Vegetable Stock

So this is less of a recipe and more of a money saving idea. What do you do with your vegetable scraps? The kind you get when you de-stem kale, or cut the tops off of carrots? Most likely you toss them in the trash, or if you're clever, you might have a compost bucket you throw them in.

I like stock.

I am known to go to people's houses and come back with a chicken carcass so I can make chicken broth. Also, because gluten-free broth can be hard to come by and/or expensive, I rather make my own. Plus, I know what goes into it. I looked at some stock" concentrate stuff I had in my fridge from when I had the flu, and it had "corn syrup solids" and sugar in it. Why did my chicken broth base have "corn syrup solids" in it?! EWWWWWWW

About a month or so ago, I asked myself why I was throwing away all my vegetable scraps when I could be saving them to make broth later? Because I am moving out of my "glorious" apartment in about 2 months (YAY) I did an inventory of my freezer this morning. Along with forgotten chicken breasts and baked goods, I came across my veggie scrap stash. Every time I trimmed the bottoms off asparagus or other things, I'd throw them into a bag in the freezer for safe keeping. I decided today was the day that I needed to make use.

The contents of the bag went into my trusty stock pot along with part of a frozen ginger root I found in the back of the freezer and some sad looking celery from my fridge. I filled the rest of the pot with water and it's now simmering away on the stove top. You could use a slow cooker, but today, I am impatient and I don't have all day.

I will repost when I have the stock completed. Some things in my stock: parsnips, kale, turnip greens, carrots, ginger, celery, shallots, onions, asparagus, and a ton of other things I couldn't recognize anymore. Another benefit is that I can tell you my apartment smells AMAZING right now. yuuuummm I can't wait.

Somethings to keep in mind: Make sure there is no dirt on your scraps. No one wants gritty stock. Once you are done simmering the stock for a few hours, just strain into containers. Stick some in the freezer and some in the fridge. It'll probably last for about a week in the fridge... though mine never lasts that long. It's delicious.

There you have it. Stop throwing away your scraps and make some stock!