Homemade Vegetable Stock

I have good news and bad news. Let's start with the bad news. Yesterday my computer decided to freeze and never turn on again. I took it to the apple store and the cost of the repairs was not worth it. Apparently the typical lifespan for a mac is between 5 and 6 years. Well, mine is 5 years old. It was time to put her down. The good news? I am writing this blog from my new spiffy macbook! Yes, they are expensive, but they are soooo nice. I have even more good news! Since my sister is an art teacher she can get the latest photoshop, illustrator, and tons of other things for free. Yay!! Thankfully I had all of my things backed up on my external hard drive. I don't know what I would have done if I lost all of my Elton John music 4 days before the concert.  I'm a little rusty on some lyrics and need to refresh! The only down side of having to buy a new computer is that I won't be able to go online shopping for a while. And I just found the cutest dress with mini cats on it. Meow! Anyway....today I made homemade vegetable stock as well as a spicy black bean soup. Here's how to make the vegetable stock. I will post tomorrow on the black bean soup.


Homemade Vegetable Stock


As I have said before, store bought stock and those cubes you pop into water, are incredibly salty and the flavor just cant compare to homemade. Making your own stock is simple and quick. Unlike chicken, beef, or veal stock, which takes an entire day to make, vegetable stock only needs to simmer for 30-45 minutes. The stock can be made in less than 1 hour. Spend one afternoon making a huge batch of stock and you are good for a month, or even longer, depending on how much you use stock. Vegetable stocks are very versatile and you can use any vegetables you like or omit ones you don't. Ideas I have are adding mushrooms, mushroom stems, parsnips, leeks, and various other spices. You can kinda go crazy here and make it your own. The only fresh herb I had on hand was parsley so I did use dried. Not the best choice but in a pinch it works. Store in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. A great way to store the broth is in ice cube trays. Once frozen transfer to a bag. Simple!


This recipe makes about 16 cups of stock.


3 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, leaves and stems
3 bay leaves
2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
16 cups water




Step One: In the largest pot you have heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, tomato, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
Step Tw0: Add in the parsley, bay leaves, marjoram, thyme, and black pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Step Three: Add in the white wine to deglaze. Be sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom.
Step Four: Add in the water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes. Strain and allow to cool before storing.

Pictures, of course.

- In other news I recently purchased a tea from Yogi called Peach Detox. It was a really nice tea with a light peach flavor. I love all the little quotes on the tea bags! The tea i'm drinking now says, "You will feel fulfilled when you do the impossible for someone else." Once I finished the peach I came across a Yogi tea called Green Tea Kombucha. It's great for detoxing your body and helps your immune system. Besides Tazo's Awake it's my favorite. It's got green tea with spearmint, lemongrass, and plum. Oh, how I love tea! Night, kb