Making broth from odds and ends

I thought I would try my hand at making vegetable broth from odds and ends of food I might have in the fridge. These are vegetables that are not spoiled but may be wilted or beyond my desire to eat them fresh in a salad. Here is what I have on hand. Half an onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, a few stalks of swiss chard, and parts of a cucumber. If I chop these up and make a broth out of them, will there be any use to it? I don't expect it to taste good itself but I am thinking I could freeze it and add it to a vegetable soup later instead of water. Please report if you have any advice on this.

Cucumber?

Yes cucumber. I'm trying not to waste things and thinking there might be some value. I would strain the broth, none of the veggies would be actually in the soup.

I wouldn't use the chard and lettuce unless you plan to make a soup like broccoli. Never used cucumber in soup... I suspect they will overpower the broth and make it slightly bitter. Just freeze the veggies you might normally use (clean them first) and when you have enough of what you would put into a stock, use that. Put them into a baggie, in the freezer, and whenever you have another bit of veggie, toss that into the freezer bag (things like parsley stalks, carrot ends, celery leaves).

Though, romaine (or some kind of watery, sturdy lettuce,) mushrooms, tomatoes and onion are all veg that are excellent in a broth. I'm betting (but don't know for sure) the cucumber will cook down in such a way that you don't notice it. I've never had the brassica-smell problem with swiss chard in soups; I think you'll be fine. I might suggest roasting or sauteing the more aromatic veg first; some caramelization on that onion won't hurt at all.

Fwiw, I usually add some lemon to a vegetable stock.

I agree with leek, and with the cuke, just puree it and use it as a base for cucumber salmon soup.

Well I have finally got my vegetable broth bubbling in a stock pot on the stove. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why I am making it. I guess I like the idea of using odds and ends and hope it will be a flavor boost to soup instead of using water or canned stock. I am hoping it will save nutrients too. What went into the pot? Onions which were lightly sauteed in a bit of olive oil to lightly carmelize. Rough chopped roma tomatoes starting to shrivel. A few leaves of swiss chard that would have been thrown out. Celery left over from another cooking project. Mushrooms that were not spoiled but clearly beyond their useful life. Water, sea salt, and pepper. Now we shall wait and see. I'm wondering whether this broth will be able to be incorporated into some ham bone bean soup I am planning to make soon.

Let us know how you store the finished product. I usually freeze mine in 4-cup increments in zip bags, but they are leak-prone.

Although I've discovered canning stock, although time consuming, is the easiest way to store it (but you need a pressure canner,) when I freeze it I use an old set of ice-cube trays I've dedicated for this task. Then it goes into zip-top bags or freezer containers much more efficiently.

The broth has cooled and has a pleasant vegetable taste with no strong overtones. I would not want to eat it alone but it should make some fine addition to future soup pots.

Reminds me a bit of this recipe:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/jacq ... oup-recipe

Yes and this is very healthy. I find that many vegetables that are considered "beyond using" actually look and taste okay once they are part of a soup. Since I was making a broth to use in a future soup, I ended up throwing the vegetation away and straining it. Next time I probably won't do that as its a waste of good fiber.

I freeze mine in ziplock-type plastic containers, the ones with the blue lids, such as are used in LTH food exchanges.

I've learned the hard way not to add all the available cilantro to the stock when clearing out the veg bin. A little, yes. A lot, no.