Chicken Soup for the Pissed

A few days ago, I got fed up with my unruly hair and decided to have the ponytail lopped off. I popped into a small Korean salon that I had never been to. Places like that don't mind walk-ins and charge very little for a simple cut. What I hadn't counted on was having my jacket stolen by another customer who left before me.

I did some groceries near the salon to dawdle, hoping that it was really just an honest mistake and the twit would come running back to return the jacket. The dawdling stretched to a couple of hours but no one phoned to say my jacket had returned. The twit is most likely a thieving scumbag.

I went home and made chicken stock. I had a chicken carcass in my freezer, left over from a roasted bird cooked the week before. The mirepoix -- coarsely chopped carrots, celery, and yellow onion -- went into the boiling pot of water. My "secret" ingredient for brilliant chicken stock (actually a clever tip borrowed from chef Michael Smith) is to throw in some fresh chicken wings. They are extremely rich in flavor and gelatin and gives the finished stock the correct jelly-like consistency when it cools.

By the time I bundled the bouquet garni in cheesecloth, using fresh rosemary sprigs, black peppercorns, dried oregano, and a bay leaf, I started to feel less irritated about my pilfered jacket. The aroma of home made chicken stock has a marvelous way of warming up a house on a cold night. I let the pot simmer for a steady three hours before straining the liquid. The flesh was literally crumbling off of the wings; they were saved for future use. This made the cats lose their minds and they were pawing at my pants for a sample.

So, I may be one jacket short but I have a giant container of fresh chicken stock in my fridge. Small but reasonable consolation.