Chickens in broth and chickens in gardens are under the penetrating Garden Mixer gaze this week as Leslie Harris & Marianne Willburn move past their respective Christmas viruses and plunge valiantly into the new year. Well, Leslie at least.
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Suffering her way through a strong cup of homemade broth while Leslie goes back to the red wine, Marianne makes a case for why chickens have made sense for her soil, plants, and kitchen for the last 22 years. But why is she so militant about keeping them cooped?
Leslie fantasizes about having chickens and making homemade chicken broth per Marianne’s instructions, but lets the dream die when she realizes that this would take effort.
Will you try it? The season of sickness is upon us.
Marianne’s Way-Too-Casual Recipe:
Lazy, Cheap, but Delicious Chicken Broth
Ingredients:
A chicken carcass or two (previously roughly thrown into the freezer after consumption - don’t waste a new chicken on broth!)
3 or 4 carrots growing fine roots in the bottom of the fridge or those parsnips you meant to roast and didn’t - washed
Tops and tails of that celery you keep meaning to eat - washed
A medium unpeeled onion cut into 4-6 pieces
A handful of parsley - use the stems and save the tops for something special
2 bay leaves
A few grinds from the pepper grinder
Smashed garlic clove or two
2 to 3 glugs of apple cider vinegar (a glug is a technical term for a very generous and totally unmeasured Tablespoon)
Water to cover
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Instructions: Put everything into a large stock pot. Cover all with water, cover pot with lid. Bring to a boil then down to a low simmer and simmer for at least three hours.
At this point your broth doesn’t taste like anything - you’ve got to add salt. Salt is the miracle ingredient that pulls out the flavors lurking in the shadows. Start small (meaning a couple teaspoons for a large stock pot), and slowly add more, dissolving and tasting. Before you know it, the flavors develop and you have broth. If you oversalt, add water and cook awhile longer.
Sometimes I add a little Worcester Sauce for a little more depth. Strain the broth through a large colander, and then through a fine sieve to catch the bits. There’s always chicken to take off the bones and save for another recipe, like curry, chicken pie or indeed chicken chunks for chicken soup. Stick it in a bag and freeze if you’re not going to use it at once.
Put the pot in the fridge overnight or on the front porch if its quite cold outside. In the morning, the fat particles have congealed and can be easily be lifted off.
Your broth is ready to drink by the mugful and will last in the fridge for a week. You can freeze it in containers, but I prefer to can it with a pressure canner (as BROTH, not soup with chunks).
The basic instructions of your pressure canner apply. I use Ball’s recommendation for 20 minute pints/25 minute quarts at 10 pounds pressure.* You can find those recommendations (and their inferior recipe) here.
*Please note that in the podcast Marianne threw out 10 minutes off the top of her head. This is not correct - 20 minutes pints, 25 minutes quarts - 10 pounds pressure. Water bath canning is NOT okay for broth.
Marianne’s Broth is Low Sodium, Organic, Low Calorie, and Gluten Free too. It’s also Local, possibly free of transfats, and certifiably CHEAP.
Back to the pod….
Mahonia
Mahonia is literally and figuratively on the menu this episode when Leslie informs Marianne that Mahonia is evidently edible (as per the new book Wild Drinks) Marianne talks about the beauty of her [blooming now] Mahonia x media ‘Marvel’ how she can’t keep M. eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’ alive, and how she learned to love Mahonia [now Berberis] aquifolium (Oregon grape) when she found a sheltered spot.
Snowdrops, Galas and Rants
Snowdrops and the associated fabulous Galanthus Gala coming up at the end of February in Pennsylvania is discussed [Buy tickets and get info here]. However, Marianne’s channeling of Debbie Downer for her latest anti-tech rant on GardenRant, proves once again that if you’re going to any event, you’d have way more fun with Leslie.
Clear Up Corner
Clear-Up Corner clears up the timing of Marianne’s upcoming garden tours for 2025/2026. She’s excited about her September UK Garden Adventure to Wildside, The Gardens of Cornwall & Tresco Abbey Gardens, and has moved Madeira and Portugal to March/April of 2026.
In May of 2026 she will once again head to the Chelsea Flower Show, but a new segment (Part III) of the UK Garden Adventure will take in some very well known (and should be known) gardens in the South and Southeast. Will Leslie be a part of it? All depends on how nice she is to Marianne in this episode.
In other clearing up, Leslie tries and fails to salvage her credibility as a reader by offering some of the worst book reviews ever spoken by human lips. And the girls finally put to rest the media buzz about the possibility of their OnlyFans account.
Other Links (non-affiliate)
Books:
Principles of Gardening, Hugh Johnson
Sleepy Cat Farm: A Gardener’s Journey, Curtice Taylor
A Little History of British Gardening, Jenny Uglow
The Garden Primer, Barbara Damrosch
Wild Drinks, Liz Knight
The Wildcrafted Cocktail, Ellen Zachos
Marianne’s Jacket:
Ridgeline Monsoon II from New Forest Clothing
Only Fans:
www.NobodyNeedsToSeeThis.onlyfans.com
And on that disturbing note, we’ll see you next time!
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