Guess who's coming to dinner?

Se moi (it's me)!! I went to my first French dinner party, that didn't involve family!!

Bianca, mentioned in other blogs, is a lovely Brazilian I met at Le Cordon Bleu. We have been to lunch a couple of times and she invited me to the dinner party Friday night.  Bianca left on Saturday (boo hoo) and thought it would be a good idea for me to join and meet Michel, who is very knowledgeable on all things French and others too.

 

 

 
From left is Bianca, Giselle & Michelle. Photo below is Bianca and Flavia!

The dinner was held at Michel's apartment.  Michel is a friend of Bianca and her husband, he is French, but his heart is in Brazil.  He had a successful restaurant there for some time, has also worked in Darwin in the 70's (before cyclone Tracy) and mentioned that when he was there $1.50 Aussie bought 1 US dollar.  Michel was a very generous and gracious host and I was so happy to be there.

 
As you all know by now, getting somewhere without getting lost or going the wrong ways is a 1 in 100 shot for me.  I did pretty well, I got all the metro stops wright, but when it tells you to go south or north from the metro, I have absolutely no idea where that is???  Especially in the dark.  I wandered the wrong way up the street and knew that I had gone the wrong way when there was a giant statue of an angel and no sight of the street I was supposed to be in. 
 
In this photo, clockwise from left: Bianca, Me, Luiz, Flavia, Giselle & Michel. Photo on the right is Giselle with a Macaroon.
 


I asked two ladies for directions, who turned out to be German, but - joy of joys - they spoke English and ... had a map.  I had gone left in stead of right, or north instead of south, so, I headed back the other way and eventually found the right street, Saint Sabin, only problem was I was on the wrong side!  After find numbers going up and up, I headed back the other way again and across a major intersection and towards Michel's apartment. 

Michel's street had lots of restaurants and a couple of pubs, it was busy and people were everywhere, very different from where Peter lives.  

Bianca had sent me the codes, one for the first door, one for the second door and then it was three flights up, then left and left!  Half way up I lost count .... but eventually worked out the 3rd floor and the right door.

Also at the dinner party was Giselle (Brazilian, here for 2 weeks holidays and heading back to Rio the next day) and Flavia (Brazilian, here for 3 months studying French and working as an architect).  I also got to meet Luiz ... who spoke excellent English and French!!  He and Bianca were translators for the night.

   

Photo: Bianca & Luiz

Michel's apartment is lovely .... it is a studio, but much bigger than I imagined, and he produced a beautiful dinner out of the tiniest kitchen.  We had champagne, foie gras, then a lovely salad of pear, avocado, apple, mushroom, cherry tomatoes, tips of white asparagus, what looked like tatsoi or lamps tail (but even in three languages we couldn't get one that sounded the same) and a lovely dressing.

Main was veal with zucchini and tomato and then we had CHEESE (OMG), then a gateau that was heavenly, macaroons and more champagne.  We drank white and red with dinner.

The last time I saw this much cheese on one plate was on Christmas Day at Monique and Peter's ..... that was when I fell in love.  Honestly, for lunch at Le Cordon Bleu now, I skip all the other things and have cheese and bread ... that's how good it is!!!


We had the best night listening to great music, trying to hold conversations that all of us could understand, clinking glasses and laughing!! It was so much fun.

If someone asked me 6 months ago whether or not I could have imagined being here, sitting at a table with 4 Brazilians and a Frenchman, four of which I'd only just met, the answer would have been a resounding "no".  How lucky am I?


At 2:00 am, Michel's eyes were starting to close so it was time to leave, despite his protesting.  He usually only has one wine with dinner and we had all had more than on this night.

Outside I followed Luiz, Flavia and Bianca and we were suddenly in this huge open area with people everywhere.  There was an area where we could queue for a taxi .... it seems it is the same over here??  I was sent off first and they made me write the address on a piece of paper, just in case my accent had the driver dropping me off in a completely different arrondissement (suburb)!! 


Home at 3:00am safe and sound and just in time to call my sister, Raelene, and tell her all about it.


What a great night!!


The added bonus was that my class this morning was cancelled so I didn't have to get up at 7:00am .... I slept in until 1:00pm, when my poor Nephew who had attempted to get me out of bed several times, cranked up Viva La Vida by Coldplay and came into my room clapping and jumping around!! It worked!!

Montemarte & Sacre Coeur with Kate & Laura

Today I finally made it to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur with Kate and Laura, who I met at Le Cordon Bleu .... the place to go to make friends we are all discovering!!

I have been trying to get there for about three weeks, but it has always rained the day I wanted to go!  This morning there had been a little rain, but that wasn't stopping us.

We arranged to meet at the metro stop Anvers, and for once I got it right!!! That may have something to do with the fact that I only had to travel on one line and then walk to the next metro stop .... I did ask a policeman if I was going in the right direction ... just to make sure :)

We wandered up the hill to the bottom of Sacre Coeur and then climbed the steps to the top, the view is breathtaking and you get a better idea of the size of the city of Paris and the density of the development .... so different from Australia.

There were a few hawkers on the way up, Kate and I managed to weazle away from them, but Laura let them make a bracelet from string for her, which they wanted 10 euros for, but she told them only 5!!  Kate and I then got caught by some people petitioning for donations, I gave 5 euros ... a least Laura knew what she was getting ... I still have no idea what cause or group I contributed to, except that the girl couldn't speak and was touching her ears and mouth, so I thought it may be for the deaf donated by the gullible?

We kept wandering upwards, feeling very lucky to be able to come here and have this time to wander around at our leisure and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful city.  It was even better having someone to wander around with ....

After reaching the top, we headed around to Place du Tertre to where the artists reside.  We all managed to dodge having our portrait sketched.  I had one done when I was 22 and I have no idea where it is .... I have a feeling it may have ended up in the bin! There were some nice paintings there, but they were over-priced, even the tiny one that we all loved!

Feeling hungry, we checked out a few restaurants to have lunch in and decided on a place, Chez Ma Cuisine, it served crepes, which I was keen to have and Kate and Laura kindly obliged. We settled in, ordered food and wine and proceeded to sit there talking and drinking for 5 hours!!!  We went in at about 1pm and it was 6pm when I first looked at my watch.  Luckily we were restrained and only had two bottles of wine ...  Bordeaux ... but we remembered to drink water and we also had two coffees.  I could easily have gone for the third, but didn't want to bring my Aussie drinking habits to the fore.

We did decide that we should do it again and Kate mentioned that there is a great bar with a fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower and it is best seen at night and the drinks are less expensive if you get there before 9pm!!  How can we not go???

The restaurant had a goldfish named Oscar who was looking decidedly seedy as the afternoon wore on - laying on the bottom of the bowl!  One of the owners said that he was still suffering the effects of his gin & tonic from the night before!!

We went back down the steps .... very slowly as it had rained and the thought of falling all the way down was too much, even with the relaxing effect of wine!  I was as slow as a nana and concentrating so hard they were all blending in to one.

I had wanted to buy some fabric, but we were so long at lunch that I only made it in time to have a look at a few pieces before the owner pushed the button for the electronic door making us scatter, which delighted him no end judging by his huge grin!!

Laura and I headed back together as we shared the same line for part of the way, Kate went in another direction. 

No your not drunk, the photos is blurry and we might have been, were it not for al that water and coffee :)

I will have to go back another day ... for fabric, but also because they have two shops that were selling the most divine glassware and pottery ..... I know I shouldn't but I may never come this way again???

Lunch at Chez Marcel & Winter Treats

Today before class, Bianca and I had lunch at Chez Marcel, a really cute little restaurant run by a couple who have been there for years judging by the photos on the wall.  We had a bottle of wine, because it's just not French if you don't!!

One of the things about the french restaurants is the way they cram so many tables in and they have to pull out the chair and table so you can be seated.  It makes it nice and cosy .. as long as you get along with the people sitting beside you.

We had the Gigot (lamb) and Le Gratin Dauphinoise (potatoes) and then dessert ... of course!!  I had the nougat ice cream and Bianca had the rum pudding.  There was a lot of rum (rhum) in there.

On the way we dropped into Bianca's apartment so I could meet her cat Jack Daniels, who is a beautiful, big, hairy Persian!!! 

I met Bianca on day one of cooking classes and we have become good friends. Bianca is from Brazil, but lives in Madrid, she has been in France for about 6 weeks learning the language and the cuisine, she leaves on Saturday to go home ... boo hoo!!

We decided to walk to class to help the effects of the wine and to work off some of the food we ate!!


Spunky Chef Patric was back on deck .... with Deborah translating.  There was only four of us:  Bianca, Laura, Paula and myself.  As Bianca, Laura and I are friends it was a bit like being in someone's home ..... all we needed was some wine!!  Chef Patric is really easy going and so is Deborah, we had a ball. 

 

From left: Paula, Laura, Me, Bianca & Chef Patric Caals

Laura is from California and has completed a bachelors degree in culinary science (3 years), this trip to Paris is a graduation present to herself!! She is one of those people who love life and is always smiling.

I have mentioned Bianca's details in previous blogs.

We made Madeleines flavoured with Green Tea, Hot Chocolate (the real deal) and a divine choux pastry treat called chouquette.

As an added bonus, and due to Laura's enquiry and Patric's generosity, we were able to sit in on one of the Chef's Secrets classes on a Julia Child's demonstration. Watching these is such a treat, I didn't even know that Patric cooked all cuisine.  He made an entree dish of  sole and mushrooms with a delicate sauce of fish stock, cream, butter and wine.  

A leg of lamb with pureed celeriac, marinaded pruns and fava beans with a red wine and port reduction.

And a pear tart.

I cannot wait to cook the lamb!!

Nespresso Anyone???

We were getting low on coffee and Peter has one of the new Nespresso machines, which use little coffee pods. I volunteered to go and get them because I had been drinking most of it (especially as Pete is in Dubai) and I need the exercise like the Dockers need a premiership!!

According to Google Maps the trip is a 34 minute walk each way .... for normal people maybe!

My sense of direction is getting better (one would hope) and I knew Boulevard Raspail, which is the one I would spend most time walking on.  My reading skills, however, could use some fine tuning.


All was going well until I turned into Rue de Vaugirard, I knew the next direction was a right turn at Rue Saint-Placide, I just didn't realise it was an immediate one.  


So after wandering along Vaugirard for some time, noticing that the environment was looking less and less like a place to have a coffee enterprise that George Clooney would be the face of and more like a scene from one of those British films with bovver boys popping out behind a wall to beat you up for the fun of it.  I thought I better check my map!!  Yep .... turn around and go all the way back.


I did notice a really interesting bric-a-brac shop on the other side of the street, when I was wandering aimlessly, so I thought now would be a good time to check it out. It had fabulous jewellery and I was tempted to go in .... but the shop owner chose that moment to go psycho at an elderly lady who was querying the price of tea cup.  She went on and on ... I thought the lady may have called her a whore or something by the way she was ranting.  I waited outside, hoping it would end soon, and another lady in the shop came out and then another.  The lady finally finished yelling, but by that time I thought it may be better to come back another day ... God knows how she would have reacted to my "non parles vous Français"???


Now, most people who know me, know I'm not much of a shopper, except when it comes to kitchen gear.  I have a feeling that the lady at the bric-a-brac shop may have been a witch, because something came over me and I turned into a big girly girl and stopped at another shop about 500m down and couldn't seem to get out of there.  


I am not supposed to be "buying things" on this trip ... but there were clothes on sale, beautiful clothes, and they were made in Paris.  I had to have the red beret and the white one with pom poms (huh) and a few other items which may turn into gifts so I can't show them here.  I bought an exquisite dress for one of my nieces in the hope that they might wear it to a ball or something because I couldn't leave it hanging on the rack.  If it weren't for luggage restrictions (and the fact that I was hit for excess on the way over), I may have continued.  With lots of "jolie" "si bon" and "merci bouqou's" I left the shop with everything wrapped in tissue paper (not too much, don't want it to affect my luggage allowance).  Feeling a bit shameful I got back on track ... I am buying coffee pots or pods, whatever they are.


I found the street I should have turned at some time and $$ ago and headed in the right direction.  This was more like it, lots of modern shops with "soldes" (sale) signs all over them and filled with things that I really need ......



Using lots of willpower, I managed to make it to Nespresso which had a queue from hell, I thought George must be in there with no shirt on, but as I am finding out, it is just the phenomenon that is Nespresso!  It really leaves looking for a jar of Nescafe or Moconna in a supermarket for dead.  This is a spicko shop, with assistants dressed beautifully and a lady or man at the door directing you to the end of the queue (I love watching the look of disbelief on the customers' faces as they realise they have to wait, or worse still, they've been caught trying to go to the wrong queue).  Another man wanders around with small cups of fresh coffee for you to try while you wait - in different flavours of course.


I was being directed to the queue while trying to tell the girl that I needed to drop the used pods off to the recycling bin first ... luckily I could show her because she had no idea what I was saying.  I could then take my place in the queue.  I had no problem with it being long, because the weather had started to turn chilly about an hour beforehand and it would give me time to thaw out a little.


Yay, it was my turn and the guy serving me spoke English!!  Monique had kindly written down the amounts and flavours for me ... I can only count to 10 in French (I know, I know)!  Yay, mission achieved, I could go home. 


But, I first had to stop off at Le Bon Marché, a beautiful store, that I have heard mentioned many times, that has a section filled with gastronomic delights!!  It is huge and had everything that you could ever want to taste and then some.  I was looking for paddy pans for cup cakes, but couldn't find any.  I thought it was best to get out of there before I started buying things I really didn't need.  Thank God I didn't go looking in the other parts of the store!!



Right, job done, now I can get back.  When I got outside it was even colder .... I was walking past shops, in and out of some, trying really hard not to buy anything until I noticed one with some really funky gear in it.  Somehow, I ended up leaving with two huge bags filled with really nice things again!!  Bloody nora .... how was I going to explain this to Big Brother ... there is only so much money I can make cleaning and cooking!!  Might have to start selling things on the street .... food that is.


I decided to walk all the way home as punishment and it was seriously cold, my fingers had absolutely no feeling in them and when I did get home, I had to heat them up with a small blowtorch to prise them from the shopping bags.  As for the rest of me, if there was a glass the size of a small elephant, you could have thrown me in it, poured on some scotch and sipped way until next Christmas!!! 



So, with shopping bags to the left of me, credit card to the right .... I feel it is now time to go and find some red wine as big brother gave me permission to help myself to the "cage"!!


Bon soir!!

Australia Day!

It felt weird to not be having a bbq or drinks somewhere with friends today.

I had "googled" to see if there was anything happening in Paris but the only option was at Cafe Oz and another function that had already been on the day before!  I had a feeling that Cafe Oz would be filled with wild young things partying hard, which, sadly, I am a bit past, plus, I realised that I can celebrate this day in Australia every year, so perhaps "going French" was the best option.

It was only Monique and I as Peter was in Dubai and Guillaume at his Mum's.  As it was after the "Nespresso" journey, I had already poured a red wine to warm myself up and to get into the spirit of things.  It did have the effect of making me want to snuggle on the couch and watch TV and not go anywhere ... that's pretty Australian isn't it??

When Monique got home from work (which is usally late if she does the afternoon shift) she got me moving and we dressed and left.  I work high heels, MISTAKE on cobble stones and with lack of practice and when you are walking  dinner!!

The restaurant is Mi Chemin and thankfully, due to high heels, it wasn't too far from home :)

It was really cosy and looked perfect.  I ordered a caraffe of natural red wine, which was yummy and then we got onto the menu.

Monique chose a Snail & Kidney Stew, I know what your thinking and I opted for the Terrine .... they gave me the whole jar of cornichons and pickled onions .... clearly they don't know me!!  Now I have to admit that I tried the snail and kidney stew and it was good.  I am under instruction to "try everything" while I am here, especially if I am to be cooking for a living, even thought I am not a chef!!  I think if you didn't know what was in there, you'd think it was something else.  Which, could be a good thing, if you are not from France.









                              
Terrine is on the left, stew is on the right!

Next was main course, I chose Pork Cheeks with Penne and Monique the Shepherd's Pie, which also came with a green salad and foie gras.  Both were really good, but the Pork Cheeks did it for me, even if I kept imagining a pork piggy somewhere with a disfigured face!!

Now before dessert, Monique and I were chatting about my lovelife .... bit like the Sahara Dessert .... and she suddenly looked at me and then to the side saying "Helen, Helen", I thought there was a gigantic spider or bug on the wall which was right near my head, but it was a cat on the bench at the next table!!

Me checking for spiders in my hair!!






Anyone who knows me well, is aware that I love animals, but I have a special affection for cats, so I was in heaven.  I love the fact that in France you are allowed to walk animals everywhere, they are in supermarkets, restaurants, hair dressers.  It is so much more relaxed!Needless to say, I had to call the cat (cha) over and have a little cuddle.  I cannot remember his name, but at the time was calling it in my rediculous French and he came. 

We ordered our dessert .... chocolate pots .... so good, but too much after the other two courses, we had to leave them hardly touched. Shame they didn't do take away .....


The cat slept beside me until we had to go.  Unfortunately, he was also sleeping on Monique's scarf for a short time before I pulled it out from under him and she is allergic to cats.

We hadn't wandered more than a few metres from the restaurant before they started.  Poor darling was a wreck by the time we got home .... stupid crazy, cat woman!! Luckily an antihistamine and some Bio Oil did the trick and by the next morning she was back to her beautiful self.  Thanks God ... as my brother says!!

All it all, a lovely Australia Day and one I will remember.  I am hoping to go back to that restaurant before I leave .... might have to have a table on my own with the cat though :)

Cultural Day 1 - Aunty H & G

While I am in Paris, my brother thought it would be nice to get out with my nephew, Guillaume (but we'll call him 'G'), see a few sights, hopefully some of the cultural and arty.  G speaks excellent English which helps his French-challenged Aunty no end!  The only bit that is hard to sell is that he needs to a report/email/letter in English at the end of it.

Wednesday is a good day, as he finishes school before lunch and it doesn't interfere with weekend plans ... I am also spending most Saturdays in cooking classes.

Even though essentially this should be cultural day number 3, G had a little scooter accident with his father on the way to school one cold, dark, snowy morning.  For some reason the accelerator jammed and the only way of stopping was to slide along the road ... thank God there were only minimal injuries .... G had a sprained ankle and Pete was "sore all over"!!  G had to wear a guard on be on crutches for 1 1/2 weeks.

So, Tuesday night, Monique and I came up with a plan that wasn't too cultural and with some appeal ...  I would take Guillaume to lunch at Cour Saint Emillon (a former wine making area) and then we would go to the Biblioteche Francsois (library), which has a great area where he could ride his ripstick  I told G of our plans on Wednesday morning and he didn't seem that keen.

When he got back from school, he was even less enthusiastic.  The fact that it was raining didn't help! I told him he didn't have a choice, he had to do this with me because it was also his Dad's idea!!  After several "hurry up and get your coat on", "this is non-negotiable" etc, I managed to get him downstairs ... well he took the lift!

I told him we'd have a great time and he could write to Grandma and tell her all about it.  His response?  "Yeah, Grandma, I had a great time, it was cold and dark and raining and I'm starving and tired, and we have to take the stinky metro ... ".  I got the giggles while he was saying this and so did he, it was delivered in a sarcastic tone .... detectable even with his accent.

We had to take the metro from Line 4 to Line 6, then change to Line 14!!

One of the trains on the metro has no drivers and goes extremely fast!  G likes this train, however, when we got on, there was a really awful smell - like chemically processed air.  G was not impressed and told me it was "pee", he knows, he's smelled it before!  So he holds his breath for as long as he can while I'm laughing and the man sitting across from us thinks that G thinks he smells!!

Cour Saint Emillon was nice, but would have been better without the rain, rain, rain!  While walking around Guillaume remembered that there was a shop with animals there (pet shop), I promised him we could go back after lunch.  We found an Italian restaurant that looked OK and my nephew loves Italian food.  G organised a table, then went to wash his hands, he is not a big fan of bugs and germs and the metro is RIDDLED!!  He was going to order carpaccio, his favourite, but switched to bruschetta at the last minute, i had the goat's cheese salad and some wine.  I also ordered some still mineral water, which G sent back because it was Pellegrino and a rip off!!  We got a carafe instead!

After lunch, we went to the pet shop, which was huge!!  Guillaume loves animals and desperately wants a rat, he currently has gerbils, but he says they are stupid, they do the same thing all the time and they scratch ... you can't cuddle them!  A rat has more personality and is smart, however, Monique (my brother's partner) would have a fit if I came home with a rat.  He would prefer a dog or a cat, but he shares his time between his mum and his dad's place and a cat and dog require too much care.  He will continue to work on Monique!!  There were Persian kittens for €950 each!! A rabbit was €55.  I think the puppies started at around €1,500!! The rate was a bargain by comparison :)  There were 3 pug puppies, with eyes rolling everywhere, G had never seen them before and thought they were small bulldogs .... he was not impressed with the eyes.











We wandered through a few shops, in and out of the rain, and decided that we should give the library a miss!!  We confused a very tall cinema for a shopping centre and got a bit lost.  We took a lift, which looked like it went nowhere, and ended up back at the beginning.

It was time to go home.... we took the metro back, thank God he was with me because there are so many exits and access ways to different lines that you could easily get lost!!

My attempts to get him to write about what we did in English have all failed so far, but I think I can win him over.

He has a wonderful sense of humour and is a great companion to go out with. 

Next time I hope to go to an art gallery .... he has been to the Louvre so many times and he doesn't understand what the attraction is!!  I'd be the same at his age.

Homemade Sauces - The Finishing Touch - Le Cordon Bleu

Today we were learning all about stocks and homemade sauces.  

As I have no formal training, it was wonderful to be in this environment, watching stocks being made from scratch, hearing the stories that our Chef, Marc Thivet, loves to tell, and then making sauces and dishes with the resulting stocks or les fonds.  Some stocks take a long time, as you will see, and we were assured that a good quality cube or power from a supermarket was fine to use if you don't have time to make your own but, of course, home made is best.


Our translator was Deborah and she was excellent. Deborah is Amercian, but lives in France, she is also a chef.


The dishes we made were: 

Chicken Breasts with Sauce Supreme(Blancs de Volaille Sauce Supreme) - unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the finished dish. We boned our own chicken breasts for this dish, which was great! The breast are delivered by the butcher whole and still on the carcass. Great learning experience.

Magret Duck Breast "A L'Orange"(Magret de Canard A L'Orange)



This dish was easier than I expected and the sauce was delicious, I didn't eat the final dish, but Monique gave it the thumbs up!!




















Prawns and Langoustine "a l'Americaine" Lightly Flavoured with Lemongrass (Gambas et Langoustine a L'Americaine et Leger Parfum de Citronelle).

It was really interesting watching the "fish fume" and "shellfish fume" coming together, I have never been a big fan of fish stocks/sauces, however, it doesn't meant that I shouldn't be making them for those that do.

The coral, roe or egg sack from the langoustine is a beautiful turquoise blue/green colour, it is a shame it doesn't stay that way after cooking.  All of this goes into the stock ... of course.




The resulting dish, doesn't look so attractive in the foil container, however, when it was tossed through some thin spaghetti with some fresh herbs it looked pretty good!  Definitely one for the menu.

We also made a "pistou", which is basically basil pesto and a Bordelaise Sauce, perfect for meat.

The Bordelaise Sauce, before it has been strained - two bottles of red wine reduced to a syrupy sauce.


The stocks we we made were for meat, fish and chicken.

The recipe for the meat stock is below.
 






Stock for Meat Jus (Fond Pour Jus de Viande)

Principal Ingredients

600g beef trimmings
600g veal trimmings
500g veal bones, broken up as small as possible
200g carrots, cut into mirepoix
300g onions, cut into mirepoix
1 shallot
3 garlic cloves
1 small celery stalk
2 very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato paste
1 bouquet garni (parsley stemps, thyme, bay leaf, wrapped in the green part of a leak)
10 black peppercorns

Cooking time: approx 6 to 9 hours.


Method

Roast the bones/trimmings in the oven, or over medium heat on the stove without burning, using a neutral oil such as peanut oil.
Remove roast trimmings from the pan, keep warm in the oven, and return pan to heat.
Add the vegetables and sweat for a few minutes. Small shallots can be left whole, as can the garlic cloves.
Drain the vegies and bones/trimmings through colander/large sieve to remove the excess oil and fat. 
Add tomatoes and tomato past to the roasting pan and allow to sweat/saute - this will help to release the caramelised proteins (suk) from the bottom of the pan, then deglaze the pan with a little cold water.

Add bones/trimmings to a large stock pot and cover with cold water, add peppercorns and transfer tomato juices from the pan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.  This will need to be cooked for between 6 and 9 hours.


Then the bones etc are strained resulting in your stock.  Obviously, the length of the cooking time determines the volume and strength of the stock. This recipe produces approximately 300 ml of stock.