This is simply the easiest yet most useful and versatile thing you’ll make in your kitchen: vegetable stock!
If you make rice regularly, or any other whole grains (bulgur, couscous, farro, quinoa, etc…), then vegetable stock is something you should try at least once. It adds so much more flavor than water! This has become so ingrained in our lives because we love it and need it that much. Here’s my process:
1) I keep a gallon-sized baggie in my freezer at all times and add vegetable scraps as I go. As I chop veggies for dinner, all the ends, guts, skins and seeds get thrown in the bag. It makes dinner prep really easy – no trips to the garbage can.
2) When the bag is full or I’m out of stock, I dump a bagful of scraps into a stock pot and fill it with water.
3) I bring this pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 1 hour (the longer you let it boil down, the more concentrated and yummy it becomes).
4) Then I strain all the scraps out (an Asian ladle strainer would be perfect for this, but any utensil with holes works just fine) and store! I measure 2 cups at a time to put in small plastic containers. This makes it easy to quickly throw it in a pot with a cup of rice.
5) Then, I pull stock from the freezer as needed. I try to thaw what I need overnight in the fridge before dinner prep the next day.
I use this stock for all kinds of things and it really does add flavor. Plus, depending on your scraps, it turns out different every time (beets make it purple!). I replace the water with stock in savory whole grains dishes and use it in soups and stews – any recipe that calls for broth or stock. I can’t even remember the last time I bought broth or stock from the grocery store.
I love the benefits:
- Store-bought stocks and broths are notoriously sodium-dense. In this stock, there’s no added salt and you can control the sodium content in your final recipe.
- Added flavor. Substitute stock and your whole grains will be more flavorful.
- It’s free! And a great way to be resourceful with your vegetable scraps.
A few notes:
- I do not add tomatoes or tomato guts, egg shells, meat or bones. I also get enough scraps regularly and don’t bother to pull carrot and potato peels from my sink. Too much work.
- I add two gallon-sized bags of scraps at a time because my pot is big enough. Add only as much as is appropriate for your size stock pot.
I hope you enjoy this stock as much as we do and it can serve your kitchen well!
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
