Vegetable Broth from scratch

Ingredients:

3 + celery stalks

1 onion - large

3 +  carrots

1 tsp. salt

3 bay leaf

1 zucchini

wilted Kale (left overs from the fridge) 

3-4 garlic cloves

cold water - use enough to cover all the vegetables 

plus..as many wilted, left over vegetables that can fit

Making broth is so much easier than making soup because you don’t have to spend a lot of time finely chopping and peeling the vegetables.

Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ 

As I prepare my meals and I have bits and pieces of vegetables that I could throw into the compost but I could also save all these vegetables in a separate bag and when it is stock time I simply dump them all into my broth/stock pot. 

Broth/Stock Golden rule: DON’T STIR, BOIL OR LID

Broth Procedure on the stove top:

Rinse all the vegetables well under cold water to remove surface dirt or pathogens (disease causing microbes) but peeling is not necessary.

Into your large stock pot put:

• large onion cut into  1/4’s,  - don’t peel .
• chopped celery, zucchini and carrots, large chunks 
• Smashed garlic cloves so they open but do not peel.
• salt, and any leftover wilted or old vegetables (from your fridge) into the pot as well (not cabbage as this will completely change the flavour of your broth).  I added about 2 cups of old kale and 1 cup of cauliflower that was wilted.
• cold water, approx. 4-5 L to cover all the ingredients. Stir once and don’t stir again.

On the stove bring the broth mixture to a boil and then turn the stove down to simmer. Don’t be tempted to stir at this point because you will find the impurities will float to the top and you don’t want to stir these back into your broth.

Allow to simmer for 6 hours or longer if you have the time. A crock pot can be used for this process.

After simmering scrape the scum (impurities) off the top and discard.

Allow to cool slightly and then strain off the liquid (broth) and discard all the cooked vegetables.

Cool quickly by dividing the broth into smaller containers and then place in the fridge for storage.

Broth procedure with ‘Instant Pot’ pressure cooker:

Same procedure as above with vegetables, herbs  & water.

Turn your Instant Pot to Broth/soup setting and close the lid as directed after all ingredients are in. Press 'Start'.

After the pot pre-heats the broth will be done in 30 minutes.

Unbelievable but true!

Unplug the Instant Pot and follow directions on the pot on how to safely remove the lid. The lid cannot be removed until all the steam pressure has been released ( follow directions carefully for this).

Allow the broth to cool slightly and then strain off the liquid (broth) and discard all the cooked vegetables.

Quick, easy and delicious.