Frenetic cooking or is it just the Mucinex D?

I have been a bit under the weather lately. Since moving to Boston from California I have developed a chronic sinus infection. I am on medication for it right now and this includes Mucinex D. What does this have to do with cooking? Well, I have never taken this stuff before but evidently they keep it BEHIND the counter because it makes you a little crazy in the head. My crazy manifested itself into cooking three things at once.

So if you have been reading this blog for a while you will recall that I am on the "umami phase" of my cooking adventures. If you go back a few post you can refresh your memory. I decided that I needed to cook up more umami goodness. I decided on umami catsup. Yup, nothing to put it on but I wanted to stick my finger in and see if the it was nirvana or if I am just having my leg pulled.



Umami Ketchup
(recipe out of Saveur Magazine served at Umami Burger in Los Angeles )

1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1⁄2 cup cider vinegar
1⁄3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 tsp. tamari 2 tsp. worcestershire
2 tsp. oyster sauce 5 anchovies, finely chopped and mashed into a paste

1. Purée tomatoes in a blender; set aside. Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomato purée, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 1 hour.

2. Purée cooked tomato mixture in a blender. Transfer to a bowl; season with salt and stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill before using.

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

I found this on the internet and now with Mucinex D brain I can't remember where (if the person who posted it sees this I really am trying to give you credit here but it wasn't your recipe in the first place so I guess we are cool). Am I being paranoid? Oh no NEW symptom.

So, as I was saying this isn't the only thing cooking. I had gotten a bunch of chicken bones and parts at the Asian Market in Worcester (people here say that word weird...they say WOO-STA...but I digress....) again, can't remember the name of it.



I used the SUPER secret Culinary Institute (CIA) recipe that my friend Val gave me (waving to the computer moniter so Val can see me wave!!!) I will pass it down to you because once again the SUPER secret recipe is on the INTERNET.

Top-secret chicken stock

Yield: 2 quarts

Ingredients:
4 pounds chicken parts
4 quarts cold water
Mirepoix

Mirepoix ingredients:
1 each, diced: large onion, carrot, celery stalk
5 or 6 whole black peppercorns
3 or 4 parsley stems
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsps. salt

1. Settle the chicken in a large stock pot. Pour in water. It should cover the chicken by at least 2 inches; add more if necessary. Slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming any foam that rises.

2. Adjust heat to establish a slow, lazy simmer. Cover partially and simmer for 2 hours, skimming as necessary.

3. Add mirepoix along with the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer, skimming as necessary, until the stock is fully flavored, about 1 hour.

4. Remove chicken parts and cool. Save the meat for another use. Discard the skin and bones.

5. Pour the stock through a cheesecloth-lined colander into a large metal container. Discard the solids.

6. Place the metal container in a sink filled with ice cold water to cool. Pour into labeled storage containers. Quarts are handy for soups. Ice cube-sized portions offer sauce assistance. Store in the freezer for up to three months.






Last but not least... I got my Kombucha starter in the mail yesterday. I had to start fermenting that so I figured may as well do it as I was doing 2 other things. Hey, I got two hands don't I?



Maybe I better go lay down now. I think that all the fermentation might have gone to my head. What? You think it is the Mucinex D too?