Go-Go Gadget Pen

First off, I am a huge fan of sticking it to the man.

In this case, the man happens to be companies, huge and small, that convince you they should do simple things like slice bread for you and make you bland stock. Stock is something that is extremely useful and easy to make yourself and freeze for future consumption. Also, it’s a good way to retain nutrients from flabby vegetables and weird chicken parts you’re not going to eat otherwise. The veggies can go in the compost after you make stock out of them.

You can make chicken stock out of soft carrots, onions, celery, parsley, chicken bones, and gizzards. Our grandparents (or great-grandparents) may not have done this (unless you are French), but they should have instead of making boils. It is resourceful, not too hard, and it makes everything more delicious and nutritious. If you’ve never made stock before, you can use a good reference book like Stocking Up by Carol H. Stoner or Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, but I outline the basics in the following steps. I don’t add salt, pepper, or herbs until I’m using the stock to make soup, rice, stir fry, or whatever I decide to make with it.

1. Think about your biggest stock pot, and you will need to fill it half way (or less) with veggies and chicken. You can use only veggies to make a yummy vegetarian stock.
2. Save up your veggies and chicken parts for a week or so by throwing them in the freezer. Use a Ziploc or plastic bag so you don’t get salmonella on your ice.
3. When you have enough produce and chicken for your stock, put the chicken into the pot and cover generously with water. Pretend the pot is divided into 8 sections and if the chicken fills up to the 3, add water to the 6 so there is more than twice as much water as chicken.
4. Bring just to a boil, then lower to a low simmer.
5. Next, you perform the most important step: skim the grime off. Also known as scum. This is where you get a lot of the fat out and you remove the bits that will affect the stock clarity. This is not a science, and you can always skim more. Just do it a few times and call it “good enough.” You will be straining the stock, so no need to go crazy neurotic here.
6. When the previous step is complete, add the veggies.
7. Bring the stock up just to a boil again, and lower to a low simmer.
8. Keep it at a low simmer for a few hours for a 4 quart size pot, and for 6-8 hours for a huge stock pot. For a huge pot, I let it simmer over night, but you need to be very careful. It needs to be on low, and there should be plenty of liquid in the pot. If you often forget about things on the stove, don’t do this!
9. When done, strain the veggies and chicken pieces out. Reserve the stock and let cool. You can fill quart- or pint-sized containers with the stock and freeze.

Et voila!

I know it seems like a long time, but you don’t need to interact with it much after the skimming step. And when you’re done, you can use the stock to make delicious soup, and any other dish to give the flavor more depth and nutrients.  Use it instead of water when you make rice, or use it in a stir fry.

On Sunday June 21, 2009, we started at the most amazing trail head that I’ve ever seen. The spring-fed Little Crater Lake is 45-feet deep and less than 100 feet in diameter, and it remains a steady 40ish degrees Fahrenheit all year long. Brrr. Unfortunately, in my picture you can’t really see how clear and deep the water is because of the rain.

We decided to take the trail towards Salmon Creek.  There were lots of interesting mushrooms along the way. Mostly Amanitas and false Morels. We also saw a beautiful Reishi mushroom.

We found bonus beauty in this hike by stepping through some clear cut to visit the far-off meadow you could barely see from the trail. We couldn’t frolic in the meadow because it was a swampy buggy thing. As a matter of fact, there were still ponds and puddles everywhere with plenty of mosquitoes that swarmed the second you stopped moving.

It was a nice hike that would have been nicer had it not rained. We probably did around 8 miles in a few hours.  We forgot our picnic blanket, so we didn’t really eat our lunch while we were hiking like we usually do. We don’t usually remember the blanket, but when the ground is wet, a picnic is the last thing on your mind. We used to bring wine or beer with us, but found it way too hard to get up and hike more after drinking. Sometimes it’s actually a little dangerous.

I should preface this next part with the fact that I sometimes hallucinate when I’m tired. This just is what it is. I was vaguely looking at the car parked next to our pickup as we hoofed the last hundred feet, and I thought out loud, it’s funny how a woman looks naked from a distance when she’s wearing a peach shirt…oh wait, she IS naked. I guess we interrupted a hot, heavy and very naked session when we returned to our car. But really people, when there are empty campgrounds around, why would you go and park in a parking lot next to a car? Next to the only car in the lot as a matter of fact. Clothes were flying everywhere, butts were diving back into the back seat as we averted our eyes (or tried to avert our eyes) and opened our car.

I can think of a million different ways to do it outside and not get caught or be stuck in a lousy car. You just need to keep your pants zipped up long enough to walk around and find a good romantic place with sunlight streaming through the coniferous branches. A car is not romantic at all. Maybe the old ‘57 Chevys were more romantic and roomier, but cars nowadays are not. People spend far too much time in cars creating a feeling of solitude, but you’re not alone in your car. People can see you.

Panther Creek (in Washington)  is one of those hikes that I keep wanting to be more than it is without appreciating what it does have to offer. It’s not usually crowded. It’s not that far from Portland. It can be as long, or short, as you want because it’s part of the thousands of miles in the Pacific Crest Trail. It does have some views when you near the top.

The hot breath of the old growth forest engulfs you with the smell of wild blackberry, strawberry and hemlock while local plant life slowly emerges.

You see Oregon Grape, Calypso Orchids, Fairy Bells, Amanita Muscaria, and red flowering currant.

We hiked this on Sunday May 31, 2009 and it was our first super hot hike this year. We needed to conserve water towards the end. Because of this, I resolved to freeze a Nalgene bottle of water for the car, bring our 3 liter water bag, and even add another Nalgene bottle in Mike’s pack for summer hikes. Going thirsty not only makes you crabby, but also runs you down for the rest of the day. Another thing I’ve started to do is fill the water bag 1/3 of the way and freeze that. Such a big chunk of ice cools your pack for most of a long hike and melts by the end of the hike. You can always suck on ice if it doesn’t melt. But this is rare in the Pacific Northwest July and August hikes.

The not-so good things about Panther Creek are that the creek is in the beginning, and there’s no true water sources for the entire trail. It also feels like you don’t have a destination, because you really don’t. So, if you’re up for a hike that is more about the journey than the destination, pick up a PNW plant identification book, such as Handbook of Northwestern Plants, bring lots of water, and hit the Panther Creek trail.