Looking after ourselves
Both you @Smc and @Former-Member have helped me remember some pleasant times from the past, and I thank each of you for that. 
(I'd been having trouble remembering any good times)
It was good to recall the times when I had the giant stockpot on the back of the permanently fired up combustion stove, or more accurately, stoves as I lived in a few places where that was the type of stove fitted.
Mostly, the perpetual stock was more western-ish flavoured, but whatever was available pretty much, went in there to make the most flavoursome dishes out of ordinary items. I'd forgotten about it, and forgotten about doing it too.
I learned how to make the stock, and most of my other cooking strategies, while living in the central desert area of the country. One of the station cooks took me under her wing teaching me on my infrequent visits, her tricks of the trade.
I will be forever thankful for her guidance, because I think it was from her, and the subsequent CWA ladies in the outback, that I learned so many self sufficiency type skills.
I miss my combustion stoves, but not the heat that had to be endured during the summer months, or the cutting of wood to keep them going.
Usually I have lots of stock produce in the freezer, but had to reduce supplies for the recent move, and have not yet restocked. I'm going to plan a restock for a Chinese style stock!
A quick catchup @Smc re bone broth. I too used to throw the bones into the ongoing stock pot ... adds so much flavour.
I recently began using the electric pressure cooker to compress the bones for bone broth, it works a treat!
Lucky you with the combustion stove! So many good things about them as well as the work they require, but still.
Hi @Former-Member@Former-Member
I've always found the Fowlers kit very low hassle. I'm using an electric one too, but also have a stovetop one available.
My preserves pantry is a "fits and starts" thing. When I'm having a good stretch and the fruit or vegs are there, I might get quite a lot done, but other times there may not be much happening at all. The good thing is that most preserves have a very long shelf life, so I have some things that I made a few years ago that are still not quite used up. I also have a couple of jars of sour plums from quite a few years ago that are.... ummm.... lurking is probably the right word? 
They're so sour that they're hard to eat. They are OK to cook with, but opening a bottle means I'm committed to using them all before they go off, so the bottles sit there for a bit longer... and then a bit longer still... Meanwhile my bottles of apples and peaches are few in number but very delicious, so I try to ration them out.
There's a lot of jams and jellies in there, and a fair bit of chutney. I've somewhat overproduced those, so this year I've tried to aim to bottle more fruit, since that's where the pantry "deficit" is. Jellies in particular can be made from "scraps", so it does make sense to use whole fruit for bottling instead. Some of my nicest jellies are made from apple peels and cores, mandarin or orange peels, feijoa skins, and foraged fruit like rosehips and hawthorn berries.
Have made icecream, usually fruit versions. My recipe uses whipped cream, beaten egg whites, pureed fruit (fresh or stewed) and the egg yolks are stirred into the fruit for extra creaminess. And a touch of sugar of course, but not too much.
