Bowing to Veggie Broth!

Happy November everyone! This month's theme is mindful consumption and in LTMC we're exploring how we consume the four kinds of nutriments: edible foods, sense impressions, volition and consciousness. This first week of November will focus on edible foods, heck with just finishing our Halloween goodies, we're up for this, right?! To water the seeds of mindful consumption, I wished to share a Veggie Broth recipe that's delicious, nutritious and simple. I used to feel bad about carrot peels, tomato tops and other veggie scraps that were thrown away, knowing there MUST be something I could do with these edible offerings (composting is not an option in bear territory :). Then, while interpreting a Broth's Culinary Class an insight was introduced, so simplistically beautiful the recipe is one delicious sentence:

Freeze all veggie scraps (except potato peels and eggplant) in a zip lock bag until full, place in a pot, cover with water and simmer around 45 minutes, then voila! golden, nutritious veggie broth!

"All" veggie scraps, literally means anything: onion skins, broccoli stems, leaves of cauliflower--everything! Actually, one other exception...I did find lettuces not so edible but spinach stems and leftover herbs work great. The other nightshades, tomatoes and peppers, are fine. Peppers add kick, so be forewarned. I use my veggie broth for all my rice dishes which are often Mexi, so the peppers work for me. Spices such as salt are best added after stock has been strained and placed in containers. These can be frozen and removed as needed.Veggie Broth is good for all soups, chilis and in place of water in most instances. One of my favorite ways to consume it is to add salty V8 juice, more whole veggies and eat as a quick, nutritious soup. Now when it comes to preparing veggies, I'm one happy, grateful girl....

Mindfully consuming the scraps of veggie friends,
I smile,
knowing I use everything Mama Earth
so generously offers.