Stock is an essential component to every chef’s kitchen, but unlike meat, chicken, and fish stocks that require specific ingredients, there isn’t any fast set rule to making vegetable stock. Whatever is on hand will usually suffice. While I’m chopping, slicing, and dicing vegetables, I maintain a refuse bowl that will become the starting ingredients of my vegetable stock, then I put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. When the bag fills up. I place the trimmings in a large pot, fill with water, add some bay leaves, garlic cloves, peppercorns, and let it simmer for an hour, then strain, pour in icecube trays and freeze. This way, I always have plenty of stock on hand when making rice, soups, stews, deglazing a pan, or anything that requires added water. And since I’m making it, I control the ingredients and sodium that, today, is so often overloaded in store-bought stocks. It doesn’t take any more effort to repurpose these cuttings and peelings than it does to throw them out, which would be food dollars wasted and valuable nutrients tossed.

Preparation:

1. Place cuttings in a 4-6qrt pot.
2. Add additional carrots and onion, some herbs, spices, bay leaf, and fill the pot with water.
3. Simmer for an hour. cool, then strain, and discard cooked vegetables.
4. Pour the stock into icecube trays and freeze.
5. Remove from trays and store in a plastic bag and keep in the freezer.

FYI: Standard cube averages 1-Tbsp of liquid. 16-cubes=1-cup