The Care and Feeding of Your Veggie Scrap Broth

I've mentioned a few times that leftovers from your veggie preppin' can make a fine fine broth. This is true. Making veggie scrap broth eases the guilt for those of us who don't/can't compost, squeezes the last bit of flavor and nutrition out of your produce, and puts your neglected freezer to good use.

You will need:
a freezer
a freezer-friendly gallon bag or tub
veggie scrap consciousness
a pasta pot; bonus points if it comes with a pasta colander

As you peel potatoes & carrots & parsnips and onions & etc, add the peels & leftover bits to the freezer container. When you have a 1/2 gallon's worth or so, dump into the pasta colander, slip the colander into the pasta pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for at least 20 minutes but longer = more flavor melding. Lift colander from pot, drain a moment, then dump the thoroughly used-up veggie scraps. Ta-da.

If you don't have an immediate use for the broth, save space in your fridge by continuing to simmer the broth until it is reduced to a reasonable amount. I keep mine in small jar marked "veggie boullion," then measure out a Tb or two per cup of water to re-constitute the broth. If you don't get to it in the first week, better freeze it for laters.

Items for an especially tasty broth:
-herb stems like thyme. sage, parsely, savory, tarragon, etc. Easy on the sorrell/rosemary, a little goes along way.
-potato peels. The Vegetarian Epicure swears by them, and claims you can make a highly satisfying broth from those alone. Avoid green skin, that's poison!
-mushroom stems. A way into the the depth of flavor meat broth's enjoy. Folks from the Fungus Fair inform me mushrooms impart anticarcinogenic properties. Thanks, mushrooms!
-stems from your sauteeing greens. Kale, chard, collards, etc. Go easy on the beet greens--their high sugar content means too many of them make the soup too sweet.
-artichoke leaves & middles. But not the stems. They are too bitter.
-onion ends & skins
-celery bottoms and leaves
-the afroementioned carrot/parsnip peels
-tart apple peels & cores. What? Like the beet green stems, go easy on them. But don't knock 'em. The tart apples will counteract the utter vegginess of your broth, and since apples impart a lot of pectin for jams & jellies, I have a crackpot theory that they improve the velvetiness of broth. That they are the vegetarian's equivalent of broken bones and marrow, which thicken meat broths.

Avoid things you wouldn't cook anyway, like the green potato peels/bitter artichoke stems mentioned above, but also the green parts of leeks (they turn the soup sour--some say the same is true for green onions) and the leaves from rhubarb. Poison! Poison!

Happy soup season!