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.
I found some yucky, slimy things in my vegetable drawer.
And I have no idea why a tomato is in there because I don’t even keep tomatoes in the fridge.
At least, not on purpose.
On the bright side, I washed the drawer, so now my non-rotten veggies are enjoying a shiny home.
I have to also report that I let some cilantro go bad.
That’s especially embarrassing given that I wrote a whole post about how to use up cilantro.
I did try to save a slightly soft cucumber by peeling it and slicing it for a salad, but it just didn’t taste very good. So the last few slices of that are probably going to be composted.
Oh!! And I forgot about one more vegetable tragedy. I bought a nice bunch of asparagus and it got shoved into a cold part of the fridge.
It froze.
And when I thawed it, it was so mushy, it pretty much just fell to pieces.
But, I bought a new bunch this week and cooked it promptly. So perhaps that atones a bit for my asparagus faux pas.
Well. This week was just full of sad vegetable stories, and I probably made some of you feel much better about your own food waste.
I’ll try not to do that next week. 😉
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Today’s 365 post: Drawers? Check. Paint? Check.
Joshua’s 365 post: Pogo Pogo Pogo!! Yay! (it’s a video of Lisey’s hamster in a hamster ball)
Skirnir Hamilton
Sunday 27th of May 2012
Don't remember throwing anything out this week, but I think there was something, just can't remember what it was. But only a small something. I threw out some pepperoni, unless that was last week. But I do have some old rice in the fridge that may need to be thrown out. Haven't checked it, and probably won't make soup this week with it being 90 degrees today and tomorrow. But we shall see.
Lyn-the lazy
Friday 25th of May 2012
Did good this week. No waste!
janet
Friday 25th of May 2012
i saved some cilantro and garlic by mincing them (separately, of course) and freezing them in small containers. I buy the frozen cubes of both of these from trader joe's, so why not save some money and some food waste and freeze my own?
next time you have frozen asparagus, make cream of asparagus soup. just use a broccoli soup recipe and sub the asparagus. it's delicious... we actually like it better than broccoli soup.
Amanda
Friday 25th of May 2012
I didn't have to throw anything away today! I did lose a few things earlier this week when our fridge went out.. but now I have a new fridge that actually stays consistently cold! Hopefully I'll have a lot less food waste from now on.
Michelle in Ory-gun
Friday 25th of May 2012
I've had good luck with prolonging my cilantro's shelf life. When I get home from the store, I immediately take off the band. Then I wrap the bunch (especially the leaves!) in a paper towel, then put it all in a plastic bag in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 weeks this way.
It seems to me that when you have a moist soft leaf (cilantro, lettuce, etc.) against a plastic bag, rot quickly sets in. Having a paper towel between the leaf and the bag helps a lot.
I know you can put it in a glass of water (like a bouquet of flowers) in the fridge, but that seems to be inviting a lot of spills!