Homemade Vegetable Broth

In the midwest, winter has waved its’ hello & we’ve had the first few snowfalls of the season. The air has turned cold — nights calling for fleece lined stockings + extra blankets, walks in the crisp air bundled up with scarves, hats & coats, and gentle mornings watching the snow drift from side to side across the open field.

It’s the perfect time to work on some homemade recipes, and what better to kick it off than vegetable broth for soups, stews & warm meals shared across the table.

The easiest recipe I have found & best way to preserve food scraps was from PlantYou founder Carleigh + her Instagram series called #ScrappyCooking

She takes everyday food scraps + turns them into something new. It’s an amazing way to stay sustainable in the kitchen while utilizing every bit of what you’re cooking with.

We typically compost scraps, or feed them to our chickens — but these are a winner for making your own broth + highly recommend starting a freezer bag where you collect your vegetable scraps until you have the right amount for a broth batch to be made.

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable scraps

• water for boiling + simmering

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Add your vegetable scraps to a large stock pot, filling with water until the water reaches about one-inch over the scraps.

Add in your turmeric, salt + pepper.

Bring to a roaring boil, then reduce heat to low + simmer - leave on the burner for 3 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally.

Once finished, use a fine mesh strainer to remove the broth from the scraps - pouring into freezer-safe jars with lids. Allow to cool before freezing if using glass jars.

Compost your scraps & re-use your freezer bag for the next round. Save your broth for up to 3 months in the freezer or 5 days in the fridge.