Making Vegetable Stock

Do you throw away the tops of celery, potato peelings, carrot tops and peelings and other scraps from cutting vegtables? Well STOP! I used to do the same thing until I read about saving these scraps for stock making! I read how people keep their scraps in the fridge until they make stock. I had a problem with this. I do not like the idea of the scraps decaying in the fridge until I have enough to make stock. So I have a container in the freezer for stock scraps. It is full so today I am making my first batch of stock using frozen vegetable scraps. You can use pretty much any vegetable but I have heard that broccoli overpowers the stock. I always throw away the big woody stalk from my broccoli so if anyone has any suggestions on what to do with it I am all ears! I love the idea of this stock making because it will never taste exactly the same twice! I used all frozen scraps except for two red potatoes that I cut up fresh.

My Vegetable stock: Bottoms and some green parts of green onions 2 red potatoes, quartered Celery tops with leaves Carrot peelings Green beans Basil Parsley Black peppercorns Enough water to cover. Note: The more water you add the weaker your stock. I put about an inch more in mine and I think it is a bit on the weak side so next time I will only do enough to cover the vegetables. Bring all ing. to a boil then simmer for at least an hour. Let cool. Strain through a mesh strainer. Store in the fridge or do like I did and freeze in ice cube trays then put in freezer bag or container to use as needed without worrying about spoilage.

You can use other herbs like bay leaves, thyme, etc. It is all to your taste. Some other vegetables to use are Garlic, bell peppers (any color), corn, peas, mushrooms, etc. I have even heard some fruits are good for stock making like apples. This is something I am going to love experimenting with to get the taste just the way my family likes it.

I am sure the scraps that are left would be great for the compost pile....if I had one. That will be a blog for another day.....