Veg Cuisine: Homemade Vegetable Stock

Last week I opened my cupboard only to be plunked in the head with a bottle of yeast. This week, I’m working on clearing out the winter pantry staples to make room for spring! What better place to start with comfort food than smooth, veggie-rich broth made on your very own stovetop?

Mike is the master of all things slow-cooked; I don’t have the patience for stuff like this. But I get to come home and reap the rewards of his work!

Why make your own vegetable stock?

It’s cheap
It uses up the veggies rotting in your fridge
It’s free from MSG (check your stock cubes or powder - most do contain it)
It’s delicious
It’s as low in salt as you want it to be

When we cook, we throw the vegetable scraps into a plastic container in the freezer. Then, when the container is full of potato peels, carrot stubs, and onion ends, we make stock. Then we turn that stock into delicious vegetable soup – generally minestrone, lentil, or barley.

Cooking vegetable soup stock

Homemade Vegetarian Vegetable Stock Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Onion ends
Potato peelings
Carrot stubs and peelings
Celery tops
Garlic
Leftover tomatoes (optional)
Going-bad mushrooms (optional)
Other vegetables, as desired
Herbs (if desired, depending on what you’ll use the stock for)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Chop the vegetables into pieces of uniform size, if not already done.
Optional step – sauté the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in a touch of olive oil until golden brown.
Put the vegetables into a large soup pot.
Add water in a ratio of about 1 ½ parts water to 1 part vegetables (for example, if using 2 cups vegetables, add 3 cups water)
Heat over high until it reaches a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.
Remove from heat.
Strain stock through a fine sieve or colander. Discard vegetables and use stock for soup.