Anyone else feel like 2024 hit a tires-smoking-broad-slide into the 31st? No, just me? Okay ... Welp. I had such high hopes for a quiet, and a total bore-me-to-tears Winter that did not, in fact, come to pass, but if I can be totally annoying for a minute and reach for the "lesson" here, I'd say through it all it's become obnoxiously, if not, painfully clear how important fueling my body for the task (whatever that may be) is, and has inspired me to do a lot more of the cooking from scratch that I've (regrettably) gotten away from in the last couple of years. And I thought I'd get back to sharing a little of that with you here, furthermore, why not make our fist day, today, National Quitter's Day. Anyone who's fallen off the wagon, made their resolutions, already broke them, thinking about backing out of them, or if you just plain haven't even begun (uhm that one would be me this year - heh, you can't quit something you haven't started yet!), then this is your sign to get on track, and do the thing(s) your heart is begging you to do.
To start things off, I'm sharing my very own recipe for homemade vegetable stock, the foundation of most of the soups, and stews I make. How about we just get to the recipe, and we can hash out the reasons later.
Souper Duper Veggie Broth
Here's what you need:
1 Potato - washed, eyed, and quartered
1/2 Onion
1 Carrot - cut into thirds
1 Heaping teaspoon Minced Garlic
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 Bay Leaf
1 Star Anise
1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cumin, ground
1/4 teaspoon Oregano, crushed leaf
1/8 teaspoon Thyme, ground
1/8 teaspoon Rosemary, crushed leaf
1/8 teaspoon Sage, ground
Dab of Ginger Root, freshly grated
Here's what you do:
Throw all of the above in a 5-7 quart pot, fill with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer for an hour. Remove from heat, strain, and use immediately, or store for up to a week in the fridge.
That's it!
