The Long Simmer
The Gift of A Tough, Old Bird
Do you know what a stew hen is?
A stew hen is a laying hen that has aged out of her prime laying years and needs to be culled from a flock. A stew hen is full of flavor, more flavor than you have ever experienced in your only-buying-food-from-the-grocery-store life. But you can’t just pop her in a pot for an hour or so until the meat is cooked through. She will still be tough then; she won’t have yielded the true measure of her gifts and goodness.
A stew hen must be placed at the back of the stove at a low simmer and left there for at least half a day, sometimes longer. Then, and only then, will you experience what chicken soup is supposed to taste like.
Patience has never been my primary virtue, but stew hens taught me something of its rewards.
Today I’m stewing on something old and a little tough that is requiring that patience of me. It needs longer to simmer than my usual writing schedule accounts for, and refuses to be rushed.
Thank you for your grace. Much love, Asha
Fantastic analogy!