Lets get started with the basics " Veg Stock"

For some reason I really like to make sure everyone knows the importance of a correctly made vegetable stock. Another, "how you say" particularity of mine or rather pet peeve is that people are clear on the basics of cooking. Now before i get off on a tangent I will continue with the vegetable stock.

When making a veg stock it is extremely important that you use clean fresh vegetables, if you wouldn’t eat them why would you use them. What you use for your basic vegetable stock is just "mirepoix" (mihr-PWAH) this is a culinary term for the simplest of ingredients carrots, onions and celery. How you assemble the mirepoix is the most important. When  cutting the vegetables don’t cut them small, give them a medium chop. The reason for this is that vegetables when cut small and cooked for an extended period of time will turn mushy. When cutting the carrots it is very important to cut them thicker than the celery or the onions as these are your timer for stock. The next most important part of stock making in general is to make sure not to boil the water hard; a low simmer is the perfect temperature. If the water gets into a hard boil what happens is the vegetables begin to bump into each other causing small parts to flake off and the clarity of your stock is lost. Once a simmer is reached let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the carrots have turned soft. Once this is achieved then you strain the stock immediately reserving all the liquid and disposing of the vegetables. My ratio for vegetable stock is
3 large Carrots
1 large head of Celery
5 medium White or Spanish Onions
3 gallons of water.

If you are still unclear as to what I mean for a size cut you can find step by step instructions on Chef Jon Sargent at facebook.com.