is wonderful. For a full size bird or pot of bones, I use about a gallon of water, but since this bird was one of our previous laying hens and was rather small, I used a little over a half gallon. Here’s what I threw in the pot:

(not so beautiful, but it sure will be!)

Ingredients

• bones – from pastured animals or grass-fed ones – today it was 1 small bird
• 1/2 -1 gallon of filtered water – today it was 1/2 gallon
• 1 Tb Real Salt or Pink salt
• 1 Tb organic soy sauce
• 1/2 lemon peels
• 5 garlic clove peels
• 1/2 Tb peppercorns
• 1/2 Tb cardamom pods
• 3″ strip of ginger and turmeric, chopped
• 3 turnips, chopped (leave tops on)
• 3 carrots, chopped (leave tops on)
• 1 Tb astralagus (optional, or use any superfood/roots/mushrooms – we have even picked mushrooms from our forested area and thrown those in there; of course it helps to have a guide who can show you what to eat and what not to – it is one of my dad’s hobbies, so he helped me out while here visiting.)
• 5 apple shavings, no seeds
• small handful of herbs – I used Winter Savory, and Herbs de Provence

Method

1. Throw all ingredients into a large stockpot.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Lower heat to a low simmer and allow to cook for 4-9 hours.
4. Strain out everything.
5. Use remaining broth for soup, cooking rice or beans, or freeze in quart sized servings.

Enjoy!