Vegetable Stock

Store-bought vegetable stock costs how much?! It is not necessary to purchase vegetable stock at the store when it is so easy to make from scratch out of kitchen scraps amazing free ingredients that would be discarded otherwise! I use a lot of vegetable stock making soups or to add flavor when cooking dried beans so I have a couple of jars in my refrigerator at any given time. But this stock can also be frozen if you don't need it right away (i.e., within a couple of days). It is also infinitely customizable and, for the health-conscious, you control how much sodium to add to your recipes.

What you need:

A clean, empty jar that holds about 32 oz (4 cups)

Vegetable scraps collected from preparing vegetables (for example: onion ends and peels, garlic ends and peels [also a good use for those tiny middle cloves that are otherwise too tedious to use], bell pepper stems, tomato cores [and pulp and seeds if you've removed those for another recipe], carrot ends and peels, herb stems [thyme, parsley, cilantro, etc.], celery ends and middle stalks, and so on)

Instructions:

1. Collect vegetable scraps into a small pot. The easiest thing to do is to put your pot next to your cutting board while you're prepping your vegetables for other recipes and toss the scraps in as you go. They can also be collected into a lidded container or bag to be frozen for later use.

2. Fill the pot containing the vegetable scraps with water.

3. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 - 60 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. I usually have this going on a back burner while I'm preparing the rest of the meal

4. Strain the liquid into a jar and refrigerate for later use, or into a freezer-safe container for much later use. 

Have you made this recipe? Do you have any suggestions for the other cooks out there? Leave me a comment!