I am usually very conscious of my waste stream.
I feed the wormies food scraps, feed the birdies bread scraps, and recycle/reuse everything possible…. You can even use those ‘unusable’ parts of the veggies, which is another ongoing project. But I’ve been missing a large component of this for a long time now. I’ve finally undertaken the project of making my own broth.
The first week: corn cobs, carrot tops, kale stems, golden beet stems, broccoli stems, lots of fennel fronds, fresh onion, gobo, and herbs from the garden.
The second week: kale stems and cabbage stems, mushroom stems, parsnip and carrot tops, lots of leek tops, more fresh herbs… and some sea salt
How to make your own vegetable broth: Toss all the scraps/peelings into a big stockpot (mine is 8 quarts). Simply add water to cover the vegetables, then bring to a boil. Simmer for two hours or so. Season to taste with dried herbs, salt, pepper, shoyu, what-have-you. If there is not enough flavor, simmer for another hour.
The results: Two big jars of broth which can become a flavorful base for soups, grains, pasta, or eaten as-is for simple broth-for-dinner kinda nights.
Becky and I started doing this a few months ago. It is so good. I use it in everything.
i love that you guys do this too! i was amazed that there was so much flavor without all the salt and other weird additives like in ‘better than bouillon’ or whatevers. i am so stoked that we are moving into a new house with an actual fridge and freezer, so now i can save everything! wishing you well my friends :)