Take your homemade soups to the next level with this sustainable kitchen hack!
Vegetable soup stock is incredibly easy to make and will take your homemade soups to the next level in terms of flavour. I am all for reducing waste, especially in the kitchen, so it was no surprise that I recently became hooked on making my very own homemade vegetable stock. Not only does it make for a wonderfully rich broth, but it is also an excellent opportunity to recycle and reuse!
I am all for reducing waste, especially in the kitchen and making homemade stock is an excellent opportunity to recycle & reuse! ♻ I've found that this is also an ideal way to repurpose veggie juice-pulp too!
In Toronto, we are fortunate to have a Green Bin Program in which the city collects organic waste like fruit and vegetables scraps, paper towels and coffee grinds and then turns it into compost. One day I’d love to have my own at-home compost to create rich soil to compliment my vegetable garden.
Making your own stock does require a little planning ahead, but it’s really simple. All you need to do is collect clean vegetable scraps while you're cooking. I like to use a resealable container or freezer bag which I store in the freezer and add to while I’m preparing food. Making homemade stock also gives you the option to really control the sodium level.
The types of scraps that I have found work best include potato and carrot peels, carrot greens, juice pulp from vegetable juices (like carrots, kale and celery), the outer leaves from cabbage, broccoli stems and that tomato that went ripe long before you had a chance to eat it. Once you have collected enough scraps to fill your soup pot you are ready to make your stock!
I would recommend minimizing scraps from vegetables that are predominately flavoured, like cabbage, fennel or cauliflower as they could impact the overall flavour of your final product. I also like to add a fresh onion and a few cloves of garlic, as well as Himalayan salt, freshly ground pepper and dried parsley flakes.
Here’s how to make your very own, made from scratch vegetable stock:
Ingredients
Vegetable scraps (enough to fill your soup pot)
1 onion, cut into quarters
3 - 4 cloves of fresh garlic, smashed
Himalayan salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Dried parsley flakes, to taste
Filtered Water
(Use organic ingredients)
How to:
Fill your soup pot with all of the ingredients listed above. Add filtered water to cover contents.
Place on stove and bring to boil. Reduce heat, uncover and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, place lid on pot and allow to rest for 1 &1/2 to 2 hours.
Strain and store in airtight glass container. It should keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator and can also be frozen once cooled completely.
Enjoy!
#LoveWildLiveFree