Beema - It will keep for about 10 days in the fridge, if you are going to keep it longer than freeze it...If I'm buying chicken and don't need the stock immediately then I'll just freeze the bones, until I need them - they take less time to thaw and take up less space in the freezer.

Squidipa - good luck with the paed visit, let us know how you got on.

Mel - We've had lots of time to cook as I've been off work, I'm hoping that we will be able to keep it up when I go back, although I suspect we will have to focus a bit more on convenience and less time sating my purist desire for good ingredients.

I spent yesterday up on the central coast showing a small holder how to butcher his own pigs, thankfully he'd already done the messy stuff so I spent the day showing him how to break it down into chops, roasts, offal and curing bacon and hams. So now I've got a fridge full of porky bits to use up, which is fun, if a little time consuming as it forces you to dig up recipes that are seldom used...for instance I've got a bag of pig feet and another of ears that will probably be tonight's dinner.
I'm hoping we can make it a regular arrangement as he also has chickens, ducks, geese and a few cows so a trip up there every month or so should see us set for good quality meat for a while....the latest litter of piglets are only 3 weeks old and as cute as buttons...should be ready in time for christmas dinner!

What's the view on cold and flu remedies that are safe whilst BF?
- The Pixie has a real stinker of a cold and it would be nice to try and do something about it.