Vegetable stock

Okay, I know it’s not a super exciting post. Whee, vegetable stock!

It has to be done though because t’s a building block to great things, and the honest truth is that if you peel your vegetables and throw them in the green bin, or if you tend to discard things like the dinged up outer stalks of celery and the dry papery outer part of onions…

YOU’RE WASTING A TON OF MONEY!!!

Yes, you heard me right. I mean, think about it. You’re probably paying $2 or more for every one of those 900ml boxes of broth. Maybe more if it’s organic. And if you’re not, you’re getting an inferior product with MSG, artificial colourings, flavourings, and who knows what. Not to mention, it’s in a tetra pack. I have mixed feelings about tetra packs at the best of times.

What if I told you you could make stock virtually for free*?
*Assumes you eat vegetables like a normal human being.

I’m not going to go on a diatribe about peeled “baby” carrots, but if you’re still buying them, you will save yourself somewhere in the neighbourhood of a small fortune every year by investing in a $5 peeler. Find one of these babies at a home show (the only place I’ve ever seen them physically). I have no idea what they’re called, and they don’t look like much, but they’re Swiss. They are astonishing. You can peel turnip like a hot knife through butter.

So… you’re peeling carrots for the picky pants in your family. Save them. Put them in a big bag in the freezer. Also throw those crappy dinged up pieces of celery, the leafy parts, and the trimmed ends in there. Throw your potato peels (if you actually do such a thing) in there. Throw the half bell pepper that got all old-man wrinkly in the fridge because you forgot about it in there. The pieces you cut off mushrooms. Yes, even the end trimmings and papery onion peels. You got half a large freezer bag? You got free* soup, baby. And even if you don’t like vegetable stock itself for some strange reason, you can use it to make your turkey/chicken stock. Win-win.

I don’t know about you. I use a ton of stock and broth. I make soups, I like risotto, I add it the cooking pot when making rice to give it a nice flavour, I use it to reduce cooking oil when I make stir fry. I even sub out some of the water in my bread recipes from time to time. Stock is good. And vegetable stock made by you is every bit as good and flavourful as chicken broth for a great many of these uses.

Vegetable Stock

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Serves	~6 cups
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	40 minutes
Total time	45 minutes
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Soup
Misc	Freezable, Pre-preparable

A simple-to-make vegetable stock that will save money you're throwing away.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, coarse chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, coarse chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups vegetable peels or discards (carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, etc)
• 1 heaped tablespoon garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley (or 2 tablespoon fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 4-6 whole sprigs, fresh)
• 8 cups water (2 quarts)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Note

I strongly recommend that you include the common soup aromatics (celery and carrots). Other good vegetable choices include potato peels, peppers, mushrooms, butt ends of asparagus, and more. Feel free to experiment, but do not use vegetable scraps from broccoli/cauliflower or other relatives of the Brassica family for vegetable stock making.

Directions

Step 1.	In a large cooking pot on medium-high heat, sauté the onions, garlic, and vegetable scraps in the olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until the onions begin turning translucent and everything is fragrant.
Step 2.	Add 8 cups of water, salt, and herbs. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
Step 3.	Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour through a sieve to remove the vegetables and most of the herbs.
Step 4.	Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or portion and freeze.