Changing my husbands diet to meet the needs of his kidneys has not always been easy to adjust to. But sometimes it brings great recipes worth sharing.  This Roasted Vegetable Broth is the best homemade broth I’ve tasted.   It takes a little work, but it’s worth it.  I just made some yesterday, because fall means, “Soup Season” in our family. If you decide to try it let me know.

Ingredients:

(You can change the vegetables according to what you have on hand if you’re missing one or more of these.)

2 onions, quartered

4 stalks celery

5 carrots

1 parsnip

2 leeks, including green tops

6 large white or brown (crimini) mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, halved (or just smashed – skin and all is fine)

2 tablespoons canola oil

½ cup white wine (Optional)

2 quarts water

3 to 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (the other parsley works just fine. You can also throw in other herbs of your choice)

3 to 5 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1. Preheat oven to 425^o F. clean and cut all vegetables, about 1 inch pieces. Save the parsley, herbs, bay leaves, salt and pepper for later on.

2. Dump all the vegetables in a big roasting pan and pour the oil over them. Mix it all around until they are all coated. (I use my hands, it’s just easier.)

(Ready for the oven)

3. Bake for 45 minutes. Stir it about half way through to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan or burning.

4. Take the roasting pan out of the oven. Scoop the vegetables out of the roaster and put them in a large stockpot. If you your using wine, pour it in the roaster and scrape off all the brown little bit of caramelized vegetables that are stuck. Then pour all of that into the stockpot. (Water can be substituted here if you like.)

(After it's been boiled and cooled)

5. Add the rest of the water, parsley, herbs, bay leaves, salt, and whole peppercorns to the stockpot now. Bring all of this to a boil and then turn down to low for one hour.

(Pouring the broth through the cloth)

6. After the hour is up, shut it off and let it cool. (I let it cool over night.)  Then strain everything through a cheesecloth. mashing it in your hands to get all the broth out. Put the broth in clean containers. (It freezes well.)

(Squeezing out the broth) (This is what's left)

(The golden broth!)

(Ready to freeze or use)

I usually make a double batch of this at a time. One, because it is so good, it goes fast. Two, it does take some work so you want to get the most out of your time.

*(The cookbook that this recipe is from is called: “Apples to Zucchini” by: Virginia Schuett and Dorothy Corry)

Have a wonderful day!