Vegetable stock (cubes)

Tie the pepper grains in a cheesecloth.

Cut all the vegetables into large pieces and pour water over them to cover.

Boil for 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are mellow and tender. Remove them with a sifter ladle and discard the bay leaves, the cheesecloth with the pepper and the sprig of thyme. Keep the stock.

Pass the rest of the vegetables through a vegetable grinder using the larger holes and add them back to the stock. Boil for an additional 30-40 minutes, until you are left with about half the stock. If you want your stock to be transparent, pass it through a sifter lined with a wet cheesecloth and freeze.

For a thick stock, use a food processor to blend the vegetables and pour into small cups or ice cube trays.

Allow the stock to cool and then put it in the freezer. When it freezes, remove from the molds and store it in freezer bags.