Homemade Vegetable Broth & Summer Squash Soup

As someone who creates a ton of vegetable scraps with all my cooking and gardening, I've taken to making my own vegetable broth. I learned this technique while working in vegetarian restaurant in Nashville. It's so simple, easy, and delicious, you'll kick yourself for having not thought of it on your own. 

All you have to do is set aside space in your freezer for a gallon sized bag. Instead of tossing your onion and garlic skins, carrot peels, and woody kale stems in the compost or trash, place them in a freezer bag. The only things I wouldn't recommend are potato skins, but any other veggie scrap will do. Also, save your turning lettuce for the compost bin. This is just for healthy and "unusable" vegetable scraps. 

Once your bag is full, place the veggie scraps in a large pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Feel free to simmer or steep longer depending on your taste preference. 

Strain and pour into a large jar or tupperware. This keeps in the fridge for 3-5 days. The broth can be frozen or canned as well.  Or you can go ahead and use some of it to make some soup like I did. 

Summer Squash Soup w/Garlic & Ginger

*This is another great recipe for using up some of the end of season summer squash. This soup is very creamy, but there's no cream in it!

• 2 tbsp butter (olive oil okay instead, too)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 8 small cloves of garlic, rough chopped
• 4 medium summer squash, quartered (I used yellow and zucchini) appx 2 lbs.
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (sub 1/2 tsp powdered)
• salt & pepper
• fresh chopped herbs (parsley and oregano)

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook on low heat until the onion is soft and translucent and doesn't brown about ten minutes. 

Add the squash, raise the heat to medium, and cook until soft. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 45 minutes.

Let cool a bit, then blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. You could transfer to a blender of food processer if you don't have an immersion blender. 

Taste and season with fresh ginger, salt, and pepper. Top with fresh herbs. I used parsley and oregano. This pureed soup is good and light on it's own, or makes a heartier meal with croutons or bread.