From neglected (but delicious) greens to scraps that can be used to make fragrant herbal vinegars and soup stocks, there may be some food freebies in your kitchen that you haven’t yet taken full advantage of.

Many root vegetables have tasty, edible greens. Instead of tossing them into the compost or trash, consider them a bonus to the roots and cook them up.

Edible greens you may have not known about include turnip, radish, and beet leaves. Beets are actually the same species as chard, just a different variety. The greens taste almost identical. Kohlrabi and broccoli leaves are also good as cooked greens.

Carrot leaves are also edible, though they are so strongly flavored that you should think of them as a seasoning rather than a vegetable. Use them as you would dill or fennel leaves. A great simple recipe is carrots with carrot tops: slice carrots into rounds, steam until tender, toss with minced carrot leaves, butter or olive oil, and salt to taste.

The scrap ends of many vegetables and herbs make great additions to homemade vegetable, poultry, fish, and meat soup stocks. Get a bag or container going in the freezer and add to it until it is full. If going for the poultry, fish, or meat stock, add bones to the veggies. (By the way, sometimes the fishmongers at the farmers’ markets will give you a bag of stock bones and fish heads for free if you ask).

Your stock bag or container can include any unused green parts of leeks and scallions. Celery leaves are another great addition. The heel ends of carrots and onions, after you’ve chopped up the parts you’re using in a recipe, are also great in stock. Cut any fibrous roots off the onions (onion skins are fine and add good color to stock). Make sure there is no dirt clinging to the carrot ends. The stem ends of tomatoes, with a bit of tomato pulp and skin attached, are also good for the stock pot.

When your freezer container is full, place the contents in a pot, add water to cover and simmer very slowly for 1-8 hours (a slow cooker is handy for this). Use the shorter time if making a vegetable or fish stock (1-2 hours), and 4-8 hours for meat and poultry stocks. Strain, and use for soups and sauces. Freeze some for future use, or process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes (note: a pressure canner is essential for this. You cannot safely process bone or veggie stocks in a boiling water bath).

You can make wonderful corn stock from the cobs left over after the kernels have been sliced off or eaten. Simmer the cobs in just enough water to cover for 1 hour. Remove the cobs. Freeze the stock, or process as for other stocks, above. Use the sweet, flavorful stock to make  corn chowder.

The stems of aromatic herbs including basil, tarragon, sage, thyme, and oregano make wonderful herbal vinegars. Once you’ve stripped off most of the leaves for another use, loosely pack the stems and any remaining leaves into glass jars. Cover with vinegar, put lids on the jars, and let steep for 2 weeks. Strain out the stems and leaves and enjoy your herbal vinegar in salad dressings and marinades.