Food Waste Friday | Two Rescues (plus an Asiago update)
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.
Could we have a drumroll?
I had no food waste this week!
That hasn't happened in an embarrassingly long time.
I do have two rescue operations to tell you about, though. Yesterday, I noticed that a fair number of my cherry tomatoes were looking kind of wrinkly.
So, I cut them in half and put them in a pot with some sliced onion, Italian seasoning, and a bit of salt. And they cooked up into a nice bit of tomato sauce.
It had more in the way of skins than usual, of course, but a quick run through the food processor could easily take care of that.
Also, yesterday I found some sour cream that was on the brink of becoming a science project. Fortunately, I was making buttermilk waffles for dinner, and it occurred to me that sour cream is not SO different from buttermilk. So, I just subbed the sour cream for an equal amount of buttermilk, and the waffles were perfectly fine.
Rescuing food always makes me feel so resourceful.
Now, about that Asiago.
I took your recommendations, shaved off pretty much the whole outside of the cheese block, and ate some.
And then I realized something.
I don't like 18-month aged Asiago cheese. I'm fine with cheese being a bit pungent (I like Swiss more than Mozzarella) and I can chow down on some Parmesan, but this Asiago was just too strong for me.
A cheese connoisseur (Holy moly! I spelled that right on the first try!) would probably have thought this was fabulous, but I just didn't. And I am not going to force down cheese I hate in the name of preventing food waste.
So, unfortunately, the Asiago is still going to have to be categorized as food waste.
________________________________________________
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.
Those of you who participate in Food Waste Friday can now grab a fancy-schmancy button to perk up your posts. If you copy and paste the following code into your Food Waste Friday post, this little graphic will appear.
If you blog on WordPress, just make sure you're in html mode when you copy and paste the code, or it won't work properly.
_____________________________________________
Today's 365 post: Little Drawer-Emptier
Joshua's 365 post: Pictures by Zoe
This week I almost had no food waste, but thats before I checked in the very back of the fridge, so next week I will strive for no food waste.
I also have a ziploc bag with the bread ending in them, so I wont throw them away, I used some in my meatloaf this week, which was very useful. Someone on here told me to do that and thanks.
I love a good food rescue story!
I know. It just thrills your heart, doesn't it?? =P
I'm with you, Kristen. Choking down something in the name of not wasting it is about as bad as throwing it away in the first place. And it's not like make those impulse type purchases all the time, anyway.
I'm glad you tried the asiago. Even though you didn't like it, at least you won't wonder.
Hi! I started lurking around your blog a few days ago when I googled "Aldi" to find some information/amo to see if I can get my boyfriend to feel comfortable enough shopping there!
I love what I see!
Too bad you don't love asiago cheese, I LOVE it! Could you fold it into lasagna or sprinkle it over some pasta or cut up pieces to serve with crackers and fruit spread if you have company? I hope you do!
Happy blogging 🙂
I don't mind Asiago, usually...but this had sat in my fridge for an extra year or so, and it was too pungent for me!
Life is way too good and short to eat something you just don't like :0)
Good for you for trying and I, too, agree that your decision makes sense. IMHO food should be tasty, or good for our health, or both. Cheese isn't good enough for us to justify forcing it down, so why eat it? Although I find myself wondering if anyone else in your family likes it.
I just discovered your website from the Frugal Village forum. I wanted to suggest to you that instead of throwing away the Asiago cheese you can freeze it -cheese freezes v. well -I am not sure whether you know this or not but thought I would mention it. Also, like you, I got so tired of throwing out odds and ends every week so I made a conscious effort to cook up what I had -I meal plan around what I had left over. Also, if I am not going to eat it, I will freeze it.
She could freeze it and use it as a door stop.
Good job with no food waste!!!!
FYI: in an article that Jonathan at Wasted Food linked to today, I mentioned Food Waste Friday and provided a link to your website.
http://blogs.euobserver.com/jacobs/2012/02/06/food-waste-beating-bourgeois-etiquette/comment-page-1/#comment-2843
It's not a faux pas to take a half-eaten cheese to one of my parties! In fact it's encouraged... That's what I asked New Years Eve, for everyone to bring leftovers and only items that needed using up, no new foodstuffs. This was based on a presumption that everyone had over-purchased and had all sorts of bits and pieces clogging up their fridges and cupboards. I may do them sporadically (after public holidays etc) - I even have a name for them 😉 - do you think it'll catch on?
What's the name??
On a related note, I was not a happy camper when I saw the Official Carver of the Turkey toss the carcass at the office Christmas party. Guess she didn't believe me when I said I wanted to take it home.
It's too obvious to type it!
Have you had many strange looks since returning to work? I've noticed people have started to cross the road when they see me coming.
No waste this week I think. There will be if I don't make the vegetable soup I've been talking about for a week: the brussels sprouts are too tough to roast well and the half-price bag of turnips is still half-full. There's still 3 increasingly wrinkled beets and a large daikon radish that have been holding out for ... er ... 3 months, waiting for me to figure out what to do with them. The beets I can make myself eat roast[1] but the radish was a lets-see purchase and I haven't yet seen. Any ideas?
[1] I've tried beets in veg soup. Beets in soup taste OK in moderation but they make the whole soup bright beet-pink.
Asian coleslaw. Grate it up and mix with grated carrots and grated cabbage. Add a dressing made from a mix of sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce, rice vinegar, etc. Sometimes daikon needs to be peeled if it has a tough exterior.
Do you have a juicer? I juice beets a lot.
I used to eat grated daikon with sashimi (raw fish without the rice)all the time when I lived in Japan. Very tasty. Grate the daikon length wise and use as a bed for raw (sashimi) fish, gently poached or baked fish and some type of Asian sauce.
Kristen's Asian Glazed Tilapia might work quite well on top of grated daikon.
I'm with Jen, remove the outer layer first before using it either way above.
Please let us know what you do with it.
Alternatively, you could cut it up into thin slices and use as you would radishes in a salad.
Roommate ate sticks of daikon radish with bacon/yogurt dip from a Superbowl party; reports that it was OK but not pleasantly sharp like a "real" radish. I'm glad I tried it and even gladder it didn't go to compost, but I don't expect to buy another one.
OTOH the pan-roasted turnip recipe was a thorough disaster. I tried one piece and put the rest in the compost.
Hi Jo! That sounds great! Did your guests actually bring "bits n bobs"? I'm seconding William B's request: "What's the name"? Hope you're doing good! Cheeryshirley
Yes they did bring all sorts...crackers, dips etc... it did create a little waste however, a friend put a tub of cream in my fridge and I missed it.
I'd call it a 'No Waste Tastes Great' party of course! 😉
What about finely shredding the cheese and mixing it with something more mild, say some Romano or Parmesan? This will keep well in the freezer and used in or on a tomato dish. The taste won't be so strong and mixed with other powerful ingredients in a dish it shouldn't be noticed at all. Mixed into polenta, sprinkled in a lasagna or other baked pasta would be better than wasting it. I cannot stand spinach but if I mix the stuff in soup or whatever I don't mind it then.
Well, darn. I like spinach...maybe you can send me some spinach, and you have my Asiago!
Oh yes the cheese dilemma. I've had some Brie hanging around since Christmas. As I really try not to have any food waste my No Waste Tastes Great this Friday includes a slow-cooked mushroom and brie soup that I've never tried before. The Brie is only 4 days past it's use by date, and cheese is old milk anyway right? So going with it. However 18 months out of date strong cheese, I reckon would be pushing it to conjure something up from...but I may be wrong! There's always a silver lining though? I got the opportunity to photograph the cheese as part of my post, and I think I did okay. Not perfect, but it wasn't bad. Started a 'freebie' photography course yesterday, and the instructor showed me how to change the aperture on my camera manually. The term 'a little knowledge is dangerous' comes to mind...how much havoc can I cause now I start to think I may know what I'm doing? Oh dear!
Oh, how fun!
The only waste this week was some pudding from aldi. It had too
Many carbs per serving for my diabetic diet.
Asiago is great if grated, frozen and then added in small quantitites to home made soups---gives it a depth that can be missing with straight broth.
Your tomato sauce looks great! Do you use an immersion blender if you want to get a smoother texture, or transfer it to the blender? I like a chunky sauce, but one of our sons isn't too into it, so I need to blend things a little bit more to cut down on the dinnertime drama. 😉
I'm noticing a difference in the way I view our food, since I started posting on Food Waste Fridays a few weeks ago. I'm more compelled to get and stay organized, and doing more detailed planning. Again, Kristen, I sincerely thank you for your wonderful idea, and opening Food Waste Friday up to the community. You are doing a great thing.
I don't own an immersion blender, so I have to transfer it to my food processor.
So glad FWF is helping you!
I love my immersion blender. I waited until I found one at a garage sale.
I also got a small Oreck portable vacuum for $5.00. I recently noticed that the bag was looking-too-withered-to-reuse for much longer. Yesterday at the Costco Business Center, I saw a newer version of the same vac. for $120. I was thrilled to also see a 12-pack of the cute little bags. The price was $7.99, more than I paid for the vacuum cleaner. I believe this is frugal logic as I'm convinced I'm still coming out way ahead!
That's awesome! And way to go for trying to salvage the Asiago. That's kinda how I felt about my bison sausage this week. It was good, but not great which is why it sat around for too long and eventually turned.
Last night, I made grape juice with my shriveled grapes. I think that I'll make better efforts to eat the grapes b/c there's little reward for a lot of effort to make a few grapes into juice. But it was good!
I admire your efforts to save the cheese. I agree that food should also taste good. I had a similar insight this week with Granola in my food waste report. I really don't want to have to work that hard again to avoid food waste!
I thought I was going to be all clear for food waste until I found a small hidden potato in my fridge. I also may have eaten a container of strawberries yesterday to avoid food waste but I did share with my sons.
I wasted just a few things this week, and they went in the compost. Not too bad. I made mashed potato soup earlier in the week to use up a bunch of leftovers that would've otherwise went into the trash.
My refrigerator was getting empty so I though I wouldn't have any waste until I found the soggy corn tortillas and mystery eggs.
Great job on the no food waste Kristen. I could not have eaten cheese that didn't taste good either. At least you had good intentions!
Life was just too busy last night to write a post - and I phoned last week's in, so I didn't feel good about doing that 2 weeks in a row - but here's the skinny: still waste-free for 2012! Used up some cabbage & carro ts in yakisoba, and grape tomatoes by sauteeing and serving over chicken. Hooray! (Not so sure about this coming week, though...one can only keep the streak for so long.)
Congratulations on a No food waste week!
So far I have no waste for the week. I made some broccoli cheese soup from a mix the other day though, and it isn't terribly good. I'm not sure if it is worth it to eat the leftovers since it isn't exactly healthy anyway.
It's been very minimal....I'm quite impressed what happens when you start paying more attention to what you buy.
Only a bottled drink I bought while traveling--the water in that town was too wretched to drink! I thought it was flavored fizzy water, but it turned out to be sweetened as well and was awful. Drank a little and tossed the rest--at least it was on sale. And a good reminder that not only are they expensive but I don't like just about everything in those chilled bottle drink cases anyway.
I don't find that keeping track of food waste makes me buy less produce--but it does encourage me to be organized and mindful and eat what I buy.
Aww, couldn't you have shredded the asagio, frozen it and used it in tiny bits like on a salad or hidden in a baked ziti or pasta type dish? That's what I would have done. Unless a food is universally disliked at our house--which rarely happens--, I find some way to use it so it doesn't offend and gets eaten up. Better luck next time.
I know I'm going to be wasting some black beans (about 1/3 c. cooked from dried, so fortunately not a big budget-hitter!), a bit of leftover kielbasa (it wasn't quite enough for a sandwich or as a meal itself), and about 1/4 c. of brown rice.
Yes, I did contemplate combining all of those into one meal, but just never got there! 🙁
On the plus side, I rescued some over-cooked broccoli as broccoli-cheddar soup, managed to eat all the leftover scalloped potatoes that DH didn't like, and got through the rest of our dinner leftovers before they became science projects.
I was bad this week. And will be worse in weeks to come as I didn't feel like completely cleaning out my fridge.
Oh my gosh.. an onion, 3 slices of bread, 1/2 head of cauliflower, 3/4 packet of bacon, two rashers of prosciutto, 1/2 garlic bread, 1/2 packet of pistachio nuts, 1 cherry pie, 3 mince pies & 3/4 bottle of Coca Cola if that counts? Shocking. Thanks for making me think about this..
This is the second week that I am posting my food waste, and I am super excited to report that I only wasted one thing this week. But it does pain me to reveal that it was an avocado, an organic one at that. I left the poor guy out on the counter for over a week, each night vowing to eat him up. But I just did not do so before he turned all brown and dry on the inside. Into the compost he goes!
for the 1st time since I started FWF I had NO WASTE!!!! Yipee!!!!
Congrats on no food waste this week! Anyone have any meatless fennel recipe suggestions?
I chop it up and saute with the usual cast of pasta sauce characters-onion, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, then make vegetarian spaghetti sauce. Adds a little extra dimension of flavor but not too obvious so I can sneak it by my doesn't-care-for-fennel husband this way.
I prefer to roast it and then have it warm on top of a salad of mixed greens with some oranges and pine nuts.
Oh, both of those suggestions sound great, thanks!
I don't think I had any waste this week. Which I think is a first for me. But I did see some moldly cheese that will need to be taken care of next week and I bought a little too much lettuce and grapes perhaps this week. Will have to do my best to eat them up. I don't always get the most help from family, unless I remind my son. I will have to remind him of the grapes and then those will probably disappear.
This is my first time joining Food Waste Friday. We've been doing a lot better in avoiding food waste since I started doing 1 to 2 leftover nights a week and incorporating leftovers into other meals.
I love cheese, and I'm not sure I would have tried the Asiago. It might have been a bit aged for me.
I had asiago only once, cut in small cubes, one on a toothpick with a red grape. First couple were so/so and then addicting! Try if you haven't tossed yet.
That's great!
I too managed to rescue some tomatoesthis week, plus some apples. Yeah! 🙂
No food waste week.
About asiago: there are 2 kinds, the fresh and the seasoned one, in Italy the first is more common. The taste is delicate and sweet, you can try that next time. 🙂 http://www.asiagocheese.it/en/
Oh, by the way, real Italian products must be certified "DOP" or "DOC", otherwise they might not be the real thing and the difference in quality is striking. Moreover, "imitation" foods are harmful to Italian economy (which is not that great in the first place...)
For the first time in a long time I actually had no food waste this week. It is so nice to use up all the food and not be wasteful! Thank you for doing this and encouraging us all 🙂