Beef and Veg Broth

Hubby decided to cook this without warning me, so there's a great deal of stuff I almost didn't catch. This is a recipe designed to use up those little bits and bobs that are just on the verge of going to the compost, but aren't pretty enough to put in a "proper" meal.

Implements

• 1 stock pot
• Set of knives (suit yourself)
• Handy cooktop-like heat source

Ingredients

• About 5-6 sticks of celery (he chopped the lot before I could document, so I'm guessing here)
  
• 3 carrots
• 2 shallots
  
• About 2 inches of Chinese Radish
  
• Soup bones
  
• Salt and pepper and spices to taste
• Water

Method

• Chop up the celery and put it in your stock pot.

• The same with all your other veg
  

• Add your soup bones
  

• Add your spices[1]
  

• Add water enough to make everything float
  

• Cook on medium-high heat until the meat falls off the bones

• Fish out the bones

• Allow to simmer until you reckon it's done.

Hubby added chilli flakes to this one, in an effort to keep the kids off of it, but they still devoured an even half. This is a broth with Bits In (tm) and if you want to take it down to a stock gel, you have to strain the chunks out and then reduce until the inner pectin kicks in.

I have my Vegemite to make salty broth with, so I didn't test this lot. Hubby insists I would have found it too spicy.

Can be stored and frozen, but we didn't really bother.

[1] When you need a lot of salt and all you have is the crystals, you can grind them up in a coffee grinder and get yourself some table-grade powder. It's so easy that Miss T did it for us!