There is little in life I find more satisfying that making a meal that uses up things that might otherwise get thrown away. Leek tops? A batch of veggie stock, which then becomes risotto, soup, or a cooking medium for whole grains. Random, limp vegetables? Soup, fried rice, or egg scramble. Stale bread? Bread pudding, savory panade, meatball or meatloaf binder, panzanella, or toasted bread crumbs.
However, having spent some time with Sherri Brooks Vinton‘s relatively new book (it came out last June), Eat It Up!, I’ve come to realize that there’s even more I could be doing to use things up and prevent waste in my kitchen.
Sherri begins the book with an introduction that defines the problem of food waste and identifies reasons why so many are striving to reduce it. From there, she heads off into techniques and recipes for using up unloved bits and transforming scraps into delicious dishes.
In the produce section, Sherri focuses primarily on the parts that we most often toss into the trash or compost. She’s included recipes that make good use of apple peels, celery leaves, the stems from various greens, fennel fronds, and the tops of radishes, turnips and beets.
In the meat section, she shows you how to make stock, prepare bone marrow, render fat, and transform those things into tasty dishes. Hit the dairy section of the book to use up scraps of cheese, the end of a tub of yogurt, and make queso fresco. There are suggestions for the ends of condiments, leftover baguettes, and the olives that invariably remain after you’ve thrown a party.
If one of your resolutions for 2017 was to do better with food waste, I highly encourage you get yourself a copy of this book. It’s bursting with useful tips (potato peel croutons!) and is friendly, approachable, and fun.
Looks like the ideal book for one to have on their shelf / collection. Another to go on my ‘wish list’.
You convinced me. I ordered a used copy.