Hello friends!

Are you excited about where the blog is headed after yesterday’s post?!

Me too!

I thought that homemade stock would be a fantastic way to begin my new culinary adventures, since I’ve only ever experienced boullion or the stock that comes in that rectangular container in the soup aisle.

Now, I am not a food snob.

I understand that a) they are more affordable (hello broke unemployed college graduate) and b) they are uber convenient, but I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Since stock/broth happens to be a major part of many recipes I find in my cookbooks and on food blogs, I also thought it’d be great to have as I build upon these skills and create new recipes.

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to our all-star cast for this recipe:

Don’t you love fresh vegetables? I adore all the different colors, and it definitely brightened my mood that most of these were well-priced at the Stop&Shop up the road.

Can you believe that Swiss Chard was only $2?!

Now I am ready to dive into this whole homemade stock idea, but I thought it’d be neat to compare two methods and see which one I liked best in terms of

• feasibility
• affordability
• Taste (duh)

So today we are creating vegetable stock in my slow cooker. Slow cookers are fabulous – they are cheap, they work wonders on tough pieces of meat, and they do not turn your kitchen into a sauna when, say, NJ feels like having an intense heat wave for a whole week.

Who wants to turn the oven on in that hot mess?

NO ONE.

So it’s pretty simple (in theory): just chop all your vegetables, and dump them along with a few other spices, water etc into your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8ish hours and, according to this cookbook:

We should see 8 cups of veggie stock by the end of the day.

So I chopped, and minced, and added everything to the insert of my slow-cooker. Then I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

The result?

It tastes absolutely out of this world. Seriously – bouillon ain’t got nothin’ on this stuff.

I can’t believe I just wrote that. Please don’t think I actually speak that way – the stock did it to me.

It was just so good – I couldn’t help myself.

The only problem – the cookbook lied.

Evil Cookbook : why would you present me with this flavorful, rich stock and tell me it makes 8 cups?

I only have 3 1/2 cups to show for it.

So, in that aspect, this was sort of expensive to prepare. Bouillon might be salt with flavorings but you receive 30 cups for a $9 container. This recipe cost me that same $9 but I have less than 1/3 of what the bouillon container prepares.

Is it inifintely more appetizing than pre-made stock? Without a doubt.

But is it worth it? I think that depends on what you’re going to do with it.

Are you making a main-course soup or stew (or risotto) where stock is a central component?

Do you like the idea of throwing everything in the slow cooker and then just going about your business while it cooks?

If so, then yes I think it absolutely is worth it. But if you just need a cup here or there, this may not be economically feasible for you.

That’s totally fine.

BUT I plan on testing out another stock option (I feel like there’s a finance joke in there somewhere) brought to us by Mr. Mark Bittman in my How to Cook Everything.

It’s a much more classic recipe for chicken stock, where one needs to keep an eye on it while it simmers over the stove, but it also claims to make a great deal of it, which means it could be more worth my time than this slow-cooker method.

We will see!

Until then,

Happy Cooking!

Homemade Vegetable Stock (Slow Cooker Method)

Recipe Source - Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks
• 4 parsnips, cut into chunks
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 bunch (approx 3 cups chopped) swiss chard
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1. Put everything (and I mean everything!) into the insert of a 5 to 7 quart slow cooker and gently stir to combine. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 9 hours.
2. Pour vegetable stock through a fine-meshed sieve set over a large bowl. If you desire, remove some of the larger chunks of vegetables first and discard them prior to pouring. Skim off any fat that accumulates.
3. In refrigerator, stock will keep for up to five days. In the freezer this will stay fresh up to 6 months.

All Photos, Recipes (Unless Otherwise Specified) And Writing Copyright © 2013 Jessica Gonzalez | On Sugar Mountain