Hello everyone!
I know it's been awhile since I last posted. Life can get in the way like that! But I am back and excited to talk to you about Food Waste!
If you ask people what "Food Waste" is, you may get different answers, but most people of the 21st century believe that fats from meats, cooking liquid from veggies and pasta, bones, egg shells, and veggie scraps are food waste, but they are actually valuable food sources!! They are full of nutrients, flavor, and savings that are thrown away when not used! As a matter of fact, some even recycle themselves! The mothers of WWII knew this, and they took advantage of every bit of food they could get their hands on.
As part of my obsession with WWII, we are planning a trip to London, to visit some historic sites. To do that, we need to save our pennies. That being said, our local market recently had chicken thighs on sale, buy one package, get one free. Thighs are a very fatty, which is awesome. (Yes, fatty meats ARE awesome!) I know modern health standards recommend limiting your fat intake, but the most recent research says the processed hydrogenated fats are deadly, but natural fats are actually good for us. Now, I am not saying deep fry everything in lard, but a TBSP of chicken fat has the same fat grams as butter, oil, or margarine, and twice the flavor! The same goes with bacon fat. But I would like to note, I recommend only using fat rendered from uncured bacon only, as the nitrates and nitrites would end up in your food, and are known to cause health problems as well. Most grocery stores carry uncured bacon. Its a little pricier, but so much healthier! Use the fats for sauteing onions and peppers for a casserole, soup, or stew. Mix raw root veggies with a few TBSP of melted fat and roast them instead of boiling. You will never go back to plain old veggies again!
When roasting the chicken thighs for dinner, I was left with quite a bit of liquid. The liquid separated into juices and fat.
 |
 |
Meat Juices
|
Meat Fat
|
I stored these away in my fridge for future use. It is best to use it within a week, but if put in a freezer safe container (I like ice cube trays put in a Ziploc bag), you can save them indefinitely.
The meat juices are great for using in soups, gravies, sauces, etc. Even better when combined with leftover water from cooking vegetables or pastas.
I whirred in the blender about a cup leftover veggies and their liquid, left over waffle fries (yes, I said waffle fries), leftover scrambled eggs (what??), roasted chicken juices, some milk and a bullion cube, together to make an amazing cream soup full of protein and minerals. My family liked it so much, they asked for seconds!
I had mentioned a few items that most people rightfully think of as trash; vegetable scraps, egg shells, and bones. But no, these items make the most flavorful stocks! I usually gather scraps in a Ziploc bag over a course of a couple week, bones, veggie discards, egg shells, etc, and keep them in the freezer, adding as I go along. Once the bag is full, I throw them all in a stainless steel pot with 6-8 cups of water and a couple TBSP of vinegar. The vinegar breaks down the calcium in the egg shells and bones and puts it in your broth. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 4 or 5 hours. Let cool. Put a strainer in a large bowl, and s l o w l y pour the broth in to the bowl. When the bowl is full to the top, set the strainer aside. Now you can ladle your broth into freezer containers or into jars for canning (pressure canning recommended, see your canner for instructions). Note: I sometimes have to do this process two or three times to get all the broth out of the pot. Once the broth is done, I put the vegetables and strainer, back in the bowl. I will take a small plate with a small bowl of water on top as a weight and press as much broth out of the veggies as I can, usually about 2 cups worth. All told, this broth process makes about 5-7 cups of broth. How much is a quart of stock at the store, about $3-$5 dollars? Over time, that adds up! I also sometimes pick through to get the scraps of meat the might have still been on the bones. This can yield up to a cup of meat, that can be used in a soup, sandwich spread, or pot pie.
Finally, I mentioned some of this food waste recycles itself. Foods like onions, potatoes, celery, and lettuces, can be regrown. Here is a great article on how to do it. http://www.icreativeideas.com/13-vegetables-that-you-can-regrow-again-and-again/ . And here is a picture of my celery doing just that,
soon to go into my garden or a pot in my kitchen.
Our 21st Century disposable mindset has lead us to wasteful habits, and its time to break them! Re-purposing food waste is good for your health, good for the environment, but most of all good for the wallet! Rethink your waste!
Questions/Comments? Let us know.
I whirred in the blender about a cup leftover veggies and their liquid, left over waffle fries (yes, I said waffle fries), leftover scrambled eggs (what??), roasted chicken juices, some milk and a bullion cube, together to make an amazing cream soup full of protein and minerals. My family liked it so much, they asked for seconds!
I had mentioned a few items that most people rightfully think of as trash; vegetable scraps, egg shells, and bones. But no, these items make the most flavorful stocks! I usually gather scraps in a Ziploc bag over a course of a couple week, bones, veggie discards, egg shells, etc, and keep them in the freezer, adding as I go along. Once the bag is full, I throw them all in a stainless steel pot with 6-8 cups of water and a couple TBSP of vinegar. The vinegar breaks down the calcium in the egg shells and bones and puts it in your broth. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 4 or 5 hours. Let cool. Put a strainer in a large bowl, and s l o w l y pour the broth in to the bowl. When the bowl is full to the top, set the strainer aside. Now you can ladle your broth into freezer containers or into jars for canning (pressure canning recommended, see your canner for instructions). Note: I sometimes have to do this process two or three times to get all the broth out of the pot. Once the broth is done, I put the vegetables and strainer, back in the bowl. I will take a small plate with a small bowl of water on top as a weight and press as much broth out of the veggies as I can, usually about 2 cups worth. All told, this broth process makes about 5-7 cups of broth. How much is a quart of stock at the store, about $3-$5 dollars? Over time, that adds up! I also sometimes pick through to get the scraps of meat the might have still been on the bones. This can yield up to a cup of meat, that can be used in a soup, sandwich spread, or pot pie.
Finally, I mentioned some of this food waste recycles itself. Foods like onions, potatoes, celery, and lettuces, can be regrown. Here is a great article on how to do it. http://www.icreativeideas.com/13-vegetables-that-you-can-regrow-again-and-again/ . And here is a picture of my celery doing just that,
soon to go into my garden or a pot in my kitchen.
Our 21st Century disposable mindset has lead us to wasteful habits, and its time to break them! Re-purposing food waste is good for your health, good for the environment, but most of all good for the wallet! Rethink your waste!
Questions/Comments? Let us know.
No comments:
Post a Comment
This blog is dedicated to the memory of those who fought for our country during WWII and the families that supported them on the home front. Please comment with respect.