Food Waste Friday | My computer, she is out of commission.
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
Something so lovely had to be wasted !
Computer issues are no fun! Ours died about a month ago and we had to replace it. It doesn't seem to have been a virus, but there were a few months worth of pictures that could not be retrieved...boo! Hopefully the virus is a quick fix for Mr FG!
So near and yet so far! I have 4 egg yolks (made meringue with the whites yesterday for a charity diner party for a friend) - what to do with the yolks? Had suggestions from readers so far - omelette and madeira cake... I need to get busy and get them gone by dinner time! Opting for an extra madeira at the mo!
Get well soon FG computer...
For those yolks, think rich creamy foods, usually sweet: creme anglaise, custard, ice cream; nonsweets include quiche, timbale. You can also use yolks in some breads or pie crusts, or to brush breadstuffs.
I always give my extra yolks to my dog.
Ack is that safe? Raw eggs just don't work well with me :X
Thanks all - plumped for 2x yolks and 1x full egg for a cake and then have made pancakes with the other two yolks and a full egg for pancakes for a kiddy treat tea! I had two full eggs also in the fridge, so not a scrap of waste for me today! Hurrah!
I cook the yolks prior to giving them to my dog.
A small week for me, too, but only in the very relative sense, since I'm just getting back into the whole keeping-track-of-the-fridge thing.
Boo for computer issues! I actually find my laptop super comfy...I would hate using a desktop! Then again, having to sit in one place to use my computer would probably really help cut down on my computer time...
I went through our fridge last night in preparation for today's shopping trip and it wasn't pretty. I ended up tossing a head of broccoli and 2 stalks of celery, plus a few slices of bread that we'd forgotten about on the counter. I did manage to salvage a couple more stalks of celery, though (I intend to eat them with peanut butter as a snack today!), half an orange pepper, and some plain yogurt.
Mostly, it bugs me because I like my ergonomic keyboard and my regular mouse. The laptop keyboard and mouse feel really constricting!
Those on-call IT guys come in handy quit a bit. 🙂
A whole *quart* of melon. : - {
A double handful of green beans, but I didn't buy them.
A couple of baby bok choi may be on the list shortly.
On the plus side: I didn't waste the "meh" restaurant leftovers (faintly curry-ish Vietnamese crepe, lemongrass tofu & veg) got eaten despite being not to my taste. And I used my own containers to pack up the leftovers.
More waste:
- half a bag of olive breadsticks that I'm not morally responsible for;
- half a bag of garlic pretzel bits that I did not like. I could have eaten these. However my theory is that I should eat things that either are good for me or tasty or - ideally - both. The pretzel bits were neither. I value my health more than I value not wasting food.
Tomorrow I will make Morning Glory Muffins that will use up three things: one, pear sauce made from the pears that were in last week's FWF entry; two grated carrot from the FIVE POUND bag the roommate bought; and three, an apple that's getting long in the tooth.
I don't have any waste this week, but I've predicted some for next, which is a bit of an odd produce item.
No Waste Week!! I feel so alive!
I had no waste!
We actually had no waste this week, which makes me very happy. It seems nearly impossible with little kids in the house, so no waste weeks are something to be celebrated!
Get well soon to your computer! Isn't having an IT husband handy from time to time? :-p
I wasted some hummus and a few other bits of leftovers the kids didn't finish. Not too bad, all in all. I hope your computer gets better soon! 🙂
Sorry to hear about your computer! We have problems with our PCs all the time at home, which is why I really love my Macbook that I use for college. I never have virus issues. It's great, but I got I scholarship for it. Otherwise, Macs would be way too pricey for me!
This week I wasted a few mushrooms. At my school they are developing a committee for the Dining Center, so hopefully some good anti-foodwaste measures will come out of it! It's something I'd really like to be apart of.
The only waste I have had so far is some celery. I didn't clean the frig out yet so there might be more. It was a eat out sort of week this week.
I also had no waste! It's very cool!
I'll have to try harder next week to keep up with all of you no-wasters! The last serving of curry hit the trash here, plus a couple of cups of sour milk (I know I could have baked with it but my husband poured it out before I had the chance), and an avocado that was rock hard on the outside and rotten in the middle.
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.
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?
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.
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?
Had to jump in - I had a head of cauli a couple of weeks ago and as part of my No Waste Tastes Great that week. I slow cooked it with cheese and stock. It is a fantastic soup. You need one cauli head chopped, 150grams (just over 5oz) of cubed cheese (strength dependent on your taste) veg stock (fill standard crock pot to two thirds) and blackpepper to season. Cook high 4 hours or low 8 hours and blend. Really nice! I was pleasantly surprised! In fact I've purchased a cauli today to make it again, as we have been having it regularly since I discovered it!
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. 🙁
http://www.feedingnineonadime.blogspot.com
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.
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?