What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

[kalynraye]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Jem with your satsumas make marmalade!!!!! Slice those bad boys up peel and all and in a pot add white wine and sugar (make a simple syrup) and through those bad boys in and cook till they are broken down. Cool and through in a jar.

With your runner beans why don't you add them to your stir fry? Or pickle them. KP loves picked beans and I've got a recipe if your interested.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

If carrots seem a bit dry, add a small spoonful of sugar to the water when you boil them, and serve with a knob of butter (again a small one) and some chopped basil. Magic!

To liven up boiled potatoes, add some mint to the water when you boil them.

[Jembru]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Wow, great ideas! And yes please Kalynraye, I love pickles so I'm very much interested in your recipe if it's not too much trouble.

[kalynraye]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Good lord I should proof read before I submit... well forgive my mind because it was wondering, and I've put the wrong word in. Oh well, Jem I will get that recipe for, I'll have to dig but I'll have it for you no later then tomorrow!!

[Rae'ya]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

I just thought I'd swing by with an update of how all this food waste avoidance is going (with some requests at the end).

I'm still sometimes leaving it too long to use up fresh produce, especially with salad, but I'm much more conscious of what I throw out, and it really encourages me to use everything up. I buy bags of mixed leaves now, rather than various whole lettuces. It costs a little more, but if half my lettuces would just end up in the bin, I'd just be throwing money away anyway. Yet these bags of leaves don't seem to last as long, so I'm still finding that they're going mushy before I've finished the bag. The guilt kills me each time too.

Today I had 2 near misses (and one ends in quite a gross story, yet illustrates how much this food waste issue has touched me). I eat kiwifruit before bed because it's apparently good for sleep (actually, as this guy explains, it most likely isn't anything specific to just kiwifruit, but as one of my favourite varieties of fruit, and the fact I need to eat them for the omega I figured why not), and the one I picked out this morning felt a bit squishy and looked past its best. I don't like dry kiwis, so it ended up staying on my bedside cabinet, uneaten. When I got up tonight, I went to throw it in the bin, but just as I was about to let go, my conscience told me to at least cut it open. I did so, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it! Tasted just fine too.

Then an hour later, I needed to make my evening meal. I had some ready mixed stir-fry vegetables that were about a week past their sell-by, so I thought I'd use that up. It was starting to go bad; you know, that smell of onion as its starting to turn to mush. Some of the carrots were a bit dry and pale, and the leaves of the bean spouts were definitely on the browner side of green. Still, I thought I'd get it cooked and see how it turns out. I threw the rest in the bin, figuring it won't last another night.

It turned out to be one of the tastiest stir fries I've made in a while! So, erm.. this is when it gets gross... I decided to take the bag out of the bin >.<" It was sealed though! I rinsed the bag under the hot tap and then carefully cut it open so the contents didn't touch the outside, then transferred the smelly, slightly gooey mixture to a fresh bag! Don't judge me!!

Anyway, does anyone know what I can do with satsumas that are dry inside? Sometimes the local shop sells pretty poor quality ones that are dry from the day you get them home. JP especially won't eat them like this, and I prefer not to. Is there anything they're good for at this point?

Also, is there anything fancy I can do with runner beans besides just chopping and boiling or roasting them? I got a huge bag out of my dad's garden and JP won't eat them in case he's allergic (garden peas make his tongue and lips swell so he's nervous of any green legume). I make roast veg maybe twice a week, but as I'm the only one who'll eat it, I've still got loads left and they'll go off soon. I'd especially like to try making them into something I can snack on if that's possible?

Transfer your mixed salad leaves into a vegetable container in the fridge... they last WAAAY longer than if left in the bag. In the bag I swear they go slimy in 3-4 days, but in a veg container they last like 2 weeks.

On that note, vegetable containers are AWESOME. I never leave veg in their bags, but have a number of Tupperware brand FridgeMates to put veg in. They easily last 2-3 times longer and it means I can use the whole fridge instead of just the crisper drawer (I actually keep condiments in the crisper drwaer lol). Just tip out the water that collects in the bottom of the container once a week.

Kiwis... DON'T throw the softies away! They are still good, just a bit mushy.

Beans... chop 'em up, blanch and freeze. I don't have any recipes but I know they keep well in the freezer for a little whilr. They are much nicer fresh but at least it'll save the extras being chucked in the bin.

[Azvanna]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

You guys are full of such great ideas.

I have the Tupperware fridgemates as well. They are expensive, but I think they're worth it.

Tonight I froze my blueberries instead of chucking them out. They'll be ready to make a compote or muffins with another day.

[Jembru]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Great idea Azvanna! I asked JP to pick up some blackberries yesterday and he brought home blueberries.. I'm not so keen on them. They have a weird grainy texture to me. So I think I'll freeze most of them too so I can make some kind of dessert with them over the winter! They'd have headed bin-wards for sure otherwise.

[kalynraye]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Make crisps with those beauties!!!! Or once again jam. Dump them in a pot with a heft scoop of sugar and port and cook until they have broken down. Make a slurry with water and cornstarch and add in thicken. We make tons of jams at work with our berries that are past their prime. Alright I had to do some digging cause KP likes to hide his prize recipes.

This recipe can be used for beans or okra

Ingredients

Beans 2 pounds
small dried chiles split in 1/2 4
mustard seed 2 teaspoons
fresh dill sprigs 12
whole garlic cloves 4
whole peppercorns 1 teaspoon
kosher salt 1/4 cup
rice wine vinegar 2 cups
bottled water 2 cups
sterilized pint-sized jars 4

Clean and trim beans to 1/2 pieces, Place 1 chile, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 3 sprigs of dill, 1 clove of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of peppercorns in the bottom of each of the jars. Then divided the beans evenly between the jars standing them up vertically.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat bring salt, vinegar and water to a boil. Once boiling pour the mixture over the beans leaving space between the the top of the liquid and the lid. Seal the lids and set in a cool place for 2 weeks

[thalassa]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

I freeze greens for smoothies before they go bad...say I've made my salad and have some leftovers, and know they will probably be funky the next day or so, pop 'em in the freezer.

[DanieMarie]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

I love this thread! I find that reducing food waste is a learning process. I'll share some of the things I've learned below, but I have to admit that I'm still learning myself. I still waste more than I'd like....

Anyway, stuff I've learned:

-I freeze things just when I think they might go off. These things include cheese, bread, and most fruits or veggies. Most of it isn't good fresh after being frozen, but they're good for cooked dishes.
-Food storage makes a big difference. I avoid storing anything with apples, because apples make things go off. Same with bananas. I try to keep foods relatively separate in the fridge as well and store them in cloths and paper bags over plastic.
-I shop seasonally. This week I'm also starting a food co-op, which is entirely seasonal (it's produce only and completely seasonal). I plan all of my meals around the produce I have or can get. Part of this is because I also do balcony gardening and foraging and usually have a lot of plums, tomatoes and peppers, so I have to plan my summer meals around those things. It's not the most glamorous way to eat (there's usually lots of the same things for several weeks), but I find that local, seasonal produce tastes so good I end up using it anyway.

If all else fails, it does go in the compost bin. I'm lucky enough to live in a city with a compost collection, and we can put anything biodegradable in it. The city uses it to make the biodiesel that runs the waste collection trucks and the byproducts go to farms for fertilizer. Still, I'd rather not waste. It still takes resources to come collect the organic waste from each house.

Anyway, I have some slightly wilting lettuce in the fridge left from the people who were housesitting for us while we were gone. It's decent lettuce, but there is a lot of it. Any tips?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm still sometimes leaving it too long to use up fresh produce, especially with salad, but I'm much more conscious of what I throw out, and it really encourages me to use everything up. I buy bags of mixed leaves now, rather than various whole lettuces. It costs a little more, but if half my lettuces would just end up in the bin, I'd just be throwing money away anyway. Yet these bags of leaves don't seem to last as long, so I'm still finding that they're going mushy before I've finished the bag. The guilt kills me each time too.

Don't buy mixed lettuce! It's usually fairly old and tearing it up like they do makes it go off faster.

My tip would be to just make salads with one or two different kinds of lettuce. If you want to make a mixed salad, use something like rocket, endives or radicchio. Those don't go off as fast as regular lettuce and they add a lot of flavour to salads. Make up for the extra flavour with veggies. Slicing up a few veggies doesn't take long, and they usually add more flavour anyway. I like cucumbers and tomatoes (and always have a lot I have to use), but radishes and carrots last longer in the fridge.

Also, do you have any farm markets that you can get to in your area? The fresher the lettuce, the better it tastes (it actually has a lot of flavour) and the longer it lasts.

Storage also matters. Do NOT store lettuce in plastic. Store it in paper bags or slightly damp dish cloths. Hope that helps!

[Jembru]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

I never thought to freeze salad, is it okay to do so? I mean, if you're going to be making it into smoothies like Thal suggests. Could I maybe add it to soups that I'll be blending too?

A few days ago, I came by an example sentence in my grammar textbook that translates to 'lettuce isn't just good for salads, but is actually great stir-fried.' Not sure if it's true or just for the sake of illustrating the grammar point, but I think I'll give it a try next time my lettuce is starting to get a bit too brown for salads.

That reminds me, how green is too green when it comes to potatoes? I always thought the green ones were poisonous, but I had a bag of them from my sister's allotment and while they were all from the same plants, one was significantly larger than the others. I started peeling it and it was quite green inside. The others had a feint tinge to them too, but this was much more noticeably green. I threw it away thinking it was bad, but it was a terrible waste and the guilt is still playing on my mind a little. Not sure of the variety, but the skin was reddish, and could be scrubbed off quite easily with a damp dishcloth.

- - - Updated - - -

Don't buy mixed lettuce! It's usually fairly old and tearing it up like they do makes it go off faster.

My tip would be to just make salads with one or two different kinds of lettuce. If you want to make a mixed salad, use something like rocket, endives or radicchio. Those don't go off as fast as regular lettuce and they add a lot of flavour to salads. Make up for the extra flavour with veggies. Slicing up a few veggies doesn't take long, and they usually add more flavour anyway. I like cucumbers and tomatoes (and always have a lot I have to use), but radishes and carrots last longer in the fridge.

Also, do you have any farm markets that you can get to in your area? The fresher the lettuce, the better it tastes (it actually has a lot of flavour) and the longer it lasts.

Storage also matters. Do NOT store lettuce in plastic. Store it in paper bags or slightly damp dish cloths. Hope that helps!

Okay, I'll give that a try. Actually, my mum has guinea pigs and they get fresh greens every day. Maybe I could start halving my lettuces and give half to my mum. I often do share my surplice with the pigs, but recently it's been turning too quickly to get it to her while it's still suitable for them. I place paper towels in the bottom of the salad drawer and keep them moist, but do you think I should be actually wrapping the whole thing?

I just got back form grocery shopping actually. Wish I'd seen this first!

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Actually lettuce isn't all that good for rabbits and guinea pigs. It gives them the runs.

As regards green potatoes, if the green is just under the skin you can peel it away, but I wouldn't advise feeding it to anyone who's pregnant just in case. Otherwise I've done it quite a few times and never had any problems. Store potatoes in the fridge. They keep a lot longer.

[DanieMarie]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

That reminds me, how green is too green when it comes to potatoes? I always thought the green ones were poisonous, but I had a bag of them from my sister's allotment and while they were all from the same plants, one was significantly larger than the others. I started peeling it and it was quite green inside. The others had a feint tinge to them too, but this was much more noticeably green. I threw it away thinking it was bad, but it was a terrible waste and the guilt is still playing on my mind a little. Not sure of the variety, but the skin was reddish, and could be scrubbed off quite easily with a damp dishcloth.

Don't eat it if it's that green. A bit of green can be peeled off, but lots of green under the skin is too green.

I store potatoes in my storage cupboard out of the light.

[Jembru]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Actually lettuce isn't all that good for rabbits and guinea pigs. It gives them the runs.

According to the 'guinea-piglopedia' (the manual we got when we first got guinea pigs), iceberg lettuce isn't good for them. I never eat that horrible, tasteless stuff though (I feel like I've ranted about my hate for iceberg lettuce on PF before. I call it 'Satan's cabbage', if that rings a bell with anyone?). I mainly buy curly lettuce (especially the red one, but green will do), chard, rocket if it's not too strong, and spinach. That's what I mean when I talk about my 'salad', and they're all, according to our book, not only okay for pigs, but advisable at least a few days a week.

Sorry, I spun off topic there. I just didn't want anyone to misunderstand and think we weren't taking proper care of our lil' piggies. We're doing our best, promise! My mum in particular is very good on which things can be a sometimes treat and what can be safely fed daily.

Back on topic now. So I was probably right to throw that spud out? It's still a crying shame. Maybe I should have kept it and replanted it? That would work, right?

I've heard that both keeping potatoes in the fridge is better, and also that you shouldn't keep them in there at all. I currently keep ours at the back of a cupboard next to the freezer, although to be honest, this is not so much a preference as it is convenient, because we have a very small fridge and buy a lot of fresh stuff so it's always packed.. because our freezer is also very small... there's a bit of a vicious cycle thing going on here, can you tell? ^^

[DanieMarie]

Re: What can I do with....? The food waste reduction thread.

Back on topic now. So I was probably right to throw that spud out? It's still a crying shame. Maybe I should have kept it and replanted it? That would work, right?

Yeah, that works. I do it all the time. You can even grow them in containers using this technique: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...s-in-pots.html

But I wouldn't beat myself up about it. As much as we try to avoid waste, it's pretty much impossible to never throw anything out.