Baked custard isn't runny, like the stuff you buy in cartons. It's more like a milky jelly: it sets and wobbles. It has eggs and milk in it and tends to sit well in the stomach. However, if you're not a custard fan, don't worry.
Meat stock: Next time you're at the butcher's or supermarket, ask for some bones (tell them you want to make soup, and they should understand). When you get home, put the bones in a heavy-based saucepan, add some water (perhaps just enough to cover the bones), put a lid on the saucepan, and then bring it to the boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down low and let it simmer for a couple of hours. Eventually you should see that any residual meat looks cooked and is falling from the bones, and you may see cartilidge starting to dissolve. That's when you should turn off the heat.
Strain the liquid into a heat-proof bowl and shove it in your fridge (make sure you don't have any heat-sensitive meds in your fridge or you'll cook them, as I accidentally did once).
If you want, you can then pick the meat off the bones with a fork, and use it as a sandwich filling. I find that I can tolerate meat off stock bones even when I can't tolerate regular meat. Stick any salvaged meat in the fridge or freezer to use later... or just eat it now, LOL
The next day, get your stock out of the fridge. If you've cooked it for a really long time it should be quite concentrated and like jelly, but don't worry if it's still runny, as it's still stock. You should see a layer of fat on top of the stock. Use a knife to lift it; put it on a piece of old newspaper, and then put fat & newspaper in your rubbish bin.
Your stock is now ready to use. You can drink it straight (this is excellent to drink when you're doing bowel prep), or:
* add a bit of rice or pasta
* add some diced vegies and / or the meat you salvaged and then boil for a few more hours - instant soup!
* add some vegies, boil for a few hourrs and then puree - instant soup!
* make hspenser's congee
I find that chicken bones work best. I do make beef and lamb stock sometimes, but the bones are very fatty and it's horrible washing up afterwards, so I make chicken more than anything else.
There are more complex variants on this basic recipe, but I won't give them to you, as often it's easier to start out basic and then experiment and find what you like best.
Anyway, I hope you find this nourishing and nice. Real stock is supposed to be very good for you, and is said to be full of nourishing gelatine and other trace minerals --- overall, very healthy and nourishing, as opposed to the flavoured water in cartons that you can buy from supermarkets.
Ivy.