I had never bothered to make my own vegetable stock before because it seemed like a lot of work, but then I came across an idea from Perry’s Plate that changed my mind. When you’re chopping up vegetables for a meal (something you have to do anyway), toss the scraps into a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer. I added in things like the ends and skins of carrots, onions, peppers, the stems of broccoli and cauliflower, the part of the garlic that’s left inside your garlic crusher, the stems of parsley and cilantro and other fresh herbs.

Eventually when your bag is getting full, you can take it out of the freezer and make up some stock. Just put it in a large pot and fill it with water. You can add any spices or salt if you like, but I didn’t bother.

Let it simmer on your stovetop for at least 3 hours, but the longer the better if you have the time.
After that, get a big bowl and a mesh strainer and pour the contents through it. Then you’ll have a beautiful rich broth that you can use in soups, stews, chilis, and all sorts of other recipes. Divide up the stock into airtight containers, label and date them, then freeze them. Then you can start a new freezer bag of vegetable scraps, so you’ll always have vegetable stock on hand. Brilliant!