We’ve been making duck confit since March or April and there has been a jar of it ripening in the back of the fridge just about every week since. It is something I plan to make sure is there. Kind of like butter. And beer. And bacon in the freezer. And . . . well, you get the idea.

So, when the September challenge of stretching came along and I had used the last of our duck confit in round two of the August challenge I knew that for stretching I’d be buying a duck at Eastern Market. When we make confit we not only do the legs, but the breasts as well—it all fits nicely in a single quart jar. (We use the carcass for a wonderful stock.)

I got a little behind this month and only made the confit a week ago, and I like to let it ripen a bit before using. When a couple more weeks have passed and the weather turns a wee bit cooler I’ll be making Kate Hill’s cassoulet again, as I did with our first batch of duck confit when the mother-in-law came came for the Cherry blossom festival.