Vegetable Stock #2
I made stock again last night. Same basic idea as before. I usually cook stuff like this outside on the side burner of the grill to keep the smells down in the house and because our inside stove is electric. I still prefer gas. Lots of different veg remainders in this one; lemons,red peppers, ends of haricots vert, and who knows what else. It smelled really good while cooking and in the end produced about 3 full quarts of stock. I have been using the last batch to make risotto and the flavors are really subtle. Give it a try sometime. So much better than composting if like us you don’t have a vegetable garden.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
Here I am at work, already hungry!
Or make stock, and then compost, or – like myself – feed to my earthworms!
What are the quantities that you use? Is it just leftover veggies and water, boiled for how many hours? I’ve been wanting to try this for ages!
Great blog, by the way. I’m really enjoying the suitcase posts. Very fascinating.
Vanessa, this is such a loose operation. I just empty the scraps that I take out of my freezer into my big Le Creuset pot and add water to the top. I boil it for about 45 minutes and then turn it down to simmer for another few hours. I made a potato leek soup with the stock recently and it was the best soup I have ever made. Thanks for your interest. Jon
That sounds amazing!! I’ll have to try it. 🙂
Your photography is really great… I wasted (well, not wasted, enjoyed) a good hour today looking through your blog. Thank you!
[…] color, there were lots of beet peelings in it. You can see my previous posts about it here and here. I used some of it to make a wild rice thing for Cris and it was […]
I have done this and it’s very successful. The flavor is subtle but really adds something special to whatever you use it in. I sometimes use the stock in place of oil in a stir fry. Really brings out flavor. I never thought of putting lemons and limes in it tho. Might try that sometime.