Baby it’s cold outside, and with some pretty frigid temps forecasted for this week, hibernating with homemade soup sounds like the perfect way to warm up!

The best way to start? Save your vegetable ends as you use them - garlic skins, potato peels, parsley stems, onion ends, tomato cores….that lettuce you had the best intentions for, but it went limp too quickly in your fridge…. Just pop all of those odds and ends in a container in the freezer, and before you know it you’ll be filling up a pot! (Screw the Arctic Blast - we’re here for some soul-warming homemade veggie broth!)

I absolutely love this recipe because it is so simple, flavorful, and thrifty! There is really no better way to recycle your zucchini ends, squash seeds and eggplant scraps. (Just please use good judgement as far as freshness goes! Throw your moldy bits in the compost, and save your fresh garlic scraps for your broth.)

The best part of this broth? Making something out of nothing.

Enjoy!

How to Make it:

Remove the vegetable scraps from your freezer which you had set aside.
Fill a large pot with one part vegetable scraps and two parts water. Be sure to leave at least a few inches at the top so the water has room to boil.
Place on high heat until the water boils, then reduce to medium-high heat.
Simmer, covered, for 45 mins. (I opted not to salt the broth, but when I make soup I always add plenty of spices. It’s up to you if you decide to salt your broth in this process or save that for later.)
Remove from heat and allow to cool before placing in the fridge. The vegetables will have lost their vibrancy, but imparted lovely flavor into the liquid!
If using for homemade soup immediately, use a strainer to scoop out the vegetable scraps and set aside the scraps for compost. Careful, they will be hot! (A strainer is great because it will help you catch and remove the seeds from any citrus or seedy peppers you may have added.)
If setting aside for another day, remove scraps with a strainer, then store in the fridge for up to 7 days.

There you have it! So simple, easy, and fresh.

Plus, it’s free! Why buy vegetable stock for the holiday season when you can just make it yourself out of odds and ends that would otherwise pile up simply to become soil?

Happy cooking!