It’s hard to cook from scratch when you have a 5 month old baby.

Actually it’s hard to do a lot of things.

It’s hard to write a blog post. I have been working on this post for weeks. I had it written up once but somehow deleted it. Then I wrote another one up while in a sleep deprived state and luckily didn’t hit Publish. You really don’t need to read about the intimate details of my breastfeeding troubles, let’s save that for my close girlfriends. Not to mention it has nothing to do with vegetable broth….But on the subject of TMI….

It’s hard to go to the bathroom in a public restroom. I get really excited when Grace is in daycare and I can actually use a restroom without having to leave a door open like I do at home (when I am by myself, you don’t have to be scared to come over, I promise).

It’s hard to unpack groceries in under an hour.

It’s hard to take a shower. Baby G is only happy when I am in the shower singing the ABC song and for whatever reason, that has been setting off our fire alarm lately. Good thing we don’t have dogs….

 It’s hard to be on time. Let me just apologize for anyone I am going to be meeting up with anytime in the next two years. I will probably be late and I will probably have some kind of bodily fluid on my person that is not mine, which leads to the next one….

It’s hard to look neat. I’m beginning to think I should just buy two of everything and keep the spare in my diaper bag.

But it’s not all doom and gloom in the life of a mother….

It’s easy to find the joy in life when you have a baby smile at you.

It’s easy to feel loved when a baby gazes at you with a level of adoration you have never felt before.

It’s easy to do pushups. Wait, what did she say? When I am working out with Baby G, she thinks it’s hilarious to see me do a push up. When I lift my head at the top of the pushup, she laughs hysterically. It makes exercising, dare I say it, kind of fun.

It’s easy to be forgiving to yourself and other people because you have to be or you would drive yourself crazy.

You know what else is easy? This vegetable broth.

Collect scraps as you are prepping vegetables. Throw them in a zipper lock bag and store in the freeze. Once you have accumulated enough scraps (aka when they keep falling out on you when you open the freezer), throw them in a big stock pot, cover with water, and simmer until you have the time to strain it.

And then feel good that you have created something out of nothing. Feel good as you tell your friends and family and strangers in line at the grocery store that you made your own broth from scratch. Feel good that you are going to feed your family something fresh, something natural, and something that did not come from a box.

It’s that easy.

 

Feel-Good Vegetable Broth
A completely flexible recipe on making your own vegetable stock.

Write a review

Save Recipe
Print

Ingredients
1-3 gallon zipper lock bags full of any or all of the following: onion skins and roots, carrot ends, garlic skins, ends of peppers, potato peels, celery leaves, squeezed limes, parsley and cilantro stems, tomato innards, and kale stems, and if you eat meat, throw in any leftover chicken bones or skin to make it chicken and vegetable broth
A few dried bay leaves and whole peppercorns (only if you have them in your cupboard)
Cold water to cover it

Instructions
Put the contents of your scraps in a large stock pot or sauce pan.
Cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer for 4-8 hours. The longer it cooks, the more flavorful it will be.
Strain out scraps though a fine mesh strainer. Cool in an ice bath until it comes to room temperature. Store in the fridge over night and then freeze unless you will be using it all within a week.

Badger Girl Learns to Cook by Kimberly Aime https://learntocookbadgergirl.com/
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by Recipe Card

 

 Recipe Review:

The taste of this broth will largely depend on your scraps. We had a lot of spicy pepper stems from making chili so our broth had a nice heat to it.

Manatee Minestrone made with Feel-Good Vegetable Broth

Manatee Minestrone made with Feel-Good Vegetable Broth

We have made a few soups from it and I do think it is much more flavorful than the pale stuff you buy in the store, but the real beauty is that you are creating something out of what would have been tossed aside. That is cool. Even if it takes you all day to do it.

**************

What is your favorite fall soup? Want to add to my list of easy/hard things to do with a baby?

 

 


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

More Cranberrylove: Cranberry Orange Bread

The Good Neighbor: Francesco Mangano

Food Matters: Strawberry and Persimmon Salsa