Giveaway – Cooking With Scraps
When author Lindsay-Jean Hard was working on her master’s degree, the city she was living in only accepted #1 and #2 plastics for recycling. All other recyclables were simply thrown away. Frustrated by this, Lindsay set up recycling bins throughout her building with signs showing which items could be thrown away in each bin. When she went back to her hometown to visit her parents, she lugged the trash bags across the state with her so they could be recycled properly in a city that accepted all of the items. Needless to say, Lindsay did not appreciate waste. Although extreme at times, she went out of her way to do what she felt was best for the earth.
It wasn’t until a few years later when she was living in Japan that she really started to think about food waste. Two Japanese concepts in particular stuck out to her. The first is mottainai, a word that expresses regret regarding wastefulness. The second is hara hachi bu, a phrase that means “eat until you’re 80 percent full”. These ideas led Lindsay to become more conscious of her consumption. This set the stage for her to truly appreciate the gift of food and to learn how to use every part of the plant in her cooking in order to minimize waste.
This, of course, is not a new concept. Rather, it’s a concept that seems to be largely forgotten in our Western society. We have an abundance of food available to us in the grocery store, so we don’t tend to think as much about the food we throw away, either because it has gone bad or because we don’t know how to use it. This has a huge impact when you think about all of the food wasted in America annually and the carbon footprint that is created by our food system. The good news is that food waste is very much preventable. Plus, not only is it good for the environment, it’s good for your wallet too!
Although it’s a cookbook in nature, we think of Lindsay-Jean Hard’s Cooking With Scraps as more than just recipes. It’s a reference tool, a resource for learning how to use the parts of your fruits and veggies that often get tossed in the waste bin. While we love the recipes included in this book, we think that they are just the beginning! With sections on banana peels, broccoli stems, coffee grounds and celery leaves, let these recipes inspire you to get even more creative with your food!
We’re so happy to announce we have a copy of this amazing book to give away to one of you! For a sneak peek at the recipes in this book, see below for a delicious selection.
–Here’s How to Enter –
Tell us the creative ways you utilize food scraps (or would like to start cooking with food scraps) from your Farm Box!
We’ve chosen a winner – Anna – who answered our question with:
I often times find myself looking on pinterest to find recipes for my food scraps, but a reference book for especially this is lovely. I never imagined cooking with banana peels and coffee grounds though I often use them for my garden… excited to see what other recipes/ideas are inside!
Congratulations Anna and thank you to everyone who participated!
No purchase required. Limit one entry per person, please. Entries will close on Monday, June 24, 2019. Winners are chosen by Random Number Generator and announced on our blog on Tuesday, June 25, 2019.
Carrot Top Pesto Tartlets
INGREDIENTS:
1 package (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight
1/2 cup Carrot Top Pesto (see recipe below)
16 – 24 grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup finely grated Grana Padano or other Parmesan-like cheese
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread out the puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper and gently use a rolling pin to flatten out any creases. Cut into 16 equal rectangles: First, cut the pastry into 4 pieces, then into 8, and then 16. (If you’re using another brand of puff pastry, your tartlets might be square rather than rectangular – either way works!) Using a small, sharp knife, score a smaller rectangle about 1/4 inch inside each of the 16 pieces. This might seem unnecessarily fussy, but it helps create and keep an edge on each of the tartlets.
Transfer the parchment paper with the puff pastry pieces to a baking sheet and nudge them away from each other a little bit so they aren’t touching.
Spread each tartlet with 1/2 tablespoon of the pesto, staying within the boundaries of the scored inner rectangle. Place a few tomato halves on each tartlet, cut side up. Bake until the pastry is fully cooked and the edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the tartlets with Grana Padano, drizzle with a few drops of olive oil per tartlet, and serve.
Carrot Top Pesto
INGREDIENTS:
Greens from 1 medium-sized bunch of carrots (to make about 1 cup after blanching and chopping)
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds, toasted
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
Fill a medium-size pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Prepare an ice bath: Fill a medium-size bowl with ice and water.
Once the water is boiling, add the carrot greens to the pot – pushing down with tongs to make sure they all get in the water – and blanch for 1 minute.
Drain the pot into a colander and transfer the greens to the ice bath with the tongs to stop the cooking process. Let the greens cool completely and drain them.
Squeeze any remaining water from the greens and roughly chop them.
In a food processor, pulse the greens, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon juice and salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Then add the olive oil and process again until smooth.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard (Workman Publishing, © 2018)
I save all my veggie scraps from food prep like carrot peelings and onion and celery ends in a container in the freezer for making chicken stock. I also keep a container in the freezer for leftover veggies from mess that are not enough to save for another meal and use them to make hodge podge soup (usually just need to add chicken stock and a little tomato paste).
The only things I know to use scraps for are braised greens (Beet tops) or making vegetable stock from a variety of scraps. Obviously I need this cookbook!
Lynn
I dehydrate any greens I am not cooking with (radish or carrot tops, etc) then pulse into a powder. I put this green dust in smoothies, on popcorn (with nutritional yeast and garlic), in breads…
Hello!
I like to make pesto using the radish top greens!
We make coffee 1-2x/day and would love to hear how Lindsay-Jean repurposes her coffee grounds!
Thanks for considering me!
Amanda
I don’t currently use many food scraps, but I’d love to learn more about what I can use and how I can use it! I’ve recently started trying to minimize my waste in other ways (reusable bags, shampoo/conditioner bars, reusable straws, etc.), but I really want to make more of an effort to waste less food. I juice celery every morning, so I’d love to learn how to use the leftover celery bits, because right now I just throw it all away.
I love the idea of this book and am eager to learn more ways to reduce food waste….especially locally grown, organic produce – it kills me to waste any of it! I have used carrot and radish tops both in salads as well as in smoothies. I also try to keep a bag of any unused veggies (like the center when I'm spiraling them) to be used for vegetable stock.
I have.a friend who made tasty little chips from potato peelings. So yummy! I keep forgetting I need to try!
We make apple chips from apple peelings and recently learned about aquafaba meringue cookies! Amazing!
I have made apple chips & they turned out pretty good but haven’t tried the potato chips. I love everyone’s great ideas!!
I would love to know how to utilize banana peels and coffee grounds!
I like to use onion skins to make huevos haminados! I have also saved citrus skins and candied them and made watermelon rind Jam
I always use my scraps for stock. I add them to my saved cheese rinds and simmer for a few hours, then strain & freeze. Any solids strained out or not used go in the compost bin to feed my flowers and my own veggie garden. (Once in a while I am generous and give some scraps to my neighbors chickens.)
Instead of fried pickles, I use broccoli stems, do a quick pickle and put them in the air fryer! It’s a great alternative to fried pickles and a much sturdier texture 🙂
I've saved celery tops in the freezer and used them in home made soup. I would like to know how to do even more. I'm 75 and always ready to learn
I love using all my veggie scraps in my fried rice. I have come up with some interesting things. I am considered a creationist cook. I would be so excited about winning a cookbook like that.
I am just trying to start to cook more and this is the first time joining this subscription. So far I am really enjoying it! Would love to learn of other ways to make a difference with food scraps. I learned from my mother in law about orange/citrus peels , drying them and using in baking cookies!
In the past, I have dehydrated the apple pulp after juicing apples, and later utilized it in homemade pizza crust.
I continue to use egg shells, bones, and vegetable scraps to make bone broth.
I've been looking for something just like this! I've felt horrible throwing away food trimmings – in fact I tried to look up what to do with carrot tops and found nothing. This totally fits in with not only utilizing produce without waste, but also gives you unique idea's and flavors you've never experienced. I tried to look up last night unique recipes for orange squash – nada! Everything is baked, pan fried, with brown sugar or maple. The most exotic I found was a sugar with a hot pepper. Seriously. Just this carrot top recipe for pesto has me really excited for some culinary variety. This is a real win win 🙂 Thank you!
Eager to learn more!
All of my veggie scraps go into the freezer for making vegetable stock. Our family has a vegan and vegetarian so we eat lots of vegetables and need lots of stock for cooking with. Our family being mainly veggie eater I would love to learn more ways I can use scraps and reduce waste.
I don’t currently cook with food scraps, but would love to learn how to! I’m always looking for ways to recycle more and this is one area where I struggle. Looking forward to making the carrot top pesto with the carrots from the delivery this week!
I recently started keeping all of my vegetable scraps in the freezer until I have enough to make broth. It's very satisfying to then make something like risotto using my homemade broth!
I got carrots in my delivery yesterday, so I am about to make some carrot top pesto!
By the end of this year my goal is to have my meal prep business ready to launch where I both teach classes and prepare meals for weekly delivery. By having that platform of teaching – I would love to know more about using more and wasting less so that I can share with others.
I always use the beet greens to saute with oil oil, onions & garlic. Finish off with a spoonful of sugar, some red pepper flakes, & vinegar. I would like to learn more as I do hate throwing away other parts of the vegetables.
I currently just compost so this cookbook sounds perfect for inspiration and guidance.
I have never cooked much with the leftover scraps of food, because I don't know how to use them. If I'm not lucky enough to win this book please tell me where I can buy one. I have made vegetable dyes from various skins etc. but I would love to know how to eat more of them. Thanks for the carrot top pesto. I will try it the next time I get a bunch.
I don’t use the scraps but I know I should. I need this book for ideas so that I can lower my guilt level!
I don’t use the scraps but I know I should. I need this book for ideas so that I can lower my guilt level!
It won’t let me post this comment saying that it’s a duplicate of what I’ve posted. This is not true. I haven’t posted anything. Perhaps there are a number of guilty folks out there!
I would love to learn about using food scraps.
I do love beet tops with the beets and butter and lots of vinegar. I have used celery leaves in soups.
This cookbook "cooking with scraps" would be a great way to reduce the amount of waste in the kitchen.
I had no idea that there's a cook book to teach you how to 'cook with scraps'. I'm just learning to cook, and so when I saw this I got curious and excited. It would be fun to learn to use all of the fruit and vegetable scraps because it's good for mother nature. I would really like to win this cookbook!
I've always saved citrus rinds for flavoring desserts and meals, but never figured out what to do with the pulp after juicing! Apart from that and saving celery ends for stock, I'm pretty clueless on using food scraps – would love to learn more.
I use carrot top greens in my vegan bone broth. Using root veggies, (except potatoes) and all their greens, simmer with onion and garlic and about 8 ounces of wild mushrooms. You can use seasoning as desired. I include basil, thyme, marjoram, and Himalayan salt. After simmering I strain through a cheese cloth and voila!! I have a delicious vegan bone broth. The veggies left over are added to chopped nuts, more nutritional yeast, formed into patties, baked and served on whole wheat buns, with lettuce and onions and tomatoes. It is all used, eaten, and enjoyed.
Amazing entries! I like to compost, and garden. But there is so much to due with "waste"! I dislike even saying that, because it is so much more. Our world is some thing we can never replace, take care of it.. Thank-you ♡
I love to cook with scraps! I make bone broth from leftover carcasses and bones, onion and garlic skins. I freeze all veggie scraps for making veggie broth. Once everything is strained, the pulp goes to the chickens. I keep buckets to collect leftovers in the freezer for Leftover Soup… one for meat bits and veggies, one for starchy stuff. When they're full, it's soup day. It's never the same twice, but it's always delicious! I'd love more ideas for adventurous scrap dishes because, with as hard as I work to get good food home or grow it, I hate wasting even a little bit. Looking forward to this book!
I’d love to be able to learn how to create meals with scraps!! Right now, my family will cook with some but leave 1/2 a package of something. If we could change our lifestyle to not wasting good healthy foods, that would be amazing! I would also love to teach my 3 & 4 year olds how to do so as well!!! They love being in the kitchen with me and are always willing to learn/help with meals. Being able to help them learn such a valuable lesson in cooking would be a great gift for them and me!!
I save my scraps in the freezer to make veggie or mushroom stock. I also sauté my beet greens. I would love this book for even more ideas
The only way I have used scraps is apple peel & core and simmered it on the stove top to make the house smell good. Obviously I desperately need this cookbook to make better use of this fabulous produce I'm getting from Full Circle.
I placed a beet top and some carrot tops in some water in my kitchen windowsill and they sprouted new, beautiful greens on top. It was a way to have pretty, bright (and free) houseplants for the kitchen.
If something has sat too long in the fridge, it goes into the juicer! Beets are the most common one, but there seem to be accepted by my children in their liquid form more readily. I also have a blog about reducing the carbon footprint of my home and family. www.mytinygreenfootprint.com.
We keep a storage tub in our freezer at all times to collect scraps to turn into veggie broth. I also love setting aside different scraps before Easter to use for dyeing eggs. Would love to get a copy of this book for more inspiration.
I’m not sure how to use scraps for cooking. I have never tried it but would certainly like to try it. I do make parsley tea for reducing swelling and it’s great but wasn’t aware of anything else to try!
I compost all of my food scraps in my yard waste bin. Is that a good method to dispose of food scraps without wasting them? I'm honestly curious.
Like others, freezing all of the cleaned and discarded ends & bits of the veggies to make broth-throw in a cinnamon stick, star anise and peppercorns makes a richer broth. Vegetable tops are often delicious when sautéed with EVOO and balsamic, radish, and beet tops are yuuuummmmyyy!
I’ve already been making a spicy carrot top pesto but this recipe looks great as well. I also use all the stem and stalks from cauliflower, broccoli and similar vegetables – chop them up to rice texture for soups and side dish bases. Root ends of leeks and scallions are replanted for more, 🤤
I love roasting veggies — At the very end of roasting potatoes, beets, carrots with garlic, I throw the beet greens on top and cook until wilted. Yum!
would love to have a recipe source to use more of my veg and waste less… so many edible options not utilized. greens… etc.
What a great, conservation-focused approach! Can't wait to read it!
I take leftover cucumber bits and partly squeezed lemon and use them to infuse water.
I currently save veggie scraps in the freezer to use in stocks and soups. I would love to learn new ways to use leftover food!
Great idea. I have a lot to learn in this area.
I like the recipe above for carrot tops, not to mention what I’ve just learned by reading the comments of others. Would love this book.
Thanks
I have a Parmesan cheese rind in my fridge ready to add to soup! Reading through the comments, I like the idea of saving veggie scraps in the freezer for soup stock too. I would love this cookbook to get even more ideas and recipes!
I'm not great about using my scraps, but would like to learn how 🙂
Compost and Juicing, sometimes vegetable stock. Almost all excess meat makes it into breakfast as a hash 🙂
We used to give our carrot greens to our guinea pig (which she loved). Had no idea there might be a use that we could love too.
In the past I have kept a bag of stock scraps(onion off cuts, carrot peelings, soft celery stalks) in my freezer to make into stock when I collect enough but now my freezer is full of stock and I rarely use it. I would love to utilize scrapes in other ways.
When I prepare vegetables from my farm box I drop the scraps into a zipper bag and store it in the freezer until i’m ready to make easy vegetable stock. I love that the box is multiplied this way and there’s very little waste.
I am so excited that this book exists! I HATE throwing food away (I do compost everything I can). Even if I don't win a copy I plan on buying it.
marta
I use my peelings, bits and parts and bones after we have eaten to bake broths. Bone broth, chicken broth, veggie broth
Some of these things I wouldn't even consider scraps. I have never thrown away Broccoli stems, or mushroom stalks, I just trim away the dry bit at the very end, the rest goes in my food.
Beet tops are the easiest to use. If the leaves are too big to just add to my salad I will blanch and top with butter, or sauté with garlic and oil. The stalks can be used kind of like asparagus.
Fennel fronds I add to my salad, or put on top of fish that I'm cooking in the oven. Fennel stalks I slice thinly, cook in a simple syrup, then dry on low heat in the oven. The simple syrup I then use to make lemonade with a slight liquorice twist.
My favorite way to reuse kitchen scraps has always been: give it to the chickens! I saw it as a great way to convert my veggies into delicious egg protein 🙂 dont keep chickens at the moment but i just moved into a house for the first time in years and I’d love to start again!
We live in rural Alaska where produce is SO expensive. You hate to throw anything away. I try to use as much as possible and compost what I don’t use. I’m excited about this book. Thanks for the good ideas.
I use my vegetable scraps to make stock. I’d love to learn ven more about no waste!
I would love a copy of this book! Wasting food hurts my heart. I love saving veggies scraps to make stock for later use. We also have chickens so a lot of scraps go to them.
I save all my veggie scraps and freeze them – when I get enough I make a giant pot of veggie broth!
I am horrible at this! Besides veggie broth, I use my scraps to feed my worm composter, but it's hard for the poor worms to keep up! Would love to learn some new tricks!
My husband turned me on to "Red Beet Eggs" which uses the water you cook beets in and leftover pickle brine. They are apparently a Pennsylvania/Amish thing and sounded awful (hardboiled eggs in red beet water and pickle juice!), but I now crave them.
I always knew you could do things with scrap food, but nothing as creative as the recipe above was ever as appealing. I do save a lot of my scraps for making soup. This is going to take my cooking to a whole new level.
Most recently I roasted potato skins in the oven with olive oil and salt. They were crunchy and tasty!
I recently discovered that broccoli stalks can be grated and turned into a delicious slaw! I used to compost practically half the broccoli in any one head but recently I’ve been trying to make slaw instead! I also plan to experiment with cutting the stalks into rounds and quick pickling in leftover brine from a storebought pickle jar —p.s. a splash of that brine is great in slaw!
We are in the middle of moving, so I look forward to learning to compost soon, but for now, I use the scraps in chicken broth!
This looks amazing! I know there is so much more I could be doing. Now I have a bag in the freezer for all the veggie scraps – I add it to chicken bones for broth. I cook the chicken bones down until I can mash them into a wet meal and then mix it into my dog's food. I'd love to know how to use scraps better.
I make soups out of most 'tired' veggies and put most fruit into smoothies or juices (particularly well appreciated by one child with disabilities who can only eat soft foods) and if things really don't look edible – into the worm bin. I love to cook and create but always try to buy in bulk so that I am only buying what I need (less cost, less waste) and am always looking for new food combinations and saving hacks.
~ Anne
I am not much of a cook, sadly, but I give my scraps to my chickens and they enjoy them and then produce organic eggs for me to use! My husband just loves these eggs!
I dry celery tops if I don't use them in a recipe. I sure would love to learn more about cooking with scraps! I am a good composter though. I'm excited about "Cooking with Scraps"!
So many suggestions by experienced users of scraps has been inspiring. Hopefully I can become one of you.
I’ve really only ever used food scraps for making stocks, though I’d definitely like to learn more ways to use them.
I love trying to use as much as possible, but am often limited on the time to find a way to realistically do so. This book would help me completely use my Full Circle box contents, as well as other items, and also encourage to get a larger variety because I would have the resource to use items more creatively.
I would really love to learn more about this!
I make veg stock, pesto, or sauté greens using my scraps. Used to give them to the chickens to devour, until we lost the birds. I’d love to learn more ways to use my scraps!
As I have a bit more time now, I am hoping to use scraps for stock and am intrigued by carrot top pesto!
My father grew up in a family that struggled with homelessness and poverty. Him mother died when he was 5 and his father when he was 6. His early memories of food growing up were of his mother's creative use of oats. They had porridge in the morning and the oats fried into patties or a casserole for lunch and dinner, oatmeal cookies or date squares for a rare treat. I grow up eating a lot of oats too and learned to eat what I put on my plate. I am working hard to instill of love of left overs and creative uses of them for my kids as a legacy of of resourcefulness and a rejection of over consumption.
Oatmeal in particular is something I reuse as a base for vegetarian patties just add garlic, onion powder and eggs, veggie scraps, and lentils or beans mashed and shredded cheese; mix well and fry. I never use precise measurements as the point of making these is to use up all the left overs. the trick is to have enough egg to hold the ingredients together.
I used to feed all scraps to my chickens and felt good about not wasting but now that we no longer keep chickens I am looking for ways to use my scraps. I just eat carrot tops so far and will make that yummy pesto recipe. Great idea for a cookbook!
The only way I know to use scraps is for bone broth. I would love to learn ways to utilize them in other recipes and minimize food waste!
I save my scraps in a gallon baggie in the freezer. When it gets full, I drop it all in a Crock-Pot on high for 6 or so hours and get a great homemade stock. Most veggie scraps work pretty well, though stuff like cabbage or peppers can as some flavored I don't care for in it. You can also do this with bones or meat scraps to make a meat stock.
My husband and I use fruit peelings to flavor bratwurst and other meats and veggies for roasting, namely bratwurst and other sausages.
I freeze leftover freshly cubed vegetables or fruits that I didn't use for my meals in ziplock bags for future use. Next time I need to prepare a meal, having the fruits or vegetables cut up and frozen makes dinners very easy and quick to prepare. 😃
We make refrigerator soup! Perfect for leftovers and we have had some really good ones over the years!
Worm bin love for my own garden down the road!
I absolutely love being able to toss as little as possible (I have friends who tell me I'm too young to be a "depression era baby" – which I am – and I don't mind a bit!). I've saved the scraps from peeling vegetables to make soup stock for years. I often cook for large groups (as many as 750 at one time!) and I'm glad to be able to tell them EXACTLY what I make my soup from (no chemicals included!). I've always felt bad about just tossing the carrot tops so I'm really looking forward to trying the carrot pesto recipe.
I save scraps for soup or stock or for the dogs stew.
I would love to learn how to use veggie scraps and teach this knowledge to my 9-year-old.
Come turkey time that carcass goes in a big pot with all the cut up scraps from onion skins and tops to celery stubs to carrot ends and garlic plus parsley and cooks away leaving a wonderful broth . Just add the meat scraps back in with more veggies and rice and "Voila" the best turkey soup!
I can't believe I used to compost broccoli stems, but long ago I did. Nowadays, I peel them and the delicious insides are the favorite of my older son – I slice and steam them. I also use the insides, cut into thin strips, raw in salads. This part is so sweet and tasty. I would love to learn more, and that is why I am entering this contest!
I haven't been good about keeping and using food scraps. When looking through this book that I borrowed fron the library, I realized what a great resource it could be and would love to do more with my food scraps other than throw them away.
I also use banana peels to make smoothies for my roses in the garden. Just blend them up with water in a high speed blender and pour around the root base. Eggshells crushed up are great for tomato growing. Love to learn more about using scraps in cooking!
I love growing lettuce, celery, carrots from the cut ends by planting them in my garden. I dump my coffee grounds and green tea leaves all over my garden soil. Grab more from local coffee houses too whenever I can. Can't wait to try the carrot top recipes you've shared, answer to my prayers. Hoping to get to Japan one day myself to learn more about this culture. Cooking with Food Scraps sounds like a wonderful resource!
I use radish tips and sauté them in coconut oil.
It’s so delicious and nutritious!
I would like to make use of radish greens and other greens, onion skins, heels of cheeses, stale bread, and poultry bones. A good hearty soup stock comes to mind. Also, there are many uses for veggies, spices, and herbs that can be used to dye yarn or fabrics. I would also like access to a simple guide, or list for the refrigerator, that gives tips on what’s freezable, and for how long. Many times when I get meal boxes delivered, I can’t use all the foods before they go bad, so I freeze as much as possible. Thank you!
I tried to use my food scraps at all times. What I want to learn under methods of utilizing what may be left after I paired a meal. Currently, I am able to times utilize scraps for composting. But I want to use the other methods that I may not know about at this time.
I got some great ideas for scraps just by reading through the comments! Right now, I use coffee scraps for my roses and other garden beds, and compost most other scraps. I am going to start keeping my veggies for a stock – I never thought of that before and it sounds like a standard practice!
I have a desire to be more earth friendly, but need encouragement and direction to do this. I shop at farmer markets and consciously reduce plastics in my life. To have more guidance would be wonderful. "Mottainai" expresses exactly how I often feel.
I currently use composting for coffee grounds and scraps. I keep chicken carcasses in the freezer and add carrot and other aromatic scraps for broth. I am good about not wasting leftover, but would love to learn more about utilizing scraps.
I give them away as gifts to friends who grow their veggies during the long days in the summer months in Alaska, so they can look forward to planting during the long, cold winter.
Great idea for a book! We try to compost as much as possible and end up feeding a lot of food scraps to our chickens, but there are a few things I'm still unsure how to use.
Timing is so important when using fresh produce! So the theme of my suggestion is “timing.” A day before my next box of produce arrives, I do a quick inventory of prepared food in the fridge and put the items that I won’t have time to eat in a container for “future soup” and toss it in the freezer. I keep adding items until I have a full tub. Then on a rainy day I’ll cook the pot, adding my favorite herbs and spices. If it doesn’t look wonderful as-is, I’ll use a hand blender to make a purée. If it needs more help, I’ll add something to make it creamy. My last line of defense is to add a pat of butter. Once prepared, this “future soup” is often my favorite food that week!
Hey there, depending on the veggie scraps, I save it and feed it to the chickens as treats. for example, radish tops that I don't use, I put them in water in the fridge to keep hydrated. Usually I'm able to save my leafy greens by soaking them in water in the fridge for 24 hrs to get that nice crisp and freshness. If the veggies are at lost, I usually compost them which in turn goes back into the garden :). I grew up eating whatever we had in the fridge and sometimes we didn't have much… so a slice of toast with mayo isn't to shabby.
Especially cooking for children can sometimes be a challenge and I found that I can "sneak" certain vegetables into our dinners by making a delicious sauce to go with rice or pasta and can use leftovers really easily at the same time.
I blend coffee grounds and eggshells together to put in my rose bed.
I make stock from most vegetable scraps, but think broccoli is too “strong” for that. Would love to use the stems some way! Also, re-use of coffee grounds is quite intriguing.
I’m not a food scrap user but I’d like to become one. This cookbook could be my start 😊
I’ve never even considered using carrot tops for pesto, using banana peels for…ANYTHING! I’ve started collecting veggie scraps in a ziplock, in the freezer, to use for broth, but haven’t made a batch yet. I’m definitely interested in reading about how to better utilize and waste less of what would e perfectly good food!
I would love to have more ideas and ways to use my food scraps. I have a worm bin and I do put some of it in there but would love to know how to make food for me with my scraps. Thanks for writing this book!
I like to use onion, celery and carrot scraps for stock….mmmm!
I grew on a farm and of course we never had food to actually throw away, but today as I no long live on a farm I still use the same saving ways to recycle food. I usually have a pot on stove for peelings and bones and left overs. What I don’t eat I make my own dog and cat food. And of course bird food. With today’s juicers and blenders there isn’t much of any food you can’t purée or juice into edible food for humans or animals
One very indulgent thing I love to do is make ice cream from corn cobs. After shucking just infuse your cream with the cobs that are still loaded with delicious corn flavor.
I would love to know more ways to use scraps than vegetable broth, pestos, and salads. I have learned that celery leaf is delicious as an herb in potato salad.
Hi, I would love a copy of this book. I try using all my scraps up. (Watched a show where they show you how to use your scraps.)
I chopped celery leaves up and use them in stock or sauté for sauces.
I don’t always peel my carrots, but when I do I like to chop up to sauté with other veggie scraps I have to make either stocks or seasons for sauce.
When I have a veggie I think might not get used soon I chop them and put in freezer, then pull out when I need them.
Thanks all I can think of right now.
Right now we just compost all our trimmings. But I don't trim things that don't actually need it. Ie broccoli stems get used with the tops, fruit goes into smoothies with everything but pits…
Using them in soup isn’t as creative as I’m sure your ideas are so I’d love to learn more.
So excited about this cookbook! Hopefully I can learn to perfect my carrot top pesto. Lately my boyfriend and I have been chopping up chard stems really thinly and putting them in one pot pastas or frying them for a garnish.
I do as many others do with veggie scraps and freeze until there is enough to make stock. But, from that point I take the scraps of the stock and puree that mix and cook it down to get more moisture from it. That mix when thick enough I put in the dehydrator in a thin layer until its dried. Then take that dried mix and grind it to make a powder that I use on its own for a shake on rice, or mix with salt to make different salt blends.
I suck at using food scraps and need to improve this. I look forward to this cookbook!
I collect peals and then make a smoothie out of it using a high speed blender, for my plants. Great nutrition for them.
Another here who throws veggie scraps in a freezer bag until there’s enough to make a batch of stock!
Also the scraps from fruits get frozen for adding to smoothies.
Thanks for considering!
Such an amazing concept and I would love to learn more about how to utilize food in this way. The only dish I have made from food “scraps” is I pickle broccoli stems in rice wine vinegar and serve as a vegetable with Asian cuisine.
We make fresh salsa every 5 days or so, and since most ingredients are finely chopped in a mini-blender it's a great forum for adding left over pieces of onion, carrot, bell pepper, ginger root, tumeric root, etc. as well as those leftover cut lemons and limes that seem to overrun my refrigerator at times. We also happily use tomatoes that are bruised or less presentable, and green tomatoes from the garden that never quite ripen.
I often times find myself looking on pinterest to find recipes for my food scraps, but a reference book for especially this is lovely. I never imagined cooking with banana peels and coffee grounds though I often use them for my garden….excited to see what other recipes/ideas are inside!
What I remember most about my mom is that she loved being in the kitchen. She always had her pressure cooker going with amazing soups and she made homemade rolls with fresh herbs. I would love to learn to learn to turn food scraps into delicious soups and homemade goodies like rolls, biscuit, appetizers, and more. It can be a challenge to know where to start, so I think this book would be a great tool.
I currently just make dog food with my scraps. I don't like to be wasteful but didn't know what to cook! I'd love other ways to utilize waste.
Would love this book, currently I do composting with my food waste but even that seems wasteful (carrot top pesto, hello!)
I would love to use this book! I only use my scraps for making stock. I didn't even know there were so many other uses. Thank you for this giveaway!
Using carrot tops has been something I’ve been wanting to use for a long time but haven’t. I’m grateful Seattle has city compost but would love to use up more in my kitchen first!
I tend to keep veggie scraps in the freezer and make soup stick with them. We also compost so it gets reused in our garden.
What a brilliant book! I'd love to learn some more creative ways to repurpose veggie scraps 😀
I use most parts of veggies – tops of many root veggies, all parts of green onion, stem of broccoli, etc. I don't even consider them as "scraps" but ingredients. And in fact, I'm Japanese 🙂 Would love to know other creative ways of using things that are still ending up in trash now.
I use scraps for soup stock and do not do much else, except some composting. Great ideas from everyone. The book sounds good!
Bitter greens – from lettuce to radish or carrot tops – I like to sautee with some oil and salt. Drop a poached egg on top and you have a perfect healthy breakfast or weekend brunch. Sprinkle some parmesan on top, too!
Root scraps (like carrots, radishes, etc), sautee them with onions and garlic until soft for your marinara or basic soup base.
We are new to Full Circle, but already love the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, including a number that we are not used to eating. Would love to have this cookbook to help me find creative ways to use the scraps!!
I like to use them in smoothies!
Not being well-versed in composting, and with not a lot of space to do so, I'd love more tips on reducing food waste – plus I love reading about food!
Love making stock and sautéed beet greens. I also feed veggie scraps to my dogs. They love kale stems and the woody ends of the asparagus.
When the farm box arrives I trim off a lot of toppings, the tops and outer layers of scallions, etc. , etc. to prepare everything for storage. I then start a container in the freezer. I wait until I am going to cut into an onion for a recipe, then I save the outer layer(s) in the freezer box. I dip into the freezer box the make broths for stocks, soups, and gravies. I also use some of the outer layers of onions to chop very fine along with the stems or other parts of herbs that I don't normally use to make a topping that can be sprinkled on soups or on an avocado, etc.
I’m intrigued by the ideas that are the recipe book. Aside from composting and making stock or preserves I don’t have many tools in my kit!
I definitely have the regret of food waste. I have only heard of making stock with vegetable scraps. I really don’t know how to waste less of the food. Would be interested to see what this book says.
I try to leave the peel on whenever I can. I do need to find ways to use the top parts of carrots, beets and other root vegetables more often.
Wow! What a great idea for a book!
Currently I freeze scraps for stock or feed them to the chickens. I’m looking forward to learning new tricks and recipes.
My most frequent use of food scraps is probably for soup stock. Chicken scraps and leftovers definitely go for that, as do many veggies that went unused for too long, but haven't spoiled.
Other than that, meal leftovers will often become a component in something else, like a breakfast hash or the like.
I hate throwing food away but don't really know what to do with the scraps so I'd love to learn more. I love the idea of making pesto with carrot tops. I'd never thought of that.
I am planning on learning how to make a use a compost bin for all the scraps that are not edible.
With being able to size the box and cancel deliveries – I rarely have any thing left over.
I plan on learning how to make and use a compost bin for all the scraps that are not edible.
With the ability to size and skip deliveries I rarely have any left overs.
Vegetable both is the norm for us, but would like to learn more ideas. My dogs get a lot of the approved scraps in their dinner.
I make a "refrigerator" frittata using veggie scraps along with salami ends, cheese rinds, and any leftover cooked pasta. whatever I have a wee bit of left in the refrigerator at the end of the week. I use egg whites, but works well with whole eggs too. simply sauté all but the eggs and cheese to reheat then add whisked egg and cheese and cook until slightly firm, then into the oven to brown the top a bit. Served with a small green salad and we have a meal. this also works well for a quiche.
This sounds like a fun and useful book!!!
I love trying different flavors in foods together. Making salad dressing offers some good opportunities. I used the remaining juice in the kelp dill pickle jar mixed with yogurt and olive oil and it was a delicious salad dressing. I open the refrigerator and image flavors together and then try them out.
I used to throw (in my compost)the very ends of my green onions – now I plant them in my garden – and have green onions for another day!
I only know to make a veggie stock with my scraps but with all the veggies our house goes through, you can only make stock for so long before you need a new idea. Looking forward to checking this book out whether I win or not!
I have a robust compost pile for my raw fruit and veggie scraps, since I live on a rocky island in Alaska and good topsoil is hard to come by. I hope to learn how to use more scraps for cooking!
I save the peeling from fresh ginger and use it later for hot teas.
I used to save all my veggies peelings and scraps for making stock in the freezer. Have not been keeping up with that lately unfortunately, though we do compost. What I do like to do is make a "clean-out-the-veggie-drawer" soup with all the veggies that are getting a bit old and might otherwise be thrown away. It is essentially a ribollita and always delicious.
I've been trying to be better about adding the tops (greens) into whatever I'm cooking. Usually works out great for sautees or soups. Not necessarily from the box, but I recently learned you can pickle watermelon rinds so I'll be doing that from now on!
I’ve always wondered if parts of veggies I compost would actually work in cooking. I look forward to learning more about this.
I usually have very few "scraps" from my Full Circle box each week! Mostly just parts that are inedible, like carrot tops or orange peels.. I compost everything that isnt edible. I often grate orange, lemon or grapefruit peels and freeze the zest to save for when I have a recipe that requires zest.
Each time I compost leftover veggie parks (parts of leeks, broccoli, etc.) I think, " I have to start saving these to make stock." However, I'm usually so busy just trying to get dinner made, I have little brain-energy left to consider the best way to store, keep track of, and find-when-I-am-ready these scraps. I would LOVE to have this book and get some ideas for this, and other ways to avoid wasting food.
Wow – can't wait to read all the ideas in this book!
Many recipes call for the fibrous stems of kale and collard greens to be removed, but I save them and blend into smoothies with bananas, berries, peaches, and soymilk. Also works with beet greens, radish greens, chard, etc.
I make "compost soup"! I keep my scraps in a bag in the freezer until I have enough and then use them to make yummy stock. We can't compost outside here because it attracts bears 0.0
I freeze scraps for soup.
In the spring we dye eggs with different scraps boiled down.
I also would do more with additional information and strategies.
My scraps are utilized in our household, wether it’s in stocks, stews or salads, or the chickens enjoy the trimmings. Those that can’t be utilized by us, then our chickens enjoy the pickings or if things are on the moldy side then it goes to the worms, who’s castings fertilize our garden, that feeds us/chickens/worms!
I’ve been thinking more about food waste lately and am excited to learn about this cookbook! Whether I win or not I plan to learn more about using the whole plant instead of discarding just because I don’t know how to use parts. (still need some for compost but I’ll be able to choose)
When I have veggies left and time for my next box to arrive I sauté all the veggies left in the frig and add a protein and that is dinner. Sometimes it becomes soup.
We like mixing beet greens with our egg scrambles !
I freeze them and use it for stock or I throw them into my garden for nutrients for my plants.
I save the fat end of asparagus and the cores of broccoli, cauliflower, and romanesco, peel them, coarsely mince them and add them to my egg scramble with onions and cubed potatoes. P
I will save my broccoli stalks and slice these up and use in stir fry which I would do in my Wok with a variety of vegetables and perhaps chicken or shrimp. I could definitely use this cook book for more ideas.
I love the layers of flavor that I get when I cook with many ingredients–including scraps and remnants of left-overs. Today I washed out a cherry jam jar to add that flavored liquid to my pan of greens. Every time I cook greens it's a different taste experience. I like to use recipes as inspiration for my own cooking and very seldom cook anything straight from recipes any more unless it's a matter of food chemistry or a completely new ingredient. I love new ideas more than anything and am looking forward to trying some of these.
Intriguing idea to use veggie scraps in a cookbook. I compost my scraps, feed them to the local deer & rabbits. Also love to steam my beet greens which I eat like spinach either with a splash of apple cider vinegar &/or salt & pepper. Delicious! Also chop up my broccoli & cauliflower stems for salads & use celery, parsley & cilantro for broths.
I pop the stems out of whole fresh mushrooms while washing them to slice the caps for sauteeing. I freeze these stems in multiple snack sized zip loc bags in freezer, until I have enough to blend into raw organic cashew cream I have made in my blender, to make a luscious mushroom cashew cream gravy, with garlic cloves, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and whatever other herbs and spices I fancy. I serve this mushroom gravy over steamed organic brown rice. Yumm!
We compost all our coffee grounds, but I'm curious what else can be done with them! My husband also makes homemade fertilizer for the garden with egg shells, chicken bones, and some other things.
Sauteed onions are delicious in this cashew cream mushroom gravy, too!
When I chop up fresh parsley to use in a green salad, potato salad, or mixed into mashed potatoes, or to steam it like kale [it is just a nutritious as kale, (according to The Environmental Working Group, if I remember correctly, which evaluates the sustainability of producing various forms of food) but lower priced,] I have a bunch of leftover stems and a few parsley leaves. I make these into parsley tea, good for reducing swelling in one's ankles, feet, and legs and for increasing blood flow through one's kidneys. It seems as effective as Lasix, without the side effects, to me.
I haven't made a basil pesto in years. My favorite is with carrot tops. I almost look forward to the beet greens more than the beets. Looking forward to more ideas.
We recently found a recipe that uses both beets and beet greens and loved it! We're looking for more great recipes like this one and this book sounds perfect!
I let all my scraps dehydrate loose in a box, then I feed them to my compost worms, eventually making it to my year round garden (outside in the summer, inside in the winter).
Most of my veggie scraps go to make stock. My chickens get pretty much anything green left over and anything I'm not using goes in the compost. My roses love chopped up banana peels.
I am making Veggie stock now out of leftover veggie scraps. I would love to peruse this cookbook.
I use scraps for part of my dogs dog food. Left over meat scraps. During a food process gets it to the right consistency. I will sometimes add rice, hamburger, or canned dog food if there were not enough scraps.
All compostable remains go to the compost pile. Using food as soon as possible ensures the most nutritional value & flavor. Either can or freeze items when consumation is delayed for use later. Use small amounts of any vegetable in a hearty soup. Many soups can be canned also.
I use them in stocks or to make infusions.
I store vegetable scraps in the freezer and use them to make a vegetable stock. I also like using the vegetable pulp (carrots, beets, etc) from my juicer in muffins or bread.
I first saw Lindsey and this book on The Kitchen- she made an amazing banana cake with the peel. She and the book intrigued me then. I use the entire stalk of celery, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. I don’t coffee but my husband does & I try to use it in my garden, you can use it in baking – I believe. I love using even the stems of fresh herbs chopped up & blended in sauces & dressings.
I am vegetarian and need more ideas for sure – my husband is carnivore and tends to waste more :/
Thanks for considering me. Love this idea
I am not very creative when it comes to using scraps but I also hate the waste. Would love this cookbook to learn ways to use.
I give carrot and apple peelings to my horse. Although I don't get eggs in my farm box, I rinse out the shells, let them dry, then smash them into little pieces and put them in my garden as a mineral source. Great fertilizer! I would like to use more of my food scraps, and this recipe book looks like it will have many useful and creative ideas.
I save all my onion, celery, parsley, dill, carrot and any other scraps suitable for vegetable broth in a gallon freezer bag and when I fill 2 bags I boil the scraps for 1 hour on simmer. Then I drain the broth, put in sandwich sized ziplock bags and free it. When I make stews or soups I just pull 1 bag fro the freezer.
I blanch/shock leftover greens and broccoli stems and then blend them into a pesto. Other veggies I either stew or turn to stocks. I dry herbs and freeze minced garlic so they don’t go bad before I can use them. Extra fruits I make jams and typically bake them into goods. Or a pitcher of smoothie takes care of them too. I’m so excited for this book!
Scraps are nutritious too!! Let’s do this 😊
I currently do not do a lot with food scraps cooking wise. I would love to learn more. I do try to use as much of the fruit or vegetable as I can, often cooking things with skins on. I do know that food scraps make for great garden food!
I echo what Marta says. I use a some of my food scraps (radish top soup), (pesto), and braise my beet greens, but I am not sure what to do with my leek tops or other peelings and scraps. We have always shared appropriate scraps with our different animals. But a lot gets composted. Looking forward to seeing the ideas for inspiration!
Ooh, I was totally thinking carrot tops because I always feel weird composting them! Gonna have to try some of that pesto! My name biggest offender I ‘d like to learn how to use is probably onion skins!
Carrot tops! Seem like such a waste…
What a creative way to make the best of our budgets! Looking forward to getting this book <3. Good luck to everyone!
I don't do anything with my food scraps now, but I really want to learn how to cook with them to reduce food waste. One idea I have that I would like to pursue is using them in smoothies and sauces.
I use scraps to make vegetable stock for soups and to feed the guinea pigs!
Eyes wide open, but I get it. My cooking skills are, at best, basic and I'm learning to reach beyond my grasp. I will now always be aware to use food thoughtfully.
I grew up on a farm where we were organic and composted before those were terms. Besides a true garbage, we had a “burn”pile, recyclable pile, and then a bucket for cats and dogs, and another one for our pigs (think watermelon rinds, eggshells).We saved the backs of letterhead and envelopes for scratch paper for games. This was a way of life for us, and we leaned early the circle of life.
Now in my adult life I crave going back to the farm. I wish I had learned what to do with beet leaves, and radish leaves, and pork fat.
I want to know what to do, how to do, and know itstbe right thing;
I save all the scraps to make veggie stock, it helps me maximize the amount of nutrients I'm getting out of my farm box.
I use up bits and pieces of veggies in my vegetable dips, adding chopped radishes, salad greens, even chopped beets. I love learning more in how to cut waste – saving peels for stocks and dehydration for extra veggies sounds great!!
We’ve been using scraps to make soup stock, but I hadn’t considered any other options (other than composting) until seeing this- what a great Idea!
I like to use them in making Vegi stock for yummy soup.
I
Like to use the kale to make chips . I also have made a great reading salad!!
I save all my produce scraps in the freezer to make veggie stock!
Hmmm…trying to throw out suggestion that I haven’t seen yet. My only thought would be to suggest a chapter on how to correct impromptu food scrap smoothies. I made a lot of smoothies with scraps and I’ve learned so far that some combo of cinnamon, honey and or vanilla extract works best. Though sometimes my corrections don’t work so I simply hold my nose and drink fast 😉
And I hit send, I realized my post needed a clarification. Most of my smoothies turn out good, but some taste less than good (weird ) and need correction.
As a family with little ones, there's a lot of chopping so I tend to migrate towards veggies that are snackable. If there is any part of the vegetable that is tough, it'll get steamed. If not then everything is roasted. The only other thing we do regularly is disperse our coffee grounds over our gardens.
I always feel guilty, and know I should be using the greens, when I discard carrot tops, beet tops and other greens. I really look forward to reading this book!
Currently mine all end up in the compost bucket! I would love to start using them in more creative ways especially to get more greens in our diet!
Hello,
As my mom and grandma never saved anything…and there are maybe 5 things I cook in my arsenal of meals. I always need inspiration to deviate from the mundane and ways to save food rather than throw away the scraps would be incredible, I cook purely organic, so it is not cheap. I often find I don't know what to do with leftover tomatoes that I had just cut, chives, bell peppers often go bad in my drawer as well as mushrooms… I am always curious if I could use the trimmings from things I cut up, carrots with the long green tops on them, What parts of the fennel to use and so forth. Your book sounds great and I look forward to reading it, great Idea!
Most of my scraps end up in the freezer for future stock making. Others head to the compost bin to help me grow future veggies!
I like to make soups with left over veggies and/or use rinds, left over pulp, etc., in marinades or dressings. I could definitely use more knowledge and insight on this subject!
I have used cheese rinds for marinara sauce and made pesto from beet and carrot greens before, but we are not consistent in using our scraps. I like some of the ways that other people use them like for flavoring stock and freezing or dehydrating until we have enough. Great ideas!
I use the bottom part of celery, green onions, bok choy as starts for vegetables in my garden, I put them in water for a few days then put them in soil, great way to grow veggies!
I use scraps for compost and in the garden. Curious to learn more!
I've been freezing veggie scraps for years to cook up later for stock. I often add chicken or turkey bones or, when I have them, a salmon head and backbone to make a fish broth.
I love the idea of a book about using the scraps! I have been giving my carrot tops to the bunnies, but I'd love to try the recipe and explore other recipes.
I don’t currently use many food scraps, but I would love to learn how I can use more and waste less food and scraps.
I love the concept of this book, what a great idea! One of the main ways I use food scraps is to save them up in the freezer to make soups and stocks. Stocks are so much better homemade, and using my stock along with other food scraps makes wonderful, unique soups. Topping a bowl of soup with a spoonful of creme fraiche or diced avocados, and takes it to the next level. I also throw cheese rinds in my red sauces and soups, and make various green tops into pesto.
I always save all my scraps and trimmings. I will keep them frozen until I have enough to make huge pot of veggie broth. After I boil all my scraps and trimmings, I take the solids and put them into my compost. I then freeze the broth in quart bowls and use them as I need them, that way there is no waste of broth. I use them to make soups, sauces, and even to boil my pasta. The broth give great flavor and I feel like i am giving my environment a break.
I use the beet tops in my breakfast smoothies. They turn it a beautiful red color.
When I de-stem my kale, I save the stems for my breakfast smoothie as well.
VitaMix recommended!
I don't use scraps and would love to learn how to use them.
As a novice cook I’m never sure what to do with all the little scraps besides just making vegetable broth. This is such a great concept for a book and one that will benefit so many people!
I use my veggie scraps for smoothies. Just pop them in the blender with coconut milk and frozen berries.
i would love to know more of how to eat things that aren't normally eaten! Produce, meat cuts, etc.