Do you have leftover vegetables from the garden? A great way to use them up before they go bad is to make vegetable stock. Every year I tend to have many vegetables like carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, potatoes, and herbs that I have no place to store or they are overgrown. These vegetables make a great stock that you can use as a base for soups or stews.

Let’s Make Vegetable Stock

Vegetable stock is best made with root vegetables and fresh herbs from the garden. Like:

• Carrots
• Turnips
• Potatoes
• Celery plus leaves
• Onions plus tops
• Leeks
• Bell peppers
• Parsley
• Sage
• Thyme

I gather vegetables from the list above in the garden. I don’t measure exact amounts. The basic idea is to use what you have to make the stock. Chop them up into rough chunks and place them into a large pot. Cover the vegetables with water, then add an additional 2 inches to the top.

Allow the vegetables to boil on a slow simmer for about 2 hours or until the vegetables are soft and falling apart.

Ready for the freezer

Now it’s time to strain the stock. You can use a basic strainer to strain out the vegetables. Place the strained stock into some freezer-safe Tupperware and freeze until you need it. This stock is great as a base for any type of soup or stew.

My go-to preserving book:

The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest

Learn how to preserve the season’s bounty in this classic primer on drying, freezing, canning, and pickling techniques. You’ll learn everything you need to know to stock your pantry with fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, vinegars, pickles, chutneys, and seasonings.

Do you make vegetable stock? What do you do with your leftover vegetables?