Take Stock

I have seasonal rituals. Making my own vegetable stock is one of those ultra - comforting, no waste things that I do in the fall and winter. We save a portion of our good vegetable scraps for this while the rest is composted. The things we keep are onion tips, garlic paper, asparagus ends, mushroom stems, carrot tops and celery fronds, the occasional squash or zucchini and always the stems from herbs like parsley, thyme and rosemary. We store it in large freezer bags. When there is enough for a giant pot of stock which usually amounts to two or three gallon bags, we put soup on the menu. This is really one of the most easy things you can do to ensure you have organic vegetable stock on hand at all times for soups, sauces, dressings and marinades.

A note on ingredients: It's best to avoid using cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage because of the sulfur compounds. They become bitter and overly gassy when cooked for too long and are best eaten blanched on their own. Peppers are okay but can have a similar effect and can overwhelm the flavor if you use too many of them, so be modest. Potatoes are good if you want to add a little starch or bulk to it. Typically, I leave all of these out and compost them. 

Simply dump everything into a giant pot, cover with filtered water, a tablespoon or so of sea salt and let it simmer about an hour. The result is a gorgeous broth with a deep, rich color that enhances the flavor and nutritional profile of everything.

The finished stock can be portioned into quart freezer bags and laid flat on top of each other in the freezer for later use. They thaw almost instantly when put under cool running water. You could also pour it into ice cube trays for smaller portions to deglaze with as a tasty alternative to water or wine.

The beginning to all good soups start with a mirepoix. This is a French term for the traditional, flavorful base used to enrich soups, sauces, roasting brines, gravies and marinades. Though mine more closely resembles a soffritto, which is the Portuguese version, you can make deviations to the basic recipe which is carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Saute these in some good olive oil until they become soft and you start to see some brown caramelization on the bottom of the pan. This is when you deglaze the pot with your choice of liquid to pull all of that delicious flavor up from the bottom to get it into your dish. You can use stock, wine or water. It will bubble and come right up. Then you can add the rest of your stock and ingredients.

BASIC VEGETABLE STOCK
Scraps of onion, garlic, carrot, celery, mushroom, asparagus, squash, potato and herbs and 1 tablespoon good sea salt to draw out flavor and minerals into the water. Cover with filtered water.

Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for about an hour. Strain into a large bowl. Compost the cooked scraps and return the stock to the pot if using immediately. Otherwise, allow it to cool. Fill quart or gallon freezer bags and lay flat in your freezer for later use.

ORGANIC CHICKEN SOUP FROM SCRATCH
Since the chicken is the star of this soup, it really is worth a few extra dollars to use an organic, whole chicken as opposed to breasts or fillets.

1 whole chicken
carrots, sliced
celery, sliced
garlic, chopped
fresh parsley
sliced jalapenos (optional of course!)
wide egg noodles or your favorite soup noodle or homemade dumplings
salt + pepper

DIRECTIONS
I left the amounts loose on the soup because some people like it chunky and others brothy. There's a whole secret life behind soups. It's one of those real art forms that are unique to everyone. Experiment and find your soup profile.

Start your mirepoix as described earlier. Deglaze with the broth you made. Add the whole chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 40 minutes or until you start to see it falling off the bone. Remove the chicken carefully with tongs and put it into a large bowl. Have another bowl handy to put the cleaned chicken into. With two forks, start pulling it apart gently and separating the skin and the fat from the tender meat. When you're finished, return the good stuff to the pot and add the sliced carrots and celery. Simmer another 15 minutes then add your noodles and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let the flavors marry about 20 minutes more and it's perfect. Ladle into soup bowls and top with sliced jalapenos for optimum nutrition, to aid in digestion and metabolism, to cleanse your blood, flush toxins and for a kick of vitamin C. Serve with a fresh green salad and toast, crackers or croutons.

ENJOY!