With Helena working, I've been cooking a lot lately. I can follow a recipe no problem (thanks, Mom!) but I prefer to just show up at the grocery store and buy whatever looks good. I specialize in soups, stews and pasta sauces and I tend towards simple, organic ingredients since I vastly prefer to shop at the local Pacifica Farm's Market and they don't have a huge selection.

The secret to most of my food is that I make my own stock.

PEEWEE'S BASIC VEGGIE STOCK
2 lg. portobella mushrooms, chopped into 1" pieces
1 lg. yellow onion, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
1 lg. green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1" pieces
2 lg. carrots, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
2 med. jalapenos, seeded and rough chopped (optional)
1 bulb garlic, separated into cloves
whole black peppercorns
sea salt
bay leaf
fresh herbs (I use the ones I'm putting in my main dish so there are no leftovers...)

Put all the veggies and herbs into a dutch oven. Yes, put that entire bulb of garlic in! Trust me. You don't have to peel the individual cloves if you're lazy. Fill with cold water until the the water level is just slightly below covering the vegetables completely. Toss in a couple of bay leaves and generous amounts of black peppercorns and sea salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and brew, covered, for at least an hour. Remove from heat, let sit for about 30 minutes, strain and discard the solids. Betty Crocker would strain through cheesecloth, but I use a strainer.