Ask: How do you use what you don't save?

A friend recently asked if there were ways to use what I don't save. This was in response to this post, where I talk about what I don't save and why.

There are many ways to use almost all of the things that I don't save. It just doesn't fit in with my life right now. I can give you a list of possibilities for each item I listed in the previous post. These are listed in no particular order.

Onion peels- onion peels are great for dye. I have never tried this myself but I have heard you can use yellow or red onion skins to dye cloth or eggs. A quick Google search leads to many sites giving instructions on how to do this.

Broccoli, Cabbage, and other Brassica- The plant stems and leaves, that I don't save can be cooked in recipes calling for greens, gumbo or colcannon come immediately to mind. Broccoli stems, when peeled could be cut up and eaten raw either in rounds or matchsticks in a veggie platter.

Overripe bananas: Depending on your family's tolerance for overripeness, can be used in banana bread, cake, or smoothies. They are especially good blended while frozen. These can also be fed to chickens.

Pork bones and bits: You technically can make pork stock out of these. I find it really greasy and not very good. If the bones are raw you can give them to your dog, but try to clean off as much fat as you can first. (I will give more information about this, soon. Look for Tips for the Extreme: Pets.) Leftover pork bits can also be fed to chickens.

Chicken Livers: I used to use these for pate. I just have a hard time saving them up to get enough for a batch and then they end up freezer burned. I guess I could have developed a micro recipe that would make a small amount with one chicken's worth of liver?  You could feed these to cats or dogs though. I don't. I have a very strict "no people food" policy for all my indoor animals.

Citrus Peels: You can scrub with them. I will sometimes scrub a messy sink with an orange or lemon peel. The peels pick up dirt and grime while leaving a lovely scent. Rinse well after scrubbing. You can keep extras in the freezer until you want to use them. You can make cleaning vinegar out of peels. You can find instructions on how to do this, here.  You can use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest. This zest can be candied, used in recipes or frozen for future use.


These are just some ideas. I never said those items were not useful, just that I don't save them.
I hope some of this is helpful.

Thoughtfully,
Kristin

Ask: What Next?

Hello All,

I know this blog is just starting and I don't have much of a readership yet, but I am working on a few projects that I would like to get some feedback on.

First I made a Facebook page for this blog. It is up and running right now. Click here to check it out!
I am hoping that this will make it easier for all of you to share your thoughts and ask questions. Let's see how that goes.

I also am in the brain work stages for a couple of projects.
1. A cook along series where I provide, shopping lists, recipes, budgets and detailed instructions on a meal plan.  My vision is to offer these by subscription, for a certain number of weeks, say 12. If these are successful I can expand the program.
2. A cookbook, where I can give recipes for all the stages of a Cascade. It will take some work to make it easy to use, but if I work it out it should be a very unique cookbook.

Anyway I would love feedback on these ideas, either here or on the Facebook page. Thank you for reading.

Thoughtfully,
Kristin

Ask: What not to save?

I was recently asked, "Are there any leftovers you do *not* save?"


This was a tough one for me, I save a lot.

I really don't save things that can't go into the stock pot:
onion skins, carrot peels, pork, brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.)

I also don't save things I find I don't use.  These are things that are useful to other people but I don't use them:
citrus peels, chicken livers, overripe bananas

I rarely freeze finished meals. We usually pick at them until we are sick of them or eat them too fast to save. I may save parts, leftover meat is a prime example, in ready to use portions, but I don't usually save, say, casseroles or finished one pot meals. I probably could save these things, but I find I don't use them that way.


I am trying, (albeit, with some limited success) to streamline my leftover and storage processes. I am making a goal for myself to only keep what I have a real plan to use. "Someday" and "Might Be Useful" are not plans!  It may help if I put a note on things that might not be obvious, in case I forget what crazy experiment this "object" was supposed to be a part of. So if I revisit this question in the future, my answer will be different. As the tastes of our household change so will what I save.

To be clear, even though I do not save these things, I do compost them. So while I don't toss them in the refrigerator, they don't go into the trash.

Thank you so much for the question!

Thoughtfully,
Kristin

P.S. I would love more. Ask away in the comments below.

Ask: Fridge Scan!

I didn't get any questions this week so I am asking myself:

Where do you start? What do I fix for lunch?


Well first I do a Fridge Scan.  I look through the drawers and behind things on the shelves and see what needs to get eaten first (and clean out what can't be used at all). Sometimes I will find things I can turn into meals that lead to other meals. Sometimes I only end up with awesome lunch, either way the fridge gets cleaner and we save money by eating what we already have.

Here's how a recent fridge scan went for me:

I saw:

leftover peas
a small amount of leftover ground sausage

green onions
pickles
leftover pasta and sauce
cottage cheese


This led to me thinking of possibilities:

sausage, peas > egg scramble or cous cous..

pasta, sauce cottage cheese > pasta bake!


green onions, pickles > tuna salad

So I made these things and had a lunch and dinner covered.




Another time I found leftover sloppy joes and turned them into these:

Quick lunch, Score!



I also try to do a fridge scan before I go to the store, yes to see what we're missing, but also to see how I can best use what we already have. Like right now I have some leftover pork roast waiting to turn into egg rolls but need wrappers!

I hope some of this helps when you don't know what to cook.

Thoughtfully,
Kristin


P.S.  Please ask questions. I would love to work on articles you would like to read.

Ask #1 Labeling Leftovers

Raven Skamaniac asks:
Hey Kristin!
I'm wondering how you consistently label and store leftovers so that you know what you've got later. I'm good at sticking stuff in the freezer, not so good with labeling in a way I can read later!





Well Raven I have to be honest my freezer is a mess, but your question inspired me to try to reorganize it this weekend! If I succeed I will post my process here. If I fail I may let that comment fade into memory and hope no one asks!.

I do however have a few strategies that help me keep track of things even as they are unorganized.


1. I use clear containers whenever possible.  Freezer bags, clear plastic containers, glass jars it is so much easier to find things when you can see them! This is essential in the refrigerator. I find that if I put anything in the fridge in a opaque container, I eat it myself or it rots. I use plastic wrap on plates/bowls so it is easy to see what there is.


2. I standardized the recycled containers. While I buy many things that come in reusable tubs, I recycle all but one brand of quart sized yogurt containers, and the clear tubs that soup and Thai food come in. I also have a stash of cup sized yogurt containers and lids, but I have enough of them to last a lifetime, I do not collect those.  As a result I have three kinds of these lids, the large ones for the quart sized containers, the clear ones with a star in the middle for the soup containers and the small ones for the yogurt cups.

3. A Sharpie is my friend.  On the recycled containers I write on the top of each one what's in it and the date. When I wash the container the marker label comes right off ready to be labeled again.

Some people use systems of record keeping like a markerboard on the outside of the fridge or freezer, that they erase things as they use them, or a list where they cross things off as they use them. I never could get that to work for me. I utilize a pantry principle more often, where there are things I have on hand all the time. When I take the last one I put it on the list of things to buy or make.

Other than that, I use a fridge, and freezer scan to start my meal planning, I work around what I already have as much as possible. That way more things get used up and not lost.

I hope you find some of this useful, thank you so much for your question!

Thoughtful cooking,
Kristin

Ask!

I am thinking about starting an Ask column on this blog. If you are having trouble finding a creative solution to a household problem or need ideas for your leftovers, comment and I will start answering them once a week.