Vegetable stock - submitted by Kimbo  
Any good soup or stew starts out with decent home-made stock. If you're a veggie like I am, making this without onions and still getting plenty of flavour needs a bit of thought. So, here's what I do:

Use any vegetable peelings and trimmings that you have (carrot tops, courgette ends etc., I make stock whenever I've got a decent set of veggies being cooked) but not potato peelings, and use brassicas with a very light hand indeed - if in doubt, leave it out.

Add a whole carrot or two, chopped into rough chunks. Some celery, ditto. Pepper (preferably fresh black) and bay leaves. Then put in whatever fresh or dried herbs will go well with the final dish. If you're not sure what that will be, then marjoram, thyme, oregano and a little sage work well. Put the whole lot in a big pot, add a hefty splash of wine (or a small splash of vinegar if you don't have any wine available), and simmer for an hour, watching the liquid level. If it seems to be drying out, top it up from the kettle. There's no need to add salt to the stock, as it's better to do this in the final dish, when you know how much is needed.

When simmered, cool then strain through a big sieve. If I'm feeling particularly mean, I sometimes put the strainings back in the pan, add a whole fresh load of water, and repeat. As long as it wasn't over-boiled the first time, it will produce a second lot of stock for free.

Refrigerate, freeze or use!