Corn Cob Stock

Left over corn cobs make an excellent addition to a vegetable or chicken soup stock. All you need is a large soup pot and a few spare minutes. Use any assortment of vegetables you have on hand (this is a good time to clean out your produce drawers and use up any old vegetables). Carrots and onions are particularly good additions to a stock. Cut vegetables into large chunks. Scrape remaining kernels off of cobs and break cobs into pieces. You can even toss in some of the corn silk and any clean husks as well. Add any herbs you like, a couple of whole garlic cloves and then cover everything with a few quarts of water. It will take only a few minutes to get everything together and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and ignore it for an hour while it simmers on the stovetop. After an hour, strain liquid into a bowl and cool. The stock will freeze well or keep it in the refrigerator and use within a couple of days. Use the stock as a base for soups, it will also make an excellent addition to a creamy corn risotto or add extra flavor to polenta.