Author Topic: Food Waste Throw Down!  (Read 22246 times)

swick

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Food Waste Throw Down!
« on: March 25, 2015, 03:12:33 PM »
Hi All,

I came across this article about chefs using food waste. The author comes across as a bit of a pompous elitist, but it got me thinking.

We have lots of gauntlets for stretching our grocery shopping and using up food in our houses, but we haven't done on on "food waste" yet. Pondering this as I have some Pappa al pomodoro, the Tuscan tomato bread soup simmering on the stove and some braised oxtail in the oven.

There are lots of basic recipes - bone broth, bread crumbs, veggie stock just to name a few that I make all the time without even thinking about it. I'm sure there are lots more ways to use up what we usually consider " food waste"

The challenge, should you care to join me:

Take a look at your food waste and see if you can come up with traditional or new and inventive ways of using them. Experiment, and come back here to share your results - successes and failures and resources you discover along the way


A great place to start for a bit of inspiration is the "Save with Jamie" tv series which can be watched online, or his cookbook under the same name.



kathrynd

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2015, 10:20:20 AM »
We try not to waste anything in our house.
Anything not eaten is tossed to the chickens.
For weird things like pickle juice, I will do a google for recipe ideas

Most of food waste happens in the farmers fields.
Produce that is too large, too small, irregular shapes, not 'pretty'.
Surely there is someone who can make a food with it..instead of it rotting in the field.

I'd buy them if they were cheaper.
In Australia, they are starting to sell irregulars in major grocery stores.

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2015, 04:14:33 PM »
We try not to waste anything in our house.

Anything not eaten is tossed to the chickens...

Same here.  We toss the waste food (veggie cuttings, etc) to the chickens and the geese.  The tropical birds eat the apple cores and similar things.   The dogs eat the gristle and fat, and lick the plates, pots and pans. (And it's easier to wash them that way.)

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2015, 04:38:55 PM »
As we are not FIRE yet we took the trade off of living downtown so we could be a one car family and I walk everywhere. The tradeoff was living rural and having chickens, I am jealous of everyone who can do it:) But since we can't at the moment, I am looking for alternatives!

One of the neat things I learned along the way is you can vacuum seal fresh herbs in mason jars and in the fridge they can last for weeks. Of course the ideal would be to grow your own, but when we lived far north and didn't have that option, it was a real life and money saver.

I have made friends with most of the farmers in our area and mentioned I will always take any seconds or thirds from their veggie patches.

Anyone have any ideas for what to do with egg shells? We get a fair amount of chicken and duck shells.


kathrynd

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2015, 07:17:42 PM »
As we are not FIRE yet we took the trade off of living downtown so we could be a one car family and I walk everywhere. The tradeoff was living rural and having chickens, I am jealous of everyone who can do it:) But since we can't at the moment, I am looking for alternatives!

One of the neat things I learned along the way is you can vacuum seal fresh herbs in mason jars and in the fridge they can last for weeks. Of course the ideal would be to grow your own, but when we lived far north and didn't have that option, it was a real life and money saver.

I have made friends with most of the farmers in our area and mentioned I will always take any seconds or thirds from their veggie patches.

Anyone have any ideas for what to do with egg shells? We get a fair amount of chicken and duck shells.

We crush up the egg shells and the chickens eat them.
I'm pretty sure they can be composted.

Also, I  remember seeing egg shells used chalk (side walk chalk for kids)
I did a google....here are some more ideas

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/06/15-surprising-uses-for-eggshells.html

forummm

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2015, 10:38:44 AM »
We generally don't waste any food. I had some milk go bad awhile back that I through out. Other than that, it pretty much all gets eaten.

NotJen

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2015, 10:54:20 AM »
I collect veggie ends and unused herbs in the freezer and use to make chicken stock. I could also make veggie stock, but haven't so far.

I have a 1/2 gallon of whey in the freezer - I'm going to try to make ricotta with it this weekend, but not sure if freezing it first will affect the results.

I have lots of almond pulp left over from making almond milk. I make a REALLY good granola with it, but it is tempting to overeat, so I need some new ideas. I'm hoping to find a good muffin or cookie recipe that I can make to take to potlucks to get rid of it!

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2015, 10:58:55 AM »
We generally don't waste any food. I had some milk go bad awhile back that I through out. Other than that, it pretty much all gets eaten.

"waste" might not be the right term....but how about using up those bits you normally wouldn't? As an example, I got a bunch of Rosemary on really long stems. Most people just throw out the stems they are seen as the "unusable" part. I save them in the freezer and use them for skewers when I am grilling. I save my citrus peels (if they are organic) and dry them and powder them and use them as flavoring. Kiwi skins are edible...but I can't bring myself to get over the fuzzy texture....It's ideas like that that I am curious about.

Those are some really neat ideas, kathrynd! I'm definitely going to start saving my shells and trying some of them out! I think the chalk would make some very neat homemade Christmas gifts!

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2015, 11:06:09 AM »
I have lots of almond pulp left over from making almond milk. I make a REALLY good granola with it, but it is tempting to overeat, so I need some new ideas. I'm hoping to find a good muffin or cookie recipe that I can make to take to potlucks to get rid of it!

If you dry the pulp and blend it up to make it into a flour you can use it anywhere that almond flour is called for. One of our family recipes is Danish Almond Cookies. You can make them with almond pulp, they just look a little more rustic then the ones made with bleached almond flour. They are dead simple and everyone loves them. Weighing the ingredients is important though.

200 grams almond flour
170 grams sugar
1 large egg
Splash of almond extract

In a bowl mix in the almond flour and sugar. Beat the egg, add the almond extract. Mix into the dry ingredients. Shape into small rounds with your hands. You sort of have to squeeze the dough together. They will not spread when you bake them so make them the size you would like the finished cookies to be.  Place on a parchment lined baking try. Bake at 290F for 12-15 min. until very pale, light golden. Cool completely before eating.


NotJen

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2015, 03:03:58 PM »
Thanks swick - that sounds perfect!  I'll try those this weekend, too.

wintersun

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2015, 11:43:19 AM »
i just squeezed several lemons to save the juice.  What can I do with the rinds?

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2015, 11:56:05 AM »
i just squeezed several lemons to save the juice.  What can I do with the rinds?

Zest them? Although that might be hard to do if they are already juiced.

This is a neat idea:
 Lemon AP Cleaner
Also known as lemon vinegar, this stuff is awesome at cutting grease and disinfecting. To make, simply place a bunch of lemon peels in any sized glass jar (mason jars would work great). Pour white vinegar over. Put the lid on and let it sit for 2 weeks (I promise, it’s worth the wait). Then strain the liquid. Combine this with water (using a 50/50 ratio) and then use as you would your normal all purpose cleaner.

from this list :) http://www.thankyourbody.com/31-ways-to-use-lemon-peel/?PageSpeed=noscript

wintersun

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #12 on: April 08, 2015, 04:58:39 PM »
Thanks Swick!  I already do that with orange peel and was not sure it would be good with lemon, now I know.

handsnhearts

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2015, 05:02:28 PM »
I have too much spring mix going bad.  Any thoughts about what to do with it?  No poultry here...

southern granny

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2015, 06:01:58 PM »
I have too much spring mix going bad.  Any thoughts about what to do with it?  No poultry here...
This is also where I have waste.  Lettuce or spring mix that I buy for salads goes bad before we eat it all.  I always feel bad about throwing it out, but no chickens or pigs to feed it to.  We have a worm bed that I can put some of it on, but most of the time, I just have to throw it out.

kathrynd

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2015, 06:02:33 PM »
I have too much spring mix going bad.  Any thoughts about what to do with it?  No poultry here...

compost?

handsnhearts

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2015, 06:06:43 PM »
I just googled and the ideas are as follows,

1. make wilted greens (saute onion, garlic, bacon pancetta etc) and then throw the greens in too.
2.  throw them in a soup, either brothy, or pureed greens
3.  make a 'pesto'
4.  toss them with hot pasta or hot grains
5.  make a dip with yogurt
6.  use on top of pizza

Hmm, I think I'll just wilt them.  Maybe an excuse to buy bacon?

sunnyca

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2015, 06:45:07 PM »
I just googled and the ideas are as follows,

1. make wilted greens (saute onion, garlic, bacon pancetta etc) and then throw the greens in too.
2.  throw them in a soup, either brothy, or pureed greens
3.  make a 'pesto'
4.  toss them with hot pasta or hot grains
5.  make a dip with yogurt
6.  use on top of pizza

Hmm, I think I'll just wilt them.  Maybe an excuse to buy bacon?

Throw them into a smoothie?  I do that all the time.

Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2015, 08:22:10 PM »
I have lots of almond pulp left over from making almond milk. I make a REALLY good granola with it, but it is tempting to overeat, so I need some new ideas. I'm hoping to find a good muffin or cookie recipe that I can make to take to potlucks to get rid of it!

If you dry the pulp and blend it up to make it into a flour you can use it anywhere that almond flour is called for. One of our family recipes is Danish Almond Cookies. You can make them with almond pulp, they just look a little more rustic then the ones made with bleached almond flour. They are dead simple and everyone loves them. Weighing the ingredients is important though.

200 grams almond flour
170 grams sugar
1 large egg
Splash of almond extract

In a bowl mix in the almond flour and sugar. Beat the egg, add the almond extract. Mix into the dry ingredients. Shape into small rounds with your hands. You sort of have to squeeze the dough together. They will not spread when you bake them so make them the size you would like the finished cookies to be.  Place on a parchment lined baking try. Bake at 290F for 12-15 min. until very pale, light golden. Cool completely before eating.

Stealing this recipe!

Well, that is if I ever make my own almond milk from which to get pulp and make my own almond flour, which I don't. I figured making almond milk, or for that matter my own yogurt, are things I would like to try but am too lazy to do before FIRE. FIRE is just around the corner so I put off projects like that until then.

Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #19 on: April 08, 2015, 08:28:10 PM »
A few things that came out of my kitchen recently:

- I usually cook butternut squash with the peels on to get that extra nutrition found in peels. But I was making a squash curry which would have been awkward with the peels still on. So I cut the peels off before dicing up the squash and then froze it because I couldn't use it at the time. Then this week, I pulled it out of the freezer and made baked squash peels. (don't get all grossed out...you eat potato skins all of the time and love it, don't you?)

- I had some leftover rice from Thai takeout. I froze the part I didn't use. Then I pulled it out of the freezer along with some parsley-cilantro-chive-almond pesto I also had in the freezer (also wilting greens that I saved before rotting to make the pesto), combined with an egg, and made rice fritters. A whole meal made with salvaged goods that were going to be thrown out otherwise. They were delicious!

- I make a smoothie with the seeds of a canteloupe. Look it up, it's good for you.

Nothing gets thrown away around here, I tell you...

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #20 on: April 08, 2015, 08:46:40 PM »
A few things that came out of my kitchen recently:

- I usually cook butternut squash with the peels on to get that extra nutrition found in peels. But I was making a squash curry which would have been awkward with the peels still on. So I cut the peels off before dicing up the squash and then froze it because I couldn't use it at the time. Then this week, I pulled it out of the freezer and made baked squash peels. (don't get all grossed out...you eat potato skins all of the time and love it, don't you?)

- I had some leftover rice from Thai takeout. I froze the part I didn't use. Then I pulled it out of the freezer along with some parsley-cilantro-chive-almond pesto I also had in the freezer (also wilting greens that I saved before rotting to make the pesto), combined with an egg, and made rice fritters. A whole meal made with salvaged goods that were going to be thrown out otherwise. They were delicious!

- I make a smoothie with the seeds of a canteloupe. Look it up, it's good for you.

Nothing gets thrown away around here, I tell you...

Awesome, Daisy! This is exactly the kind of stuff I was thinking about when i started the thread :) I'm totally intrigued by the idea of butternut squash "potato" skins.

Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #21 on: April 08, 2015, 08:54:06 PM »
A few things that came out of my kitchen recently:

- I usually cook butternut squash with the peels on to get that extra nutrition found in peels. But I was making a squash curry which would have been awkward with the peels still on. So I cut the peels off before dicing up the squash and then froze it because I couldn't use it at the time. Then this week, I pulled it out of the freezer and made baked squash peels. (don't get all grossed out...you eat potato skins all of the time and love it, don't you?)

- I had some leftover rice from Thai takeout. I froze the part I didn't use. Then I pulled it out of the freezer along with some parsley-cilantro-chive-almond pesto I also had in the freezer (also wilting greens that I saved before rotting to make the pesto), combined with an egg, and made rice fritters. A whole meal made with salvaged goods that were going to be thrown out otherwise. They were delicious!

- I make a smoothie with the seeds of a canteloupe. Look it up, it's good for you.

Nothing gets thrown away around here, I tell you...

Awesome, Daisy! This is exactly the kind of stuff I was thinking about when i started the thread :) I'm totally intrigued by the idea of butternut squash "potato" skins.

Just bake the skins with some olive oil and salt on top. It gets crunchy and delicious.

Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #22 on: April 08, 2015, 08:58:53 PM »
I recently made a rice pudding. My grandmother's recipe calls for lime rind, so I grated the rind of a whole lime.

Then I thought of all of the times I've thrown away lemon and orange peels. I think I'm going to start grating the rinds and freezing them and adding them to teas, waters, sauces.

I did make grapefruit candied peels once. They turned out nice, but I haven't done it since then. Sometimes it's just easier to throw them away. I started freezing some peels of oranges and lemons and then never did anything with them. All organic fruits BTW if you are using the peels.

I saw a Sanjay Gupta show once where he invited a nutritionist that said there is a lot of nutrition in peels. Peels contain a lot of protective enzymes or whatever that help keep the fruit or veggie "fresh". Think about how much life-enhancing stuff is in those peels! Ever since then, I google different uses for certain peels. I still haven't tried to find anything to do with pineapple or canteloupe peels or stuff like that. Maybe not edible but usable for teas or something?!?!? Some day I will find out...

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #23 on: April 08, 2015, 09:04:33 PM »
I have made pineapple vinegar out of the peels! A friend of mine makes what she called "Mexican Beer" out of the peels. I'm waiting on the recipe :)

You reminded me of "Cheaters" rice pudding. If I have left over rice, I mix in some vanilla and coconut sugar (you could use any sweetener you like) spread it out to cool it down and then fold it into some whipped cream. Can add whatever leftover fruit or other mix-ins you may have. It isn't traditional by any means, but it is a super quick dessert if you do have left over rice - best part is you can make just a little bit and not have a whole pot of rice pudding in the fridge.

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #24 on: April 08, 2015, 10:25:55 PM »
Love the ideas you have come up with!

However please make sure that if you use the skins or peels of anything that it is organic produce and fruit. Otherwise you will consume so many pesticides that the few vitamins and nutrients that survived are outweighed.

Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #25 on: April 08, 2015, 10:34:57 PM »
I have made pineapple vinegar out of the peels! A friend of mine makes what she called "Mexican Beer" out of the peels. I'm waiting on the recipe :)

You reminded me of "Cheaters" rice pudding. If I have left over rice, I mix in some vanilla and coconut sugar (you could use any sweetener you like) spread it out to cool it down and then fold it into some whipped cream. Can add whatever leftover fruit or other mix-ins you may have. It isn't traditional by any means, but it is a super quick dessert if you do have left over rice - best part is you can make just a little bit and not have a whole pot of rice pudding in the fridge.

O - M - G...you have me on an endless google search adventure now.

Pineapple vinegar is used in Mexican cooking...as if Mexican food wasn't awesome enough before I knew that. And one of the comments I read was using vinaigrettes as a marinade for some grilled meat. Pineapple vinaigrette on some shrimp skewers, ham, maybe pork (pork is good with fruity stuff). Oh man I can't wait for the next CSA pineapple.

What about those canteloupe peels though? The challenge is out there...
« Last Edit: April 08, 2015, 10:37:53 PM by Daisy »

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #26 on: April 08, 2015, 10:58:45 PM »
hmmm google tell me that "Cantaloupe skin is not edible since it is extremely porous and retains mold so you may want to avoid them."

1967mama

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #27 on: April 09, 2015, 12:18:33 AM »
I would like to join your challenge! Some great ideas here already ...  I have some rice and mixed veggies and when I read about the fritters, I knew they'd be perfect!

wintersun

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #28 on: April 10, 2015, 10:41:38 AM »
CITRUS PEEL- apparently you can freeze the peels and then use as ice cubes in drinks (no dilution!) and also to add to recipes near the end and then remove.

I love orange and grapefruit peel candy.  Yum!!!! I guess lemon would be good too?

Do you freeze guacamole?  Does it survive?

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #29 on: April 10, 2015, 11:02:22 AM »
Do you freeze guacamole?  Does it survive?

Yup, Erica has a whole post on it http://www.nwedible.com/make-freeze-guacamole/

1967mama

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #30 on: April 10, 2015, 11:53:57 AM »
Neighbour gave me a huge clump of green onions (with roots) so I snipped
Off
The green edible parts to eat and planted the root balls. We shall see what happens! Yesterday I gave 1/2 of
The snipped greens to a friend since
I'm not sure
I will get them used up before they go bad. (Sorry for the poor formatting and caps - on a dreaded iphone!)

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #31 on: April 19, 2015, 09:07:44 PM »
This NYT post had some good ideas on how to use extra bits of food wisely:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/dining/tips-to-reduce-food-waste.html?_r=0

MMMaybe

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #32 on: April 19, 2015, 09:10:43 PM »
i just squeezed several lemons to save the juice.  What can I do with the rinds?

If they are not being used for homemade cleaner, I would put them in the dishwasher. Really leaves it lovely and clean.

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #33 on: April 23, 2015, 04:08:58 PM »
I'm also working really had to reduce my food waste. Things are going well so far!

somecobwebs

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #34 on: May 11, 2015, 12:00:40 AM »
What a fantastic thread!

When I get citrus, I always zest it and freeze the zest :) Break off a few pieces for flavoring in dessert or cooking... yum! I also frequently juice them and save it in ice cube trays.

All wilting veggies and veggie scraps get frozen to make stock. All mushing fruits get frozen to make smoothies!

I am super intrigued by a few of these ideas - pineapple vinegar? Freezing guacamole? YUM!!

This is my absolute favorite post about freezing things: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/31-things-you-can-freeze-to-save-time-and-money.html

One new thing I have been bad about that I want to start doing: bread crumbs! There are always some left in the bottom of the bag. I should save and freeze them for breaded chicken and veggies :)

Does anyone make teas of any kind?

Anje

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #35 on: May 11, 2015, 02:38:29 AM »
I peel the lemon (only citrus I find organic) and freeze the rind. Put a peel in a glass of water = instant fancy lemonwater.

I make my own chai tea sirup (it's not quite the high quality of newly breewed, of course, but it provides access to instant chai at home). I also make mint tea from dried mint from the garden. Also, on food waste: all used teabags gets tossed in a cup of water. I use it to water my plants (it contains nutrients).

Another thing I've started doing recently is reusing my vanilla pods. I make my own vanila extract (it's hard to get and super expencive where I live). After I've infused my vodka with vanilla the pods then gets dried and ground into vanilla-powder. Not the most potent taste, but it's still vanilla-y.

handsnhearts

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #36 on: May 11, 2015, 10:27:18 AM »
How do you make chai syrup? Sounds yummy!


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swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #37 on: May 11, 2015, 10:42:49 AM »
Does anyone make teas of any kind?
Great tips, I am loving all the contributions! I  frequently throw fresh herbs into a cup of boiling water for tea fresh sage with lemon and honey is delish!

 I make a crock-pot chai concentrate http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/fire-drill!-skip-this-week%27s-grocery-shop/msg47338/#msg47338 I make  LOT of chai due to buying in bulk  - see next paragraph :)

I usually make my own dried concoction out of whatever inspires me. I got several types of green and black teas from Mountain Rose Herbs (buying in 25 lbs or more gets you 25% off your herbs, spices and teas, so I organize a bulk order with friends and family) cheaper then anything else I have found. My latest favorite is a bit of gunpowder green tea with some Kuki-cha, also known as Twig Tea and some crushed freeze dried raspberries.

I have added some dried organic rose petals and chopped vanilla beans to an earl grey tea. I got some cheap heat and seal tea bags and made a bunch up and gave this blend for Christmas one year. Went over really well! (hmm...I might do some tea blends for Christmas this year, it has been a few years since I did it last, awesome!)

My sister makes an awesome coconut buttered chai hot buttered rum mix.  Basically her version of "bullet-proof" tea. She mixes spices, (cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, all-spice, pepper)  coconut oil, grassfed butter and honey all together and adds it to her brewed tea. I think it is awesome as a hot beverage all on it's own.



Daisy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #38 on: May 11, 2015, 06:34:10 PM »
I peel the lemon (only citrus I find organic) and freeze the rind. Put a peel in a glass of water = instant fancy lemonwater.

I just did this with some extra citrus rind I made for a rice pudding. There was too much rind to put in the pudding, so I froze the extra in a cube tray with a little bit of water. I can add it to smoothies, curries, rice, in the future.

Anje

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #39 on: May 12, 2015, 06:30:40 AM »
How do you make chai syrup? Sounds yummy!

My recipe includes half a cinamon stick, 10 whole cloves, 10-15 cardamon pods, 5-10 whole grains of black pepper, 5-10 fennel seeds and a whole star anise. But just put in your favorite chai spices, basically.

Then I let these come to the boil in 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar (adjust sweetnes to taste) and then let simmer on very low heat for 1-2 hours. After this I add black tea to taste and re-heat. Let this steep until dark but not bitter and then I drain. The sirup have been kept for a month in the fridge to no bad effect, but I usualy drink it faster than that.

Making your own herbal tea-blends is a field I've never ventured into. I might try. I grow a lot of herbs and every year end up drying enough for a small village. The season is starting and last years supply would last me until next year. Or the year after that...

handsnhearts

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #40 on: May 12, 2015, 11:54:25 AM »
Thanks!

I have made some tea blends in the past.  What herbs do you have?  I miss herb gardening!!!! 

handsnhearts

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #41 on: May 13, 2015, 12:48:35 PM »
I am clearing the fridge for my move on friday and made chilequiles for breakfast with vegan cheese.  So yummy and used up old salsa and chips:)  and a cut onion and grilled zucchini from sunday.  Now I just need to bake with the pumpkin and lemons... any ideas?

swick

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #42 on: May 13, 2015, 01:05:46 PM »
I am clearing the fridge for my move on friday and made chilequiles for breakfast with vegan cheese.  So yummy and used up old salsa and chips:)  and a cut onion and grilled zucchini from sunday.  Now I just need to bake with the pumpkin and lemons... any ideas?

Sounds tasty! I'm not sure about baking with pumpkin and lemon (they seem like contrasting flavours to me) But what about a Mediterranean Pumpkin Soup? My favorite soup is red lentil with lemon squeezed in and zest on top, you could replace some/all the lentils with Pumpkin?

Or...Pumpkin muffins with a lemon cream cheese frosting?

Anje

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #43 on: May 14, 2015, 04:40:39 AM »
Thanks!

I have made some tea blends in the past.  What herbs do you have?  I miss herb gardening!!!!
You're very welcome.

I have lavender (lavender and lemon bisquits or scones are highly recomended) and two types of mint. Then I have rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, estragon and parsley. It's wonderful to hardly ever have to buy herbs, I must say.

Nancy

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #44 on: May 23, 2015, 09:47:20 PM »
I'm joining. I compost a lot of food that could be used.

PJ

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #45 on: May 23, 2015, 09:53:10 PM »
Some of the plant starts I planted recently bolted sooner than I'd expected.  So for dinner tonight I prioritized picking and using one of them up entirely.  Also took the time to move some stuff into the freezer that will end up going bad because I'm not eating it fast enough.  So that was good. 

1967mama

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #46 on: May 24, 2015, 01:27:34 AM »
I had made some brownies the other day and noticed four still left today, so I wrapped them individually and froze them for my son to pop in his lunch for work.

wintersun

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #47 on: May 24, 2015, 02:29:27 PM »
I don't feel I can commit to this yet.  Another zucchini in the rubbish today plus some left over veggies.  What system do you all use to make sure you use up food before it goes off?

1967mama

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #48 on: May 24, 2015, 04:08:58 PM »
@wintersun, I try to freeze leftovers earlier than I used to. You can always thaw it quickly. I HATE growing science experiments in glad ware in the back of my fridge :-(

PJ

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Re: Food Waste Throw Down!
« Reply #49 on: May 24, 2015, 04:17:54 PM »
I had made some brownies the other day and noticed four still left today, so I wrapped them individually and froze them for my son to pop in his lunch for work.

I'm sorry ... I'm not sure I understand.  Are you saying you had leftover brownies???



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