vegetable broth... simply put

typical stock veggies

I forgot to post my vegetable broth recipe for the Farro Soup I just posted... so here it is in a nut shell :
equal amounts (give or take a little)  in grams or ounces of leek (mainly white part) and carrot
½ the amount of celery (along with a couple leaves) and red onion (no more than quartered)
a garlic clove or two, if desired, peeled and left whole
a couple three fresh parsley and thyme sprigs
1 or 2 fresh bay leaves, small handful of peppercorns and unrefined coarse sea salt
and any other peels and parings sitting on your kitchen counter…


for about 2 liters :
200 gr carrots,
200 gr leeks (remove most of the tops, using only the tender inner green part)
100 gr celery (along with just a couple leaves)
100 gr red onion (cut into quarters)
1 large garlic clove, peeled, cut in half, the sprout removed
1 – 2 fresh bay leaves
3 full sprigs fresh parsley
2 full sprigs fresh thyme
1 tBsp coarse unrefined sea salt
1/4 tsp peppercorns
Add any peels, stems, outer leaves, squash seeds, etc. (except for anything too bitter) you think might enhance the broth, rather than throwing them away.

Cut the carrot into very thin crosswise slices, the leek a bit less thin, and the celery into quite large pieces. Drop into a large pan along with the quartered red onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring the covered pot to a boil. Add the sea salt and cook uncovered, just below a simmer, for 30 - 45 minutes, until the carrots are very soft.
Strain immediately, pressing the vegetables against the side of the strainer to recuperate all the liquid. Strain again through a fine-sieve strainer, if desired, to remove any floating particles.

Note : Cooking at a higher heat or for over 1 hour will give your broth a bitter taste.

On an un-wasteful note : You can pass the cooked stock vegetables through a foodmill, add a bit of water or leftover broth, unrefined sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and heat in a saucepan. Served with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and maybe a few shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano — it makes for a great quick soup.

"comment tailler les vignes" in Couffy

Down below is a recipe for a hearty, nourishing soup made with farro grains and winter squash I recently came across. But first a little tale of swaying vines...

I climbed into a rented car and tootled happily down the autoroute - direction la Touraine in the Loire Valley - to visit an artisan winemaker and get a lesson in "comment tailler les vignes."
I drove across the Cher River at Saint Aignan, followed la fleuve aways then turned up a hill toward Couffy and into the driveway of La Lunotte and the artisan world of Christophe Foucher, a most kindly, if not profoundly passionate, wizard of natural wine — only the bare essentials: the grapes, the organic soil they grow in, the sun they flourish in, the wind they dance in, the water they draw up, the micro organisms they absorb... basta!
He took me to his Rossignoux vineyard with its 80-year-old Sauvignon blanc vines: from afar their venerable forms seemed to gyrate to the swaying groove of some inaudible blues: Charlie Parker, Mingus... No wonder it's such an eloquent wine!

Handing me a pair of secateurs, Christophe patiently drew me into the ritual of pruning vines. Gazing at the geometric maze of sarments, rameaux et pousses (canes, branches and shoots) before me, I was at once mesmerized and daunted. So much robust life was going to be snipped off, and if so it had to be done with skill and "feeling."

As he explained, tending to grapevines is a bit like the practice of bonsai... with a very different end in mind. Curtailing the exuberant tendency of the vine, removing the previous year's wood - on which all its plump grapes bulged - allows it to produce new strong shoots in spring and healthy grapes for next year's vintage.
By the end of two rows of hesitating, interrupting Christophe for advice, clipping, I started to understand and "almost" feel... though the skill is some time off down the road.
Inspiring it is to watch someone who has mastered his craft! And to think that he prunes his vines single handed... That's close to 10 acres!