The house smelled amazing as first the bones roasted, and then as the stock simmered away — I totally agree about stock-making day being a great day to laze at home.

I have to say that I personally I feel a little bit of a moral obligation, on some level, to make stocks from time to time. It is senseless to waste the bones if you just throw them out. So, I typically save and freeze beef/pork and poultry bones (even shrimp shells too) for a stock making day. I try to do this with a little preplanning, on a cold and mellow day. I cut up all the veggies and roast the bones one day while making dinner and the next day throw the bones into various pots with the vegetables. From there I move them to the stove with the water, adjust the heat to a simmer, and go read a book or something. I agree, the trick is to let everything stand overnight and cool since it makes removing the fat is much easier, any solids also separate out a bit, and it improves the flavor. The great thing is by the time lunch/dinner rolls around you can just spoon a little stock over some noodles and vegetables and enjoy a nice simple meal. All day the kitchen is filled with a nice warming aroma. In my opinion, it is a great way for someone who cooks to spend a lazy day.

As with almost all my experiments, it’s all about serendipity and enabling: I happen to have the avocado sitting there as I was spooning out the marrow, and the bread was nearby . . . it was indeed very rich, much more so than I usually go for, but I was hungry and it was great!