Food Waste Friday-Oh, Cilantro. I have failed you again!
Every week, I post a picture of the food that has gone bad over the last seven days. I started doing this in March of 2008 to help motivate myself to use up my food instead of wasting it and it's been very effective. Since it helped me so much, I invited other bloggers to join me in posting their food waste photos, and Food Waste Friday was born.
Yes indeedy, peoples. Cilantro is once again in my picture, after a long and conspicuous absence from my Food Waste Friday posts. Sigh. As you can see, there is very little here, though. I used it when I made fajitas, and this small bit didn't get used up. It went bad early on in the week, but I put it in the freezer so I could take a picture today and show you.
The good news is that there was nothing else to add to the photo today!
________________________________________________________
How did you do this week? If you blogged about your food waste, link us up by entering your info into the Mister Linky Widget below. Participants get a spot on my Food Waste blogroll for the upcoming week, so join us! You'll save money, reduce your trash output, and get a little publicity for your blog!
If I had cilantro in my fridge and had a food waste blog, you'd always see pictures of it! I've heard that some people are genetically predisposed to having cilantro taste like soap. I think I'm one of these unfortunate few...I'm not a picky eater but cilantro doesn't taste good to me at all!
I have heard the same thing about cilantro. I personally love it, but my boyfriend's sister can't be in the same room with it.
One way that I use up cilantro is to chop it up and mix it into some plain yogurt, add a good amount of salt, and either some finely chopped cucumber or scallion or both. It makes a very tasty condiment...dip raw veggies into it or pour it over any kind of roasted veggies.
I've heard of that too! I'm one of those lucky people who can enjoy cilantro, though.
Inge, that sounds really delicious.
My mom's best friend insists it tastes like soap. I think she's nuts, but eh, what can you do? More cilantro for me! I seriously eat so much of this, and I thought of a suggestion for how to use it up. We've been eating a lot of Middle Eastern/Indian food lately, and a lot of places have a cilantro hummus or sauce that is to die for! It packs a mean punch on sandwiches, salads, veggies, rice, you name it.
I'm one of those people too, Erika. That's how I can tell if something has cilantro in it. It tastes like someone added a little bit of dish soap.
It is your nemesis, Kristen.
i use up the lefttover cilantro in a large ziplock bag with sliced limes (or oranges) and a few chicken breasts (or salmon fillets). Throw it back in the fridge and the the chicken defrosts/marinades in the bag. sprinke the chicken with garlic salt and grill. delicious!
Cilantro is super easy to grow...get a pack of seeds for $1 and then you can only pick what you need! It likes heat, so throw the seeds along the wall near the fireplace or pot them so you can bring it inside during the frost. i love your blog.
You've probably heard this tip before but here goes anyway:
Chop the coriander (or cilantro as you call it) finely. Pack it into an ice cube tray and freeze. When defrosted it will not look attractive enough to be used as a garnish but will be perfectly fine stirred into a sauce or casserole.
Coriander is one of my favourite herbs and I've tried growing it on several occasions with limited success. However I'm giving it another go on my kitchen windowsill. Fingers crossed!
I lost about a cup of strawberries, a cup of hummus, two bagels and... one ma'amoul. Not so great this week.
When you get cilantro, why not de-stem it and roll it up into a tight package and freeze it in a log, so you can just cut off a slice when you need it?
Do you have a dehydrator? I put my herbs from the store and my herb garden in it to dry. NO LOSS!!! Or put in the oven and you have dried herbs for later use!!!
Dehydrators are AWESOME!!! Waiting to score one at Goodwill!
We did bad this week. We could not finish the pot roast even after getting creative with it. Also found crackers in one of my husband's lunch bags, stale and crumbly. Found a stray crepe towards the back of the fridge that was hard as a rock. And rice. Again. Mission next week: don't cook rice.
here's what i do with almost-gone-bad herbs...
heat a bit of oil/butter in a skillet. Add spices like cumin seed, mustard seed sesame seed, etc and let them sputter (you might wanna cover it). then add any sturdy herbs like rosemary or sage or whatever plus garlic or onion.
stir those around and when they are starting to brown add the cilantro (i do this with parsley a lot too).
Sautee til the cilantro wilts and the green really brightens, then turn it off. When it is cool process it in a blender or food processor, adding oil as necesarry
Store in the fridge and use to flavor anything from rice to pasta to sandwiches!
I was going to suggest growing cilantro, like Meg. I used to have at least half a bunch of parsley to throw away every week because I always bought it for a couple of different dishes we like. But then if we didn't use it, it went bad. It was a conundrum until this spring when I planted one plant in a pot and now I can always clip off enough for clams linguini or anything else, but I NEVER waste it anymore. I should stress that I am not a gardener. If you can grow basil (which I know you do), I'm sure cilantro is just as easy.
I do not enjoy cilantro and rarely buy it, but I had a party last weekend and had a small bunch for my carne asada tacos. I can't believe how fast it goes bad. After less than 2 days I had to throw it away...bummer. Many other fresh herbs last much longer...
bad luck on the cilantro again, Kristen. I had a weird thing for food waste this week; something I would never have thought of...
It really is such a small amount and it is going to go into the compost bin, so you shouldn't feel too bad.
I just had one item and it probably should have gone in last week's picture.
A dehydrator is great, but you can use an oven. Prepare your food to be deydrated, lay out on a cookie sheet, heat your oven to 110F or so, turn off heat but turn on light, put food in, wait.
For something that dries quickly, like herbs or citrus zest, you don't need the heat. Just turn on the light.
If you have a mesh cooling rack that you can prop up on something (I use my roasting rack) that's even better because it allows for more air circulation. So does hanging the food. Frex, I tie herbs together by the stem, then tie the string to the oven rack.
This is totally safe for produce and cooked meat. For raw meat you should keep the heat at 110F or so.
To give y'all a ballpark figure, a new dehydrator costs about $30 from Target.
Re freezing or drying cilantro-I normally prefer fresh cilantro to either of those options. However, I'm not opposed to freezing or drying. The problem is that I didn't remember to do that in time! I thought the cilantro was still ok and when I got it out to use in my lunch, it was sort of slimy.
I have tried growing it before but it went to seed almost immediately. If any of you have advice about how to avoid that problem, I'm all ears.
William, I chuckled about the oven light because I accidentally broke the cover for my light when I was trying to put a new bulb in, and so I have no oven light at all right now. I'm worried it's bad to put a light bulb in with no cover. Must order new cover.
@Ashley
leftover rice- mix with an egg and veggies and fry on a griddle. serve with salsa or ketchup. rice fritters! Breakfast for dinner!
Interesting question about the light. [checks oven] Mine has a cover. If you *really* wanted to use it, you could put the bulb in only when you want to dehydrate without turning on the heat. Before you order that cover, I would find out how much you need an oven light. I bet the mfgr wants some outrageous price for it and I'd be shocked if you could find a used one. (I hope I'm wrong.)
@Alea I agree. I think if it is "compostable", then it shouldn't be considered waste. There is a value in tracking however ... to keep one vigilant.
Maybe all those who say it goes bad too fast need to store it better? I trim and clean mine as soon as I get it home and put it in a tall glass. I fill with enough water to keep the glass standing up but not high enough to reach the leaves (you may need to remove some lower leaves or short sprigs and use them right away). I cover it all in the produce bag it came in AFTER draping a papertowel over it to keep it from getting too moist. It will last at least a week! Change the water enough and it could last two