Whenever a recipe calls for water or store-bought broth we will use instead our homemade vegetable stock. Why? Because like a true BFF this vegetable stock will add value and fun to our food. Homemade vegetable stock provides added nutrition and flavor to our meals making it indispensable.
The worst thing any of us can do is to deplete all nutritional content from our vegetables by boiling them. The boiling process absorbs all the nutrients into the water, which means none of this nutrition enters our bodies. Why let the kitchen sink become benefactor?
The better alternative: use a slow cooker to make vegetable broth! After slow cooking for hours the vegetables will look wilted, sad and dead – as they should! All the life – their nutrients – have been extracted and are now in the water creating a rich, flavorful stock. In turn, all of their nutrients will now fill our bodies with extra vitamins and minerals while adding yumminess to our palette! Now that taste like victory!!
You can be victorious all the time when making soups by adding homemade stock versus store bought or water. I hear ya – “but I don’t have time!!” Yes … You … DO! It takes roughly a half hour to clean and prep your vegetables, place them in the slow cooker, turn it on and walk away.
Imagine your home soon filling with the aroma that makes your mouth water, tickles your nose and alerts your tummy. Such thrilling anticipation cannot happen if you do not make your own stock. This experience is about the unexpected joy entering your life through simple, small moments; and with food you can create how often and when such moments happen.
Let’s make vegetable stock!
Tomatoes and celery are part of the dirty dozen so definitely buy organic. Also, buy organic onions and garlic since we will leave the skins on them. Ideally, we want all of these ingredients to be organic since their resulting stock will be the foundation for many dishes.
Ingredients: 
10 cups filtered water
5 celery stalks
4 carrots
4 medium tomatoes
2 cups cremini mushrooms
3 medium onion
6 garlic cloves
1 fresh bay leaf
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
Method:
Clean produce well. Keep skins on garlic and onions slicing them. Chop everything else. Rather than add all the carrots then all the celery I prefer to layer each ingredient. For example: add 1 chopped carrot, celery, tomato, some mushrooms, then repeat the layering process again with carrot, celery, tomato etc .. until all the vegetables are used. At the halfway mark add the bay leaf and thyme. (Of course, there is no obligation to do it this way, its just my preferred approach.) Add the water. Add peppercorns and salt. Place inside slow cooker. Stir well. Voila! …
Put slow cooker on LOW for 11 hours, afterwards …
Once you have discarded the dead veggies you are left with a rich, vibrant, flavorful, nutrient-dense stock …
This my friends sets us up down the road least traveled yet most rewarding. Whenever a recipe in these posts calls for vegetable stock know that we are using this homemade vegetable stock recipe – a true BFF to our meals!
Mmm, me taste buds are giddy!!!
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