Vegetable Stock

Vegetable Stock
This recipe is originally from The Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Cooking by Rombauer, Becker and Becker. The original recipe calls for a bay leaf in the bouquet garni, but I substitued this for the celery leaves for a milder flavor.
1 Medium onion, sliced
1 leek, white part only, cleaned thoroughly and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small turnip, peeled and sliced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
6 cups cold water
1 bouquet garni containing:
small bunch of parsley
8 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 or 3 celery leaves

1. Create your bouquet garni: bundle together the above herbs/leaves and wrap in a 4x4 square of cheesecloth. Tie the cheesecloth secruly with a piece of kitchen string. Refrigerate in a tighly converd container until ready to use.
2. Combine the above ingredients in a large stockpot
3. Simmer gently, partially covered, until the vegetables are completely softened about 45 to 60 minutes
4. Strain into a clean pot or heatproof plastic containter, pressing down on the vegetables to extract the juices.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Let cool uncovered, then refrigerate until ready to use.