Vegetable Stock

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my boyfriend is allergic to poultry.  Weird, I know, but true.  So all those recipes that call for chicken stock were off limits to our household, which was a real shame because they're so GOOD!  So a while back, I decided to just sub in some veggie stock because it's comparable.  What I didn't realize was how expensive it was.  I mean, really...it's at least $.50 more than chicken or beef stock!  What gives?!  So I said, "screw that" and decided to make my own.  Turns out...it's not hard!

First off, you have to have enough veggie trimmings and it's good to have a bit of variety or you're not going to have veggie stock, you'll just have broccoli water (I know because I did this once...learn from my mistakes!).  What I found works best for me is to trim and divide all my fresh veggies into meal-sized portions when I get home from the grocery store.  This kills two birds with one stone...I have ready to go veggies for our meals AND I make my stock.  Plus, I find my fridge looks more organized this way than just having random packages of veggies in there.  Anyway...

Wash everything thoroughly!  Unless, of course, you like the flavor of dirt...but let's just assume that we don't.  Wash 'em.  Cut everything into chunks.  They don't have to be perfect or anything...I just find they fit better into my pot in smaller chunks.  Plus, I think it gets more flavor out....you know, that whole surface area to mass thing.  I like to fill my big soup pot about half full of veggie trimmings.  I also throw in at least one whole onion chopped up and a couple tablespoons of minced garlic for extra flavor.  You can throw in whatever seasonings you like...I just like to keep mine simple and season it later when I use it in a recipe.  Then, I fill the pot up the rest of the way with water, leaving enough room so it won't boil over.  Then, I set it on the stove and have it cook at a boil for about an hour.  Let it cool, and using a mesh strainer, I separate the veggies from the stock.  Discard the veggies (if you have a compost bin, these are perfect for that!).  Make sure you let the stock cool down before refrigerating it.

If you're not going to use all this stock within the week, freeze it.  I prefer to freeze it in ice cube trays and then empty the trays into a gallon freezer bags.  My ice cubes are about 1/8 of a cup each, so I can easily take out just the amount that I need.

I really hope you enjoy this little tip!  It's certainly saved me a lot of money and made for some tasty food!