Happy New Year!  It's soup stock time!  

This is a delicious, mineral-rich, and versatile soup stock that will add depth to any of your winter (or summer!) soups. I added a handful of Chinese herbs that I had on hand to increase the healing power of this recipe, but feel free to leave them out. 

Thanks to my awesomely large pot, this batch yielded 13 jars' worth of stock which will last me a few months stored in the freezer.

The straight-sided Ball jars pictured at the bottom of the post are perfect for freezing stock and don't leach toxins like plastic ziplock freezer bags. I've been using this freezer method for years, and I'll explain how I do it so that you can avoid making the same mistakes I made early on. (Once I had to throw out an entire soup because of broken glass. It was sad. Don’t make that mistake!)

VEGGIE STOCK RECIPE:

2 leeks
2 onions
4 celery stalks
6 carrots
1 turnip
1 jewel or garnet yam
A few broccoli stems
1 strip kombu 

Optional Chinese Herbs:
Reishi Mushroom -- boosts energy and immunity (2 Tbsp)
Huang Qi (astragalus) -- boosts immunity (2-3 tsp)
Dang Gui (angelica) -- great women's health herb and uterine tonic (1-2 tsp)
Shan Zha (hawthorne) -- supports heart health and aids digestion of protein (1 Tbsp)

MAKING & STORING THE STOCK

1) Roughly chop all veggies.  For example, carrots can be cut into thirds, yams can be cut into 3-6 chunks depending on size, and onions can be quartered (leave the outer onion skins on).

2) Sauté onions, leeks, and celery in avocado oil for 10 minutes or so, stirring often.  

3) Add sautéed veggies and all other ingredients to a soup stock with about 6 quarts of water. Rinse kombu before adding.  (If you don't have a single pot that's big enough, you can split the veggies and water into two different pots or simply half the recipe.)

4) Bring to a boil, and then simmer on low for 45 minutes. 

5) Strain the veggies (and herbs, if using) out of the stock liquid.

6) If possible, let the stock cool.

7) Ladle stock into freezer-safe, wide mouth mason jars, filling only to the freezer fill line.  

8) If the stock has cooled to room temperature, you can put the jars straight into the freezer.  If the stock is still very hot, place the jars in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before transferring to the freezer.

TO USE:

Slow-Thaw Method: If you know you are going to need stock the next day, you can transfer a jar from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before, or you can let the jar sit on the counter for a few hours before you start cooking. 

Quick-Thaw Method: If you forget to take the jar out of the freezer in advance, submerge the jar in COLD water and let it sit until enough of the stock has melted that the remaining ice cube of stock slides effortlessly out of the jar. (Be patient! DO NOT jiggle the jar or otherwise try to help the ice cube come out if it is getting stuck!) Once your stock ice cube is liberated, you can melt it in a separate pot on the stove top before adding it to your soup, but I usually just drop it directly into the soup I'm making and let it finish melting there.