DIY vegetable stock

One simple do it yourself habit to get into is making your own vegetable stock. Literally about 10 minutes max work load, the rest is 

just letting the stock simmer down to a rich flavor. Far better than the sodium filled, weak and diluted veggie stocks you buy at the store. There's almost no comparison. When you make your own veggie stock the flavor can be very rich and your broth will have substance and depth. Check this easy-peasy recipe out. Make a batch this weekend and then just store it until you need it. You can even fill up an ice cube tray with the stock and then just pull out what you want when needed.

Ingredients:
6 organic carrots w/stems cleaned & trimmed- cut into large pieces
6 organic celery stalks w/leaves- cut into large pieces
1organic yellow onion- cut into large pieces
1 organic leek (sliced and washed to remove all of the dirt inside) - slice into strips
3 whole garlic cloves (skin peeled)
3-4 pieces Atlantic dulce (optional but helps to retain minerals)
1-2 bay leaves
1Tb Himalayan sea salt
1Tb cracked black pepper​

Directions:
Fill a large pot with 16C of filtered water. Add all of the above ingredients to the pot. Turn the stove onto high and stir all ingredients until well combined. Once stock comes to a boil, bring temperature down to a slow and steady simmer. Cover, leaving a bit of a gap for steam to escape, and let simmer on low for a minimum of 1 hour. This stock can simmer for 2-3 hours as long as you are watching the water level. Water does evaporate through the simmering process, making the final stock amount about 2/3rds of what it was in the beginning. BUT the longer you let simmer, the stronger the flavor. I usually let mine simmer for about 2 hours. 
Take off the stove and let cool until stock is appropriate to handle. Ladle stock into glass containers that have a tightly sealed lid. Let stock cool further in the glass containers with tops removed. Once cooled to a sufficient temperature, place tops onto the containers and seal tightly. OR, as mentioned about, pour the vegetable stock into ice cube trays to use for recipes as needed. 
That's it! Enjoy. xx

BTW - let me know how your stock turns out in the comments below, or if you have any specific ingredients you love to use, let me know that too!