Monday, November 8, 2010

Homemade Vegetable Broth

This weekend was a weekend of soup for me. And I couldn't be happier! Tis the season for warm things on the stove and in my stomach.

I have been meaning to make veggie broth for a while now since it is a base for so many recipes (and not just for other soups: grains and stuffing and roasted mushrooms, oh my!) so I turned to my girl, Lolo, for a way too simple recipe.

Definitely check out the original recipe at veganyumyum.com (she has the best photography) but here are my actions just to show my sheer delight in following the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach.

Homemade Vegetable Stock
Basically boil some vegetables in a pot and add some salt and you're good to go!

steamayy

Ingredients:
3T oil
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
about 10 carrots, not peeled but chopped
3 cloves of garlic, left whole
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns
(and here's where I go frugal)
broccoli stalks
celeriac greens
2 dried shiitaki mushrooms
2 c frozen tomato puree*
a few sprigs of thyme

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and start dicing the onions.
Once the onions are diced, move on to the next item on the list and start chopping that.
Keep chopping and adding until there is no more to chop.
Add 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and leave it alone for an hour.
Add 1/4 c tamari and 2 t of salt (adjust to taste).
Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Strain vegetables out in a large pot.

At this point you can really do what you want with your homemade, (hopefully) locally-sourced, organic, delicious vegetable broth!

Personally, I ladled 1 cup amounts into glass cups (ice trays or muffin tins would have the same effect) and froze em for easier measuring in the future. It was a bit of a pain trying to get the frozen broth free from the cup, I kind of felt like some sort of archaeologist ice picking an ice-age specimen out of a glacier (is that weird??), but applying pressure to a knife in between the broth-block and the glass eventually worked itself out.

*I did this back in September to preserve some summer lovin. And now I have about 4 gallons of that lovin ch-ch-ch-chillin in my freezer for who knows what recipe!

1 comment:

  1. Great idea to freeze in portions. Homemade broth is so healthy for you. Packaged veggie broth is flavorless, expensive and wasteful. I usually make it during a big cooking day. As I chop veggies for recipes I take the clippings that I would normally compost and add the pot. Clippings like stems from greens or herbs. I love vegan Yum Yum. Ill try this recipe.

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