For a vegetable stock, whenever you are preparing vegetables, pop the peelings and outer leaves in a saucepan, including lettuce leaves, bits of tomato, cucumber … whatever you have going!; cover with water, add a few herbs, bring to the boil and simmer for approx 20 mins. Cool and strain and you have a stock!
For a meat stock, use up whatever bones you have left from you meals, a good old carcass from the Sunday roast is the obvious but you can also get bones when you buy certain joints and cuts from the supermarket and, you can always ask your butcher! Cover with water, add a carrot, onion, garlic, herbs, celery … whatever you have, bring to the boil and simmer for as long as you can so you have a tasty, reduced stock
