Basic Vegetable Stock

Have you noticed how expensive plain vegetable stock is in the grocery store? Making your own vegetable stock is a great way to clean out the refrigerator. Don't limit your stock making ingredients to whole vegetables. Start saving peels and trimmings while you cook. Your stock will be strained before being used, and all those unattractive peels will be gone, but they will add tons of flavor to your stock.

• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 or 3 large chopped carrots
• 3 or 4 stalks celery (include the leafy top parts as well)
• 6 to 8 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

Other suggested vegetables (and vegetable scraps) to use are: onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, celery, carrots, mushrooms, corn (empty corn cobs can also add lots of flavor to stock), parsley, green beans, beets, bell peppers, scallions, green onions, shallots, fresh basil, thyme, cilantro, and oregano...pretty much anything.

A good rule of thumb is to have about half solid ingredients to half water. Add a tablespoon or so of ground black peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. Cover the ingredients with the water, bring to a boil and let simmer for about an hour. Cool and strain to remove all pieces of vegetables.

Use immediately for your favorite recipe, such as the Egyptian Split Pea Soup, or freeze in ice cube trays for future use. It's a great way to add a little healthy flavor to many dishes.