Vegetable Stock

In an effort to become even more resourceful when it comes to utilizing anything and everything that crosses my cutting board, I’ve gotten into the habit of making my own stock. Rather than tossing them into the compost bin, I’ve got into the habit of saving all the raw carrot tops, onions skins, celery bits, bell pepper stems, asparagus ends, tomato cores, and etcetera, keeping them in the freezer until a sizable amount has collected. All that’s left then to do is boil it away and voilà: homemade vegetable stock!

Makes 1 quart

raw vegetable pieces
2 quarts water

1. Place the water into a medium (4-quart) sized pot and then fill to the top with the vegetables. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Once the stock is boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid has reduced by half. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
3. Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a storage container. Keeps up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or freeze for future use.
4. Wasn’t that easy? Now go stockify some stuff!

* Be sure to only use raw vegetables, not leftover cooked food
* I avoid using potatoes, yams, or other starches since that will thicken the stock into more of a soup (which works if you just want to make a soup to eat that day!)
* Vegetarian
* Vegan