Vegetable Stock

A recent posting reminds me that I don't have any vegetable stock in the pantry. In general, I make pints of stock - both poultry and vegetable - and store them in the pantry. They're handy to have when cooking throughout the year but especially in the winter when you're waiting for the ground to thaw.

Presently, I find myself with a surplus of limp root veggies in the fridge. I went through my bin and found soft beets, carrots and a few kohl rabi that I had forgotten about (of course they are about as fresh as when I dug them, a month or so ago - little gems). I also have mini onions that I haven't wanted to throw away but never used, a mountain of drying herbs, etc. So, time to make stock.

Use your largest soup pan. Mine is about 10 quarts. I have filled it 1/2 full with water.

This is what I'm doing - you can modify to use what you have.

- 6 Q water
- 3 - 4 T kosher salt (will taste and add more later)
- 10 peppercorns
- A sprinkling of basil blooms (I let the basil bloom last year and pulled it right before the frost. Dry the plants in the garage and keep the blooms in a jar to use for seasoning.)
- A few sprigs of dried rosemary
- A few sprigs of dried tarragon
- 2 kohl rabi, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
- About 12 3-4" carrots, cleaned but not peeled
- 3 small onions, cut in half
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 pound greens, stems and all. Cleaned and cut up a little bit so that it fits in the pan. I used collards but you could use kale or chard too.
- 2 overgrown summer squash, cut in 2" chunks.
- One head of split cabbage, cut in large pieces, core and all
- Three tomatoes, cored and cut in half - one red, one yellow and one green, all mature
- 3 bay leaves from my smaller bay leaf plant that I forgot to water. It's not dead yet but it shed its leaves - they're still full of flavor even though they're dead.

Heat to a boil. Simmer for 2 - 4 hours. Clean jars and lids, fill to within 1/2" of top and screw on lids. Process using pressure cooker. I follow the instructions from the Ball Blue Book when canning. Let your jars cool over night, remove the rims, wipe down the jars with a soapy rag and store.