Enrichment

Enrichment: It's what I do when schools call me in as an artist-in-residence. I bring in the spoken word, theatre and we - play. Enrichment is also what I do when I cook for my family. I bring them together to break bread and share their day.

But I do work - and I cannot always be in the kitchen 24/7 concocting delectables for loved ones. And after a Saturday of non-stop cooking for my "Cover Girl Recipe dinner," simple was preferable. It was one of those days when you reach deep into your freezer of odds and ends and discover, "Uh oh. The homemade broth is gone." I have discovered ways to take a can of chicken broth and turn it into something more flavorful, deeper and yes - enriched. Once I have the broth to my liking, I can add whatever my heart desires to it. I like being able to tap into "my heart's desire" from time-to-time.

Quick Stock (Brodo Rapido)
This is from Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table. (Makes six cups)
You need:
1 medium onion
Four 14-1/2 oz can low-salt chicken broth, chilled
1 large celery stalk with leaves - coarsely chopped
1/2 large carrot, coarsely chopped (I use a whole one)
2 medium onions, unpeeled (trimmed) coarsely chopped (I use one)
2 sprigs Italian parsley (I use more)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Generous pinch of dried basil

Preheat the broiler. Trim the root end of the first onion but do not peel. Cut it into four slices. Arrange on a sheet of aluminum foil and put it under the broiler. Broil fifteen minutes until all is browned (turning once midway). Pour the broth into large stock pot, skimming off the hardened fat. Add the broiled onion and all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, adjust heat to simmer, pud a lid on it and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and strain the stock. Use right away or allow it too cool and refrigerate or freeze. It's not homemade stock but it is pretty good.

And then my favorite part of "enrichment" - you get to play. I added:

- some fresh tortellini (which I boil separately and leave separate for each to add their own - do not like soggy pasta!) Had freshly grated Parmesan ready to go.

Sauteed a few shiitake mushrooms. And had spinach trimmed and ready to be wilted. It's a good transition meal - not as heavy as winter comfort food and certainly not fish on the grill. But the spinach invokes spring, the shiitakes look like awkward adolescent mushrooms - all gangly and fresh. And tortellini knows no seasons. I always keep some in my freezer and it always needs replenishing.

There has been some spring comfort the last few days. The cold and ice has kept the Red River from hitting flood predictions. It lengthens the process - for the water still needs to flow and the snow and ice will melt. But it granted the upper Midwest a reprieve. More time to shore up their homes. More time for the river to move past the towns.

Spring comfort comes in all sorts of ways: the chattering robins, seedlings with promise and a soup - hearty enough for an icy spring but light and easy enough to throw off the mantle of winter cooking.

I wish I had leftovers.