I use stock cubes. They take no space to store and no time to make and they're dirt cheap if you count the power you don't need to boil vegetables to a stock yo

I use stock cubes. They take no space to store and no time to make and they're dirt cheap if you count the power you don't need to boil vegetables to a stock yourself. I love cooking and make all sorts of things myself from scratch, mind. So when I want to make a soup, I start with a light roux (extra virgin olive oil and strong wholemeal flour, equal measures), then boil some water, melt in a couple of stock cubes and add to the roux. Also makes a great base for sauces. For extra flavour I sautée some onions in the olive oil before adding the flour. The truth is that most commercial stock cubes are basically salt, with a bit of flavouring, which is a total rip-off and pointless. My local supermarket sells a couple brands that have 0-salt stock cubes and one of them even has no "flavour enhancers" so I go for those. The only downside is that the stock always tastes the same. In the last couple of years I've relaxed a lot about making it all myself from scratch and I'll happily use tinned mushroom, beans or chickpeas (for houmous). Considering the amount of time you have to boil pulses before they're the right consistency that probably saves me a buttload of money, on top of the time. I draw the line at carrots. Carrots are best, fresh.