The power of stock

I'm recovering from a stomach bug, which has made me - unsurprisingly - not very interested in eating (or reading or writing or thinking about food). But woman cannot survive on saltines and applesauce alone (at least, this woman can't), so I decided it was time to try eating something a little more challenging.

It's moments like this that I'm most glad to have some stock put away in the freezer. I went on a flurry of stockmaking activity last winter, then promptly abandoned that many containers of beef, turkey and chicken stock that had filled up the small freezer compartment of my refrigerator.

Under gentle urging from my husband to clear out some room, I've started finding reasons to use up stock these last few weeks. The pressure cooker risotto experiment. That great light summer pasta. And today - what better panacea for a hungry but tender stomach than a bowl of homemade beef stock with carrots and pasta stars?

The freezer is almost empty now. There's just one container of beef stock left - about enough for a batch of French Onion soup. Empty just in time, perhaps - because we're about to come up on stockmaking season again!