Vegetable Stock

I had the day off today so, I set out to make vegetable stock. We have been using a lot of stock to make soups this winter--I have no doubt homemade stock will make homemade soup taste even better!

Fresh thyme, basil, and parsley

I coarsely chopped onions, garlic, shallot, carrots, and celery. To give the stock a little more depth of flavor, I sauteed the veggies in olive oil before covering completely with filtered water. Then, I just let it all simmer for about an hour and a half.

After the stock cooled for awhile I filtered it through cheese cloth and packaged it pint containers so I will have portions in the freezer. I think they should last 3 months or so?

While the stock was simmering, I decided to make some muffins. The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook has a simple muffin recipe that gives measurements to add whatever fruits or nuts you want. I decided to combine to delicious classics and make Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed muffins. I also added a little bit of flax seed meal just because it's good for you! The last batch I decided to top with a dollop of blueberry jam. I wish I would have though of it sooner; the muffins with the jam look so beautiful!