How To Make Soup Stock - It's Easy, I Promise!

     Tonight I finally made the vegetable stock that I've been posting about on Twitter last week.  Over the last 2-3 months, I've been stockpiling unused and uneaten parts of vegetables in the freezer for this sole purpose.


     Don't be fooled.  You can put whatever you want in to a stock.  Anything will work. I personally am trying to go vegetarian so beef and chicken stocks are out of the question but those can be made from the bones with anything else you would like to put in there.  You can boil fish bones and shells from shell fish to get a seafood flavor.  Be creative AND resourceful.  Use your judgment and have fun.  I personally value nutritional content over looks and taste (of course it has to taste decent).  So I'm happy with a healthy vegetable stock adding nutrients to soups and anything else cooked in the stock.

Ingredients:

kale and chard stems, potato, broccoli and cauliflower stalk, the insides of tomatoes scraped out, carrots, onion, fresh garlic, turmeric, bay leaves, Italian seasoning blend, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Directions:
Bring everything to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about an hour.

At a boil

Finished product!

     If you are looking for a specific outcome, then you should follow a recipe to the tee and personally, I think there is nothing wrong with that goal.  That can be a fun and exciting challenge but not always practical.  This stock was created out of sheer resourcefulness and creativity/experimentation. ( Please note that there are certain stock "rules" per se out there that are signature of certain cuisines.)

      I've made vegetable stock once before for a vegan pasta sauce and found it worked very well so I'm confident this stock will work well for the soup I plan to make with it this week.  I intend to post a review of that dish as well.

*This post has been linked to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, The Home Acre Hop.,Tasty Traditions, and A Blossoming Life blog community.*