Rich Vegetable Stock

Directions

1. 1
   ["I have no idea how much your veggie trimmings will weigh, but I thought it best to put some sort of approximate amount in the list of ingredients. Basically, I just fill a gallon baggie and use that and the weight of the baggie just depends on what kinds of trimmings I've put in during the week.", "I keep a gallon freezer baggie in the freezer and dump my veggie trimmings in it after each meal I cook. In no time at all, maybe a week or two, the bag is full and ready to use for making stock.", "Empty the gallon baggie of veggie trimmings into a large stew pot or stock pot, along with the bay leaf and peppercorns. Add 8 cups of water and see where your water level is. Remember it. This is the point where you will refill after reducing. Go ahead and add the other 4 cups of water and the salt. Resist the urge to stir!", "Bring to a nice simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain the simmer.", "Never ever stir! You can use the back of a wooden spoon to gently push the veggies down into the liquid every now and then, but don't stir. If you do, your stock will come out cloudy. By resisting the urge to stir, your stock will be crystal clear and beautiful. If it does cloud up, it's still good, just not nearly as pretty.", "When the liquid has reduced by 4 cups, add another 4 cups of water and continue to simmer. Do this 2 more times, for a total of 3 times. You are essentially reducing the water 100% by reducing by a third three times.", "After the final reduction, remove from heat and strain through a colander. Squeeze all of the stock out of the veggies, then discard the veggies.", "Strain the stock through a sieve, and then strain again through a fine mesh. I use a permanent coffee filter for this step.", "At this point, I pour the stock off into plastic cups in 8 ounce portions. Let cool completely at room temperature, then freeze. Cooling your stock off too quickly results in clouding.", "When the stock is frozen, I pop each stock \"cube\"" out of its cup