Perfect for a Winter's Day

Perfect for a Winter's Day

By Elizabeth Mowers

Greetings from Northeastern Ohio! The snow finally found us last week after an usual run of mild temperatures. 

With the colder weather comes my desire to snack on carbs. Glorious carbs. 

But my resolution for the new year is to make a good decision for breakfast every morning. Perhaps if I can do that, then I will set myself up for good food choice the rest of the day. This is my hope, anyway.

Over the holidays I turned my attention to drinking a mug of warm bone broth first thing in the morning. My rationale was that it would 1) be good for me and 2) curb my hunger until I could make something healthy for late breakfast. I wake up at 5 am to teach every morning but can't fix breakfast until nearly 10 am. 

I won't go into too much detail about the health benefits of drinking bone broth but apparently, the gelatin, which comes from the collagen in the animal bones, provides nutrients to your body along with reducing any joint inflammation you may have. Plus, I have a friend who swears that it keeps her healthy all winter long. Sounds good enough for me.

I've always made homemade chicken broth and egg noodles (yum!) when I make soup, but I've never concentrated on making a really great broth. I learned that to make a great bone broth in your stock pot or Crock pot, it needs to cook for 24-48 hours. 

My first attempt tasted...meh. I had hoped for something more savory so I did some research online.

I learned that roasting the bones first can help bring out the flavor. 

Here's the beef broth I've had cooking since yesterday. I strained and drank a warm mug of it this morning. Tomorrow it should be perfect and my house will smell amazing until then too!

I bought a beef bone from my local meat market for less than a dollar. Score.

Here's my recipe, if you care to give it a try. You can really use any vegetables that aren't cruciferous ones, as they will make your broth bitter.

Step 1: Roast your bones for 15 minutes

Step 2: In a stock pot or crock pot add your bones and any vegetables you like or have handy. I prefer carrots, celery, leeks, orange or yellow peppers and onions.

Step 3: Add a little apple cider vinegar. I splash a little in the pot. It helps break down the collagen in the bones.

Step 4: Add seasoning. I like peppercorns, fresh parsley and a bay leaf or two. Some folks add a little salt.

Step 5: Add water until everything inside the pot is covered. I fill mine up.

Step 6: Cook high enough to bring the water to a nice bubble. Then drop the heat to a low temperature. You want to gently simmer it for 24-48 hours. You can add more water over time if you need to but I never do if I cook in the Crock pot

Step 7: Once it is finished, let it cool. Strain and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can certainly freeze or can it too.

That's what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks, in addition to getting ready for the edits on my upcoming book, WHERE THE HEART MAY LEAD, which is available for pre-order now.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year to you!

💚

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