Going old Fashioned in the Kitchen: Vegetable stock

My grocery budget for this week was $45 and I was able to create a list that was $42.61. Even when I added a few ingredients when I found out my mushrooms had turned I still managed to come out at $44.66.

Big win!

Then I began trying to choose which recipe to start with. Since the mushrooms had turned I decided to make the cauliflower soup as we’ve had three quarters of a cauliflower in our fridge for a week.

It turns out I had forgotten that I had used all my homemade chicken stock and couldn’t find any packages of it. Considering how good I had been about our budget I didn’t want to wreck it. One site suggested I make a vegetable stock instead.

Small problem, Bunny takes care of all our vegetable scraps and I only buy the vegetables I know we won’t waste so there were no extras hiding the fridge.

That’s when I found this Vegetable stock base. I adjusted it to suit my needs.

• 5 cups of water
• 3 cloves  of garlic, smashed
• Half an onion chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• A good shake of peppercorns
• A good shake of dried thyme
• Tsp of salt
• Remaining cauliflower stalk

I simmered it until I needed it, about 25 minutes.

I probably should invest in cheesecloth or a sieve but my reusable coffee filter did the job this time. I strained it and got my 4 cups of stock.

I’ve got to admit it smells divine!