Vegetable Stock

We eat a lot of soup and I try to keep cartons of vegetable stock on hand. Bouillon cubes are often high in salt and have other ingredients such as MSG added. Here is a recipe for vegetable stock.

Chop the following vegetables and soften them in 2 tbsp oil in a large stock pan:

1 medium onion
1 medium leek
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1/2 small tomato
3 cloves garlic

Add 12-16 cups water along with:

1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 fresh parsley stems
3-4 peppercorns
salt to taste

Simmer for 30-45 minutes, strain and cool.

Other vegetables and herbs can be used such as oregano and mushroom stems. You should soften vegetables in oil or roast them before boiling the stock for the best flavour. Add vegetables ends to a bag in the freezer until you have enough to make stock.