Every week, I post a picture of the food that has gone bad over the last seven days. Why do I do this? Because in March of 2008, I finally got fed up with the amount of food I was wasting, and I thought that showing my waste to other people would motivate me to use up my food instead of wasting it. Because this often embarrassing practice was so helpful for me, I invited other bloggers to join me in posting their food waste photos, and Food Waste Friday was born.
Yep, it’s turned off. Because somehow, one of the kids got it infected with a virus. Rats.
But, I keep an IT specialist on staff*, so I’m sure he’ll have it back up and running in short order.
*Well, actually, I didn’t hire him…I just married him.
So for now, I’m blogging on the laptop. I don’t like it nearly as much as my comfy desktop, but that’s clearly a first world problem if there ever was one.
Anyway! I actually don’t have a food waste picture for you this week. The only thing I lost was a cucumber, which I bought in a multipack from the reduced for quick sale stand at the grocery store. Happily, the other ones were just fine, and they’ve been eaten.
A single cucumber is a pretty good week for me, especially since it went into the compost bin and not into the trash.
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How did you do this week? If you blogged about your food waste, link us up by entering your info into the widget below. You’ll save money, reduce your trash output, and get a little publicity for your blog! And if you don’t blog, you can still share about your food waste by leaving a comment.
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Today’s 365 post: On to book 7!
Joshua’s 365 post: Glow
Jeanine
Friday 11th of November 2011
We've all had a stomach virus this week so I feel like I've wasted a LOT of food. (Starchy, BRAT diet food, of course, but still food.) Is it bad that I feel guilty about this?
Molly F. C.
Friday 11th of November 2011
I freeze bananas when they are too far gone to eat. I put them in the freezer with their peels on. When I pull them out to use, I peel like normal. The bananas are a bit more watery this way but I've never noticed any detrimental consequence in my banana breads.
Jenifer Harrod
Friday 11th of November 2011
Too bad my hubby is real good at fixing computers and comes in handy as my tech man. I'll be praying for your siuation. :( www.feedingnineonadime.blogspot.com
Skirnir Hamilton
Friday 11th of November 2011
This week, I wasted a banana, as I have no idea what to do when I have one overripe banana. Many say freeze it and then when you get enough make banana bread. How do you freeze it, peel on or off? IE if I freeze it peel on, is it really messy when you thaw it and then depeel?
I am about to waste some cauliflower, as someone gave me some almost bad cauliflower as they had no use for it. As we don't tend to eat cauliflower, I am not sure what to do with it. Ideas?
WilliamB
Friday 11th of November 2011
You can freeze the bananas with or without skin; you can also freeze them whole or in slices. I freeze mine whole and skinless. To defrost I put in the blender jar ... they can get messy as the sticky juice drips. Since I need them pureed for banana bread, putting them in the bowl saves mess and lets me use that tasty sticky juice.
Out of curiosity, how did you end up with cauliflower if you don't eat it?
Lisa
Friday 11th of November 2011
I freeze bananas in the skin all the time. Then when I want to use them in banana bread, I just let them thaw on a pie plate because they are pretty watery as they thaw. You just have to split open the skin and squish it all out. It's kind of a funny texture and colour, but it doesn't matter for baked goods.
As for cauliflower, my favourite use is in soup. Here's an approximate recipe for Creamy Cauliflower soup.
Chop up a head of cauliflower and an onion. Place into a cooking pot and cover with water. I actually usually use chicken broth as this gives a WAY better flavour. (You can just use the powdered chicken flavoured mix, too.) Cook the vegetables until soft, and then mash a little with a potato masher. In a second pot, make a thick white sauce. Melt butter, add flour, and, stir in milk and cook, stirring until thickened. Boil and cook 1-2 minutes. (I know this isn't really a recipe, but I never measure. Most basic learn-to cook cookbooks have a general recipe for white sauce.) Then add the white sauce to the cooked vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a tiny bit of curry powder. Start with only a little bit, as it is easy to get too much. You just want a nice bit of extra zest, but it shouldn't have a strong curry flavour. I often add the salt and curry when I'm cooking the veggies so the flavour is mixed in a little more. You can also adjust the ratio of vegetables and broth to white sauce according to how thick you like your soup.
Elizabeth L.
Friday 11th of November 2011
I'm *finally* back in the food waste game. I'm also pretending that the last few weeks and how much food I've wasted didn't happen. :)
I wasted a random box of vanilla wafers that I don't remember buying and some breakfast bread that just didn't turn out how I wanted.