Vegetable Stock

I have really come to appreciate Swanson’s beef and chicken broths to make my soups in the Fall. I know I should make the broths myself, but in this case, it is cheaper to buy the cans and concentrate on the flavors of the rest of my ingredients.

While I seldom think to buy vegetable stock, I started experimenting last year with my tomatoes from the garden. I realized I did not want to throw away, or compost, all the delicious vegetables I was putting into my marinara and salsa sauces without giving them one last chance to give something back.

The fun part is you throw in everything from the stems to the roots. It was a great excuse to get rid of those vegetables in the refrigerator that were almost past their prime.

As I tend to drain the juice from my tomatoes for my other recipes, I started with a decent liquid base. I let it cook until everything gets soft, drain out the big pieces, run the broth through a fine sieve, and enjoy a beautiful vegetable broth. It kicked up my vegetable soup last year, so I look forward to a repeat performance!