The easiest veggie broth EVAR.

Have you ever noticed the amount of sodium on a packet of veggie broth? Totally gross. Also chemicals. Also some store-bought veggie broth has MILK in it. WTF??

Don't get me started on milk being in random products...

How about some sodium and chemical (and milk) free veggie broth that is also.... well, FREE??! You really can't get better than free, in my opinion.

The steps are ridiculously easy:

1. Keep all your veggie scraps.

2. Boil 'em down with a little herb and spice.

3. Freeze it.

Let's start from the beginning:

(There's more than three steps - I was messing with you)

1. Keep any veggie scraps that aren't totally rotten or covered in dirt in a bag in your freezer. Any bag will do; it doesn't have to be a fancy freezer bag. I recommend double-bagging them just in case. The freezer will keep them fresh until you cook them. It can be anything from chunks of peppers and tomatoes to onion peel and garlic skins. Anything except any really potent herbs like basil or thyme. They will over power the flavour.

2. Get a pot big enough that you can add the veggies and just enough water to make them all float. I had a boat-load of veggie scraps so I brought out the big gun.

3. Add some mild herbs and spices such as pepper, salt, garlic, oregano and bay leaves. This may take a few goes before you get your perfect mix. The best part of this is that if you don't like what you taste at the end you can pour the liquid back into the pot and cook it down some more with whatever flavours you think it's lacking.

4. Bring this crap to a boil on high and then turn it to medium or less. Let it go with the lid on for an hour or more. Stir it a couple of times if you feel like it. Go do some other stuff like your laundry or start a militant vegan Facebook group.

5. After it's boiled for about an hour or so get some cheese cloth and a colander. Strain out the veggie sludge. This. Stuff. Is. THICK. You may need to rinse out the cloth and keep straining. There will still be some veggie 'sediment' that will float in the liquid. This is fine. Think of them as flavour crystals! This is the time to test it and if you're not happy - toss it all back in the pot with more herbs or spices until you get it just right. Remember: Broth is supposed to add liquid to recipes not mass amounts of flavour.

6. Pour everything into ice cube trays. Don't worry about ruining them. I've washed mine out and the taste will NOT stick to future ice cubes (although that might be good for Caesars...) You will also notice the sediment may settle to the bottom as they freeze.

If you have extra keep some liquid in the fridge and use it up within seven days.

Once frozen - keep them in a large freezer bag or plastic container. Pop them into stir fries or pasta sauces for extra volume or if you'd like to be super healthy - stir fry or sauteé all your veggies in broth instead of oil!

Super easy, super cheap and super hard to screw up!

I'd love to hear about your variations of flavours or uses for homemade veggie broth! Email me theplantlifecanada@gmail.com, on Facebook or Instagram!