Vegetable stock (p. 119)

I know from experience that whatever vegetables I leave in the refrigerator when I leave Josh for a couple weeks will be liquefied and disgusting by the time I get back. For some reason, it never occurs to him to look for vegetables and/or throw them out. I have accepted this about him and now try to use all vegetables before I leave. I thought that Vegetable stock (p. 119) would be a good use for the veggies I had on hand so I could use them before I left for Iowa.

I cooked onion, celery, carrots, turnips (I had turnips!), salt, bouquet garni, pepper, and red pepper in a little butter until softened (no parsnips, I used an extra carrot):

I added cold water to cover:

And cooked for a couple hours:

I strained out all the veggies and I had vegetable stock! It was really good. The stock had a nice, complex flavor and the sweetness of the carrots was nicely balanced by the turnips and onion. I particularly liked the mild spiciness that the pepper added. Of course, there isn't a whole lot to say about stock. So I will do what I do when I have almost nothing to say:

A vegetable stock haiku

Veggie-table stock

Sort of boring, control the salt

Great ingredient

Obviously, this recipe would be vegan if you used vegetable oil rather than butter.