By Whitney Donohue

Moapa Valley Progress

Once vegetable stock is made, it can be frozen in canning jars for use later.

Making your own stock is easy, and it generally costs less than purchasing those cans at the store. It also allows you to cut down on the sodium, or develop flavors in a way that tastes best to you. I make stock from the odds and ends that eventually would find their way to my compost pile – and actually, they still end up there.

As a basic ingredient list, I save the stems of herbs, broccoli, and asparagus. I use carrot tops, onion skins, and onion roots. If it is the leftover from a vegetable, it gets thrown in a bag in the fridge, and when my bag is full, I make stock.

We eat a lot of vegetables at my house, so this ends up being a weekly project, but if your bag doesn’t get full that quickly, throw it in the freezer and keep adding to it.

Once your bag of vegetable odds and ends is full, empty it into a large crockpot and cover everything with water. Cook the contents on low around 15 hours. Let the contents cool in the refrigerator, and then strain through a mesh sieve with a layer of coffee filters or paper towels. Store strained vegetable stock in the freezer until you are ready to use.

This is my basic veggie stock recipe. For a different type of flavor, you can add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce after you strain the vegetables. Another variation is to roast the vegetable odds and ends in a 400°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour before placing them in the crockpot.

Whichever route you choose to go, chances are you will end up with a tasty vegetable stock recipe for pennies.