Super-immune Chicken Stock, its Economy and Uses

I am inspired to create this piece by a friend's recent success in ministering to a mutual friend's cold with chicken soup. I am reminded of my discovery of the super-stock within the pages of "Nourishing Traditions" and full credit is duly recorded for it's discovery there. What I hope to illustrate around my discovery of this recipe is the ways in which it has benefited our diet, our health and our budget.

A well-prepared stock, simmered for 6-24 hours is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, and a natural anti-inflammatory. A gelatinous stock is a super-food for growing children. Yet to experiment with a beef stock (far more messy and calls for an extra-large pan), I present my chicken stock recipe. I rarely use bought stock anymore- only when in a tremendous hurry and have none of this far superior substance in the freezer. Fresh stock sounds like a luxury or a pain in the neck but it really is easy and quickly becomes a habit to do weekly or fortnightly or whenever. It becomes part of your routine.

Take a large free range and/or organic chicken. You want to minimise the amount of toxins the bird will have stored in its body because you want to suck all the goodness out of it, into the stock.
Rinse your chicken and pop it into a large pan. Wash an onion, quarter it and throw it in skin and all. Roughly chop a couple of carrots and chuck them in (if they are organic, don't bother to peel). Do the same with a couple of stalks of celery. Now, fill up the pan with filtered water and slop in a tablespoon of vinegar (this helps to draw the nutrients out of the food!). Put a lid on and let it sit for thirty minutes (can't remember why, but do it anyway). Bring to the boil and simmer for 6-24 hours. Add a bunch of parsley for the last ten minutes which will inject further powerful nutrients into the broth. Strain, and cool. Keep the chicken meat. Cool the stock and refrigerate. The next day, it should be like jelly- the sure sign of a super-stock. Skim off the fat and freeze in 1-2 cup batches to use as needed.

Out of this process I can sometimes get maybe four meals. A pilaf or rice dish, a curry, a pasta, a pizza, and sandwiches for everyone. I might do soup, a chicken and vege one, then a lentil one tomorrow. Chicken tacos. It's awesome. My kids love it just with noodles and some of the carrot, maybe some corn- much healthier than two minute noodles. Hammer it into them during flu season or whenever anyone is sick or looks like they might be getting sick.