Free Soup!

I'm sorry for all the years I bought prepared broth. What a waste of money and resources. I no longer do so because there's an outrageously easy way to make your own. It's totally free, environmentally friendly and it takes next to no time or effort.

When I prepared vegetables now, most of what I don't use go into a plastic bag that I store in my freezer. Carrot tops and bottoms? In the bag. If I peeled carrots (which I don't because I want to eat the nutrient-rich skin) the peels would go in as well. Celery tops, bottom, and leaves - in the bag. Ditto tops and bottoms of onions - but not too much of the skin as they turn the broth a deep brown - however, this is not a problem if you don't mind the color. Tomatoes, zucchini, greens - if I've ever seen it in a soup, I throw it in the bag. Even the ends of fresh ginger because I've come to love the taste of ginger in soup.

Every so often, when my bag of scraps is full and I'm going to be home for a bit, I throw the scraps in a soup pot, fill the pot with water and gently boil it all for 20 minutes or so. Afterwards, I strain the broth, let it cool and refreeze it in containers. I now have broth as a base for other soups - lentil, split pea, etc. Or, I use the broth to cook grains in to boost both their nutritional value and their flavor. I also have plain old broth for when I feel like a simple bowl of soup.

You can season the broth in the initial cooking phase or when you use it to make other dishes.

The environmental benefits? By not buying prepared broth, I'm not adding to the waste stream by having cans or aseptic packs to dispose of. As for the cooked vegetables that remain after I strain the broth - I add them to my composter so they'll help grow more vegetables.