Snowy days warm my heart and one of the reasons is comforting memories of home-made soups, created deliciously with homemade broths.

Broths can be made on the fly, usually in less than 15 minutes! I will share here, just how to create a stock that will have you never buying “stocks” in cubes, boxes or cans again, and you won’t be ingesting unhealthy preservatives, chemicals and salts.

 I will hazard to guess that you have more than adequate basic ingredients right at your fingertips in your cupboards and/or your fridge. Take a look!

Do you have vegetables, leftovers, miso, parmesan rinds, coconut milk, tea, tomatoes, peppers, chilies, beans, grains, rice or chicken or beef bones? You have more than adequate basic ingredients right at your fingertips. This is your broth … be creative!

These broths are meant to be fast so your simmering need not be more than 15 minutes if you are in a rush. On the other hand, the broth can be simmered and then kept, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to turn it into a full-fledged soup.

Intrigued? Try this:

Herb Stock:

• Combine 6 cups of water with a small handful of rosemary, thyme or sage sprigs, a large handful of parsley, a few bay leaves, 1 or 2  crushed garlic cloves, a couple of black peppercorns.
• Bring barely to a simmer, cover, turn off the heat, let stand for several minutes, strain.
• Voila! You have your very own on the fly stock that you can use for the delicious base for any soup. When you do serve this delicious soup of yours, make certain you warm the soup bowls.

Editor’s Note: Peggy Pendergast owns Peggy P’s Delicacies. She can be reached at peggypxo@yahoo.com.