Thanks to the tip by some fellow readers of Green Lifestyle, my veggie scraps now have one more stop inside the home before they get used outside. And what do I get out of it? FREE STOCK!

 

I collect the vegetable scraps when cooking and keep them in a container in the freezer until there is enough to cook up a pot. Onion scraps and  unwanted ends and offcuts of carrots and celery, tomatoes, herbs and cabbage cores (which are perfectly edible but not so fun to eat) are all set aside.

 

Then follows this simple equation:

Enough scraps + a lazy day = making stock!

(If you have any meat offcuts/bones, you could also add those to the mix for a meat stock, but I find the vegetable stock perfectly delicious.)

 

Now it’s time to put the scraps into a big pot.

I add water, some salt and peppercorns. I also like to add fresh bay leaves from the garden.

Turn on the heat and let it come to the boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for a few hours.

 

 

Once it has had a good, long simmer, you can turn off the heat and let it cool.

 

 

Then, strain the liquid off  to either use straight away or freeze in container portions or both!

If you have a Bokashi bin or something similar, the cooked scraps can still be composted through this system. It’s a win-win for the kitchen and the garden! You get the yummy homemade stock and no compost is wasted!