Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

Articles Sections >> Arts + Words Bars + Clubs Dating Festivals Fitness Food Lifestyle Music Theater Travel + Tourism Who's Who > View All Ask Centerstage Cheap Thrills Green Thumb

Protect your system against the seasonal plummet (and even cinch your waistline) with homemade vegetable broth.

Monday Mar 12, 2007.     By Julia Steinberger

Lifestyle Feed

As the weather continues to flip-flop between delicious sunny skies and freezing gray slush, it seems like just about everyone I know is coming down with a cold. For protection against the seasonal plummet in my immune system, I've taken refuge in homemade soups, many of them featuring the locally-grown root veggies that are still at their best through the end of this month.

While experimenting with all this steamy comfort-in-a-bowl goodness, the one invaluable skill I've learned is how to make homemade stock. Outside of composting or raising a goat, I can't think of many better ways to put kitchen scraps to good use.

The best part is, there's almost zero extra work if I'm already cooking. To make stock, I just take the leftover bits of veggie—the carrot and parsnip peels, onion tops, outer cabbage leaves, etc.—rinse them in a colander and then toss them in a pot of water on the back burner. For good measure, I always make sure to add a few minced cloves of garlic and a generous sprinkle of sea salt.

The stock simmers while I'm doing my other cooking, and when I'm ready to pack it up, I just pour it back over a strainer to catch the veggie chunks and let the broth collect in an empty plastic container to store in the fridge until it's needed (note: let the stock, like any other hot food, cool to room temp before storing, and you'll reduce carbon emissions from an overtaxed fridge).

When it's done, the stock makes a perfect base for all manner of soups and can also boost the flavor other foods. I use it in place of oil for sauteeing to cut fat and as a flavorful substitute for water when cooking rice, quinoa and other dehydrated foods. While you can buy all kinds of stocks in boxes and cans, I have yet to find one that tastes as authentic as something that has simmered on my own stove. And re-purposing the vegetables I already have is an earth-friendlier alternative to putting an extra packaged, fuel-guzzling product in my grocery cart.

In the past month, making soup from scratch has become one of my favorite things to do right after I get home from work. Easier than almost any other kind of cooking I can think of, soup-making is a reliable stress-buster with a very tasty payoff. Better still, I get a meal that's both healthier and yummier than over-salted, preservative-heavy processed varieties.

Added bonus: Homemade stocks are an ultra-healthy alternative. Unlike cream bases and oils, veggie stock made this way adds nothing to your food that will weigh you down. On the contrary, you actually get more of the good stuff: When vegetables are cooked, some of their nutrients escape into the water they're cooked in. By preserving those nutrients and eating them, you get the most out of your food. Organic veggies are great for soups because you won't risk leeching leftover pesticides into the water.

Try It:
While I love digging into a bowl of hearty chili in fall and early winter, the late-season frosty drudge seems to be better suited for the lighter textures and subtler flavors of soups. This recipe from the Moosewood cookbook is a recent fave for its lovely color and sweet/spicy flavor, and it takes advantage of in-season carrots and parsnips.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger root
¼ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. cooking oil
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups parsnips, sliced
1 cup orange juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, sautee the onions, garlic, ginger and salt for five minutes stirring a little at medium heat until they start to turn translucent. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and chili powder, and cook for a minute or so. The spices and oil should begin to form a layer on the bottom of the pan. Pour in the apple juice to deglaze the pan, and transfer the onion mixture to a large soup pot. Add the water or stock, carrots and parsnips. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

In a blender, puree the vegetable mixture with the orange juice, working in batches. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a spoonful of plain yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro or scallions.

After four greener-than-average college years as a co-op dweller-turned-aspiring-permaculturist, Julia Steinberger finds it hard not to feel guilty about her one-bedroom apartment, daily commute and indulgence in the occasional dollar burger. She'd like to dream that she could live in a tent/treehouse/rabbit hole, but the truth is, she'd rather stay in the city while doing her best to leave a lighter footprint on the earth. You can contact her here.