1 large onion, thickly sliced

3 carrots, cut into chunks

1 large potato, cut into chunks

1 large parsnip, cut into chunks

1 celery rib, cut into chunks

3 garlic cloves, left unpeeled and crushed

1 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

4 dried mushrooms, soaked in 1 c. hot water until softened

handful of fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, rosemary, sage, etc. – whatever you've got)

2 bay leaves

1/2 t. black peppercorns

1 T. soy sauce

7 c. water

Prep veggies (onion, carrots, potato, parsnips, celery, and garlic). Roast at 400 deg F for 30 minutes.

Pour boiling water over mushrooms and let sit for half an hour until softened.

Put the veggies and mushrooms (along with their soaking liquid) in the crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients (fresh herbs, bay leaves, peppercorns, soy sauce and water. Cook on low for 8 hours. Allow stock to cool in pot.

Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or pot, pressing against the solids with the back of a spoon to release the liquid. Separate the stock into batch-size containers and freeze.

You may be wondering …. is roasting the veggies really necessary? Well, no, it's not – it makes a perfectly fine stock without roasting the veggies, but the stock is so much richer and more flavorful when you take the time to roast the veggies. I usually roast a double batch of veggies, and then make two batches of stock (one overnight, and then one the next day), since it's basically no more work to roast two batches of veggies than it is to roast one.

Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, by Robin Robertson (p. 35)