Ultimate Food Frugality

[Jemima]

This article is fascinating for those of us who are really, really into food frugality: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dining/thats-not-trash-thats-dinner.html?_r=4&hp .

Any ideas to add?

[pinkytoe]

A fascinating article. I can't think of any others but I have always been teased for eating lemon peels. The one time I ate broccoli stalks, diced up and steamed, I got a horrible stomach ache - too much fiber? I will have to try the radish tops. For some reason, I just assumed we didn't eat a lot of these things because we weren't supposed to. More of our wasteful culture I guess.

[frugal-one]

couldn't access site... says need to log in

[redfox]

I always peel & dice broccoli stalks. And I save veggie peelings, onion skins, etc., in a container in the freezer, to use to render veggie stock.

[loosechickens]

really great article......if you're not already registered with the NYTimes, you have to register to see it.....but worthwhile. If you have privacy concerns you can use a throwaway email address, but I registered with the NYTimes years ago and have never detected any spam or anything coming from it.

this article was right after my own heart.......I was never one for much waste, but now that we buy much of our food rather than raising it ourselves, and buy expensive organic stuff, I want to make sure of making use of every part of what I've paid for. Plus, lots of what we throw away is the tastiest part.

I see people in Trader Joe's all the time buying those packages of "broccoli slaw", yet I'm sure that many of them, when they buy bunches of fresh broccoli, cut off the florets and throw away the stems.

Part of the problem, honestly, is that our food is too CHEAP, not too expensive, when you realize how much of it people waste.

Great article, thanks for posting it.

[puglogic]

Fantastic article. Not to brag, but I do a lot of that stuff already, but am thrilled to find some new things to try. As Jemima suggested, I'll bet collectively we could come up with a list of things you could add to their list, for example:

--I keep lemon peels and cure them with salt to make preserved lemons, a fantastic ingredient in many middle eastern dishes. Or I use them to scrub the cutting board, or deodorize the garbage disposal.

--All veggie scraps that I can't find a use for go into a tub in the freezer for making stock. When the tub is full, I make a potful of stock and freeze that, and start all over. My soups are killer for that reason alone, I think.

--The collard green and kale stems -- which I'll try cooking now, thanks to their suggestion -- usually go to the dogs as a treat :) That's right....they love the darned things. They sit outside and gnaw on them like rawhides, and even come begging when I'm harvesting them in the garden (my pug has been seen snatching a whole branch out of the harvesting basket and sneaking away with it)

Anything that's used up completely gets to go out into the compost pile to begin its next life as garden soil :)
What else do you guys do?

[Tiam]

Sad that I can't read the article.Is there another way to view it? I like to zest the peels of lemons, so I do that. I definitely use veggie and bones for soups. If I peel the broccoli stems, I'll include them.

[Rosemary]

re: broccoli stalks - I don't notice any difference in them compared to the florets - just chop off the dried end, peel if they're old and tough (I usually buy broccoli that has thinner stalks, and don't peel it).

[mm1970]

Good article. I LOVE broccoli stalks. More than the florets.

[Marianne]

I couldn't access the site either.
I am a hoarder of orange peels. I make candied orange peel dipped in dark chocolate, homemade orange oil cleaner (fill a jar with peels, add white vinegar, keep it away from light and wait a few weeks), dry them to add to potpourri or just in bowls with whole cloves. Once in a while I'll put them in a little bitty crockpot with spices for nice smells in the winter.

Nothing goes to waste around here. I have one rule - feed people first. Then it's down the food chain - dogs, cats, chickens or garden, depending on what it is.
Ditto, mm, I'd rather have the brocolli stems, too.

[domestic goddess]

Marianne, I make cleanser with orange peels, too. It is a good de-greaser. My family thinks I'm crazy, but there it goes.

[DocHolliday]

If you're not registered with them, go to http://www.bugmenot.com They have registrations you can use to get in. : )

[Marianne]

Ahh, thanks!

[loosechickens]

"Marianne, I make cleanser with orange peels, too. It is a good de-greaser. My family thinks I'm crazy, but there it goes." (domestic goddess)

---------------------------------

I'd be interested in how you make this cleanser, domestic goddess, and I'm sure others would be, as well........

[Zoebird]

this is pretty much how we eat. and i like candied orange/citrus peel A LOT. it's simple -- take the peels, trim off some of the pith, dip in sugar, and dehydrate. SO DELICIOUS. i make chocolate drops with coconut, citrus peel, and whatever else i want -- it's so nice.

broccoli stems -- old school. i love them raw. i cut off the outsides and eat the sweet part. outsides go into the stock! you know it! :D

i eat the radish tops -- it's a salad green. in fact, i eat all kinds of greens that most people don't -- i love all kinds of salad greens. it's quite nice. and those stems, i cut them like celery and sautee them until soft -- delicious!