Fridge-cleaner Vegetable Stock

Prep Time: very little (unless you count saving all your old bits of vegetable and freezing them)

Cook time: as many hours as you can stand, but about 3 – 8 hours / all day

Serves: quite a few

Description
Maybe some might think I don't take vegetable stock seriously, but I do. I don't, however, feel it needs any sort of exact science.

Ingredients

 * bay leaves
 * black peppercorns
 * potatoes
 * celery
 * carrot
 * onions
 * parsley
 * garlic (I love garlic, but you may not, so this — as all other ingredients — is optional)
 * any other bit or cast-off part of vegetable you happen to have around
 * any old fresh herbs you have lying around that are not sightly enough to use — even dried is not a crime if you don't have any fresh
 * salt to taste (I use none, and then salt the stock as I need/use it)

Directions

 * 1) Coarsely chop your vegetables (don't get carried away)
 * 2) Grab the largest pot you have
 * 3) Throw in all your ingredients
 * 4) Fill with water
 * 5) Bring to a boil, then simmer for several hours (you can't really simmer this too long)
 * 6) Allow to cool once you are tired of watching it simmer
 * 7) Strain using a cheesecloth or dish towel in a colander (you may have to do this in batches depending how huge your pot is — mine is insanely large)
 * 8) Freeze in usable portions — I like to mix it up into 1-cup portions, "stock cubes" in an ice-cube tray and "soup-sized" portions