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March 29, 2013

Easy Vegetable Stock

In the past I used to buy my vegetable stock from the supermarket, but this month I happened upon a blog post about making vegetable stock. It looked so easy, I was astounded. Much cheaper than purchased stock too. Right, I thought. Time to try this stock thing.

Ingredients:

I used ingredients from the garden and fridge.

3 Carrots (they were from the garden and quite small)

2 stalks of celery (I used the leaves as well as the stalks)

1 onion – sliced

1 clove garlic – sliced

6 mushrooms

4 tomatoes from the garden – chopped into smaller pieces (a mixture of sizes, cherry to regular)

6 cups of water

8 spinach leaves – chopped (from garden)

1 bay leaf

10 peppercorns

Method:

1. Dice the vegetables.

2. Heat some olive oil (2 tablespoons) into a good sized pot.

3. Add the onions, garlic, carrot, celery to the oil. Cook until the vegetables start to caramelize.

4. Add the remaining ingredients plus the water to the pot.

5. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 45 minutes.

6. Strain the stock and discard the vegetables.

7. Once stock is cool, refrigerate or you can freeze.

Shelley’s tips:

1. I read quite a few different recipes before I started and soaked up several tips.

2. Chop the vegetables small because you’ll get maximum flavor this way.

3. Brown veges at the start. This will add more flavor.

4. Use cold water rather than warm. The gradual heating of the water allows maximum flavor.

5. Simmer rather than boil your stock.

6. As you can see, everything with stock is about flavor. Follow these guidelines and you should end up with a great stock.

Vegetable Stock

Vegetable Stock

Have you tried making your own stock? If so, how do you use your stock in cooking?

6 Comments

  1. Mary Kirkland

    I’ve made my own chicken stock. I used it for making chicken casserole dishes. My mom showed me how. I just take a whole chicken and simmer it for a few hours until all the chicken meat is falling off the bone and then use the meat for shredded chicken tacos.

    • Shelley Munro

      Hubby makes meat stock sometimes, but I need vege stock for all my cooking. Tacos would be a great way to use up the meat. I bet it’s tender.

  2. Maria Zannini

    Since I raise and process my own chickens, I make chicken broth.

    I use it almost anywhere the recipe calls for water, mostly crock pot cooking and rice dishes.

    • Shelley Munro

      They say chicken soup cures everything. I hope you had a fun birthday, Maria.

  3. Carol Kilgore

    I’ve never made my own stock, but I use stock in cooking. In place of water, in soups and stews, in sauces. Sometimes just to punch up the flavor. I’m bookmarking this post to my recipe file :)

    Happy Weekend!

    • Shelley Munro

      It’s so quick and easy to make, I was surprised. I also think that purchased stock has a little too much salt sometimes. This way I can regulate the salt.