Bird treats from stale bread rolled in birdseed and peanut butter and an antipasto spread composed of simmered ‘n chilled pickled condiments, from Calgary’s “One Smart Cookie”: supermom Julie Van Rosendaal of the blog DinnerWithJulie.com.
Julie Van Rosendaal: “Discovering Expendable Edibles was exciting. I love leftovers. As with all food there are foods that people dismiss but it always shocks me how much perfectly good food is wasted! For example, I toured some apple orchards and it was shocking how many of the fruits were discarded – their shapes (not even color) had to be uniform and not pockmarked otherwise the apples would be rejected by the grocery store. You could create a juice factory from the number of imperfect apples I saw there! It’s just a shame that we have such high standards aesthetically.
Or people throw out celery leaves or the stems of cilantro. I just really hate wasting food. Everyone knows I hate wasting food.”
Julie Van Rosendaal: “Discovering Expendable Edibles was exciting. I love leftovers and see them as a challenge. Unfortunately, they carry a stigma with them. Leftovers are so often tossed out, and it always shocks me how much perfectly good food goes to waste. And not just leftovers … At the point of processing, packaging or growing, food is often rejected for aesthetic reasons. For example, I toured some apple orchards and was shocked by how many of the fruits were discarded if they had imperfect shapes, uneven color or pockmarks because the apples would be rejected by the grocery store. It’s just a shame that we have such high standards aesthetically. People throw out all kinds of perfectly good food. A recent study estimated a third of our food is wasted. So I really strive to waste or compost as little as possible.”
Bake a battered pie inside a brown butter cake batter
“It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. I was working on a story, rushing, trying to cheat on apple pie. I had made an apple pie, but I couldn’t cut it quite right and it fell into pieces. Well, I love a challenge! So I took this brown butter batter I use to make quick apple or plum cake and instead, poured it over this half-eaten half cut-up pie. I poured a little melted butter over the top, baked it about 40 minutes until it was golden and crunchy. The effect looked rustic, like a cobbler. I had a piece of this coffee cake-like concoction this morning …with coffee.
I’ve also made a Cherpumple: cherry, pumpkin and apple pies baked inside layers of cake. I did it for our dinner club last year and it ended up in the Wall Street Journal.”
Mustard vinaigrette from pickled beet brine
“I do things like use the brine from pickled beets. The acidity in the brine makes a great vinaigrette with a little mustard and oil.”
Jams and chutneys from wrinkly tomatoes
“People are always buying tons of food and then forgetting about it in the crisper. If I’ve got wrinkly tomatoes, I’ll roast them or make them into jam and chutney. People think of jams and preserves as huge projects that take over your entire kitchen, requiring you make gallons and gallons. But really, you can take just a couple of pears, chop them up and make a chutney in no time.”
Yogurt expiration dates are a judgment call
“I hate seeing people throw yogurt out only because of the expiration date. In Canada, there is no regulation over expiration dates. In the end, it’s a judgment call – if it’s sealed, it’s probably fine well past the best-by date. Opened packages will deteriorate faster. Depending on the type of food, it’s usually safe a little longer than they say – companies obviously want to be on the safe side. Think how many people toss out yogurt and just buy more …”
Bundt cake from mashed potatoes
“So many people are just not willing to eat leftovers but I see leftovers as a creative challenge. Take Thanksgiving. You have tons of leftovers. But many of these dishes can add moisture or substance to other dishes. I’ve made chocolate bundt cake out of mashed potatoes (as long as there’s no sour cream, garlic or herbs in them). Every cake needs some fat: try substituting half the butter or oil with mashed white potatoes or sweet potatoes.”
Moister baked goods from pureed produce
“In addition to leftover sweet potato, you can also mash or grate cooked carrots, squash or even beets and add them to a muffin (or cake) recipe. Because they’re cooked already, they contain moisture. I like my cooked veggies to be firm enough to grate, so I’ll test them by cutting them with a fork.
I make a lot of banana bread and scones with mashed bananas. Many people use jarred applesauce in their baked goods – but applesauce doesn’t have much in the way of nutritional value. You can mash almost any ripe fruit into a puree – substituting what you have: mashed bananas, pumpkin, your own simmered apples. I have a six year old who leaves half eaten apple cores all over the house – beside the TV, his bed – I grate those into pancakes.”
Add cilantro and celery stem “speckles” into curries
“Tossing away the stems of cilantro and leaves of celery! Why? They’re fantastic in soup or sauteed along with onions, celery and carrots which make up the base of so many dishes. Finely chopped cilantro stems are great in curries – add them to the pan with ginger or in samosa fillings or chutneys. They produce tons of flavor and they’re pretty; like little speckles.”
Broccoli stalks, peeled and cut into crudité sticks
“Broccoli stems: so many people cut off the “tree” part when the stem is really great. In the center, it’s tender, white and juicy. I often roast broccoli, drizzling the stems with oil for 20 minutes in a 450 degree oven. I’ll sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top halfway through. Broccoli stalks are also great cut into crudité sticks for a veggie platter. I’ve heard people ask: What is this? Jicama?”
Cook with the peels and skins of organic produce
“Most of the time I don’t peel things. I rarely peel potatoes because so much of the fiber and nutrients are in the skin. Whatever I’m making with potatoes, I just toss the potatoes with skins on, right in with everything else.”
Grapefruit marmalade from citrus peels
“When I go through a lot of grapefruit, I finely chop the peels and freeze them for making grapefruit marmalade later on. Why not?”
Bird treats from stale bread rolled in peanut butter and birdseed
“With really stale bread, you can make treats for the birds. Take really dry bread that you’ve set out on the countertop overnight. It should be rock hard. Cut the stale bread into little pieces and spread them first with peanut butter and then dip them into a dish of wild birdseed. Poke a hole through and run wire through the bread – or a twist tie – and you’ve got a great treat to string up in the trees. It’s a fun project and the birds and squirrels eat the whole thing.”
Enhance pancake batter with your favorite milk-soaked cereal
“Every family has had that bowl of half eaten cereal on the table, like Mini Wheats, sweet and crispy, soaking up all that good milk. Well, what are pancakes but milk and flour? So I’ll dump my son’s mushy cereal into pancake batter. Mushy cereal also works well in muffin recipes. If you have a half-eaten apple lying around, you can grate bits of apple into the batter. Don’t measure; just throw it in. It turns out amazingly well.”
Vanilla or maple syrup-flavored hot cereal from leftover grains
“Leftover grains like brown rice, quinoa and barley can be warmed up again on the stovetop or in the microwave and served with milk and brown sugar for breakfast. Or to turn leftover rice into rice pudding, cover it with milk, add maple syrup or other sweetener to taste, a splash of vanilla and cook until it’s soaked up all the milk. Add more milk until it’s as thick and creamy as you like. It’s great for beginner cooks because all you have to do is keep adding milk until the grains absorb it all. It’s also a great way to use up small quantities of leftover rice, which plump up and turn into much larger quantities of rice pudding.”
Chuck cheese rinds into soups
“Cheese rinds are still useful – they add cheesy flavor to soups and risotto. Just toss them in and then pull out whatever’s left of the rind before serving.”
Fried rice from orphaned ingredients
“Whenever I make rice I make too much. Cold rice (white long grained, the classic) is the best for making fried rice, since the grains stay separate instead of clumping together. Because it’s generally a jumble of all different things, you don’t really need very much of anything, in fact, you should never use a lot of any one ingredient. And because you’re just heating these ingredients up rather than cooking them through, it’s super fast. I’ll throw a leftover sausage, chunk of roast pork, meat from a chicken leg, some chopped green onion, a handful of frozen peas, leftover bits of vegetables – whatever I have – along with an egg and a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce in a hot pan with canola and a little sesame oil. Voila – fried rice!”
Grandma Madelon’s Antipasto spread from bits of pickled condiments
“Every year I make my Grandma’s antipasto spread – a mixture of purple onions, cauliflower, peppers, olives, mushrooms, shrimp, tomato and vinegar – but there are often little pickled things in the door of my fridge that can easily be tossed in too. Capers, little bits of roasted red peppers, pickles, olives, sun-dried tomatoes – they all work well. My grandma and all my great aunts would make antipasto once a year, and serve it on crackers and give it away at Christmas.”
Further reading:
DinnerWithJulie.com = A cooking blog happening in real time in Julie Van Rosendaal’s kitchen (“including the disasters”). A blog that’s not recipe-driven as much as it is helping people cook with standbys and what’s in season.
Grazing: A Healthier Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods by Julie Van Rosendaal (Jan 2011)
Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Everyday by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan (Dec 2011)
Grazing: A Healthier Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods by Julie van Rosendaal (2009)
One Smart Cookie: All Your Favorite Cookies, Squares, Brownies and Biscotti…With Less Fat (May 2007)
In the Dog Kitchen: Great Snack Recipes for Your Dog by Julie van Rosendaal (May 2005)
