laura ingalls wilder vegetable broth

[Michelle Lewis]

hello, all!

the neighborhood i live in has a recipe group on facebook, and i try to post (surreptitiously) vegan recipes there once or twice a month--below is an entry i posted today.  one thing that i've noticed is that a lot of people in the group, which is made up primarily of young moms, seem to lack some very basic cooking skills.  i'm not a great or adventurous cook by any stretch of the imagination (!), but i will say that it has been eye-opening to me to see how many people think of canned mushroom soup, pretzels, and rollo candies as wholesome cooking ingredients.  so, i've started taking the time to write out some (vegan) cooking fundamentals, which most of us take for granted but which are pretty necessary for a whole-foods (not to mention plants-based!) diet.

michelle

laura ingalls wilder vegetable broth

this is one of those things that probably seems a little too obvious for a "recipe," but when i first started making vegetable broth i remember browsing through my cookbooks for tips, since it's not something i grew up doing. this is very easy, doesn't actually take much time, and is a very rewarding habit to get into!

• the main thing is to save your vegetable scraps (broccoli stems, cauliflower leaves, onion tops, kale stems, etc.) in a plastic bag in the freezer.
• limp vegetables are ok, but obviously, anything that's going bad or getting slimy needs to go directly into the compost.
• my Moosewood cookbook advises against using cruciferous vegetables, but i'm not sure why--broccoli & cauliflower stems are the biggest component of my scraps.  cabbage itself is pretty strongly flavored, however, so unless you want to eventually use your broth in cabbage soup, use cabbage leaves/stems sparingly.
• i also like to use this as an opportunity to declutter my spice drawer, by tossing in herbs and spices that are several months old, or becoming less aromatic when you open the lid.  since this broth is going to be quite diluted when you use it, you can add quite a lot of dried herbs--thyme, basil, oregano, dill, etc.  just remember to take this into account when you use your broth!

• i generally add some garlic as well.

• anyway, when you have enough scraps to fill a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour.

• strain out the vegetables, divide the broth into portions (two or three cups each) and freeze.
• whenever you want to make soup or beans, you have a base ready.  for a large pot of soup, add two or three cups of this broth to the water.

the things i love about making my own broth:

• saving money by not buying vegetable broth
• not wasting vegetable scraps
• being able to make soup without processed or pre-packaged ingredients
• it makes me feel like Ma on Little House on the Prairie