I will keep doing this series of posts for a little while longer. I generally account for these sorts of things within my weekly post where I share frugal kitchen, homemaking and general commentary points of each day. However, I think it might help me/you/someone else to see these tips all in one place rather than scattered through a daily dairy type post. That's why I started doing this in the first place.
Last month I paid close attention to my reading of previous years' August posts and I noted that scattering them throughout made it a little harder to dig out the nuggets of information. After watching Amy Maryon do her weekly 'Gathering Fragments', I felt that was one of the most helpful posts she did weekly for me personally. Hence, here we are.
But I'd like to know your opinions on the matter. Is this type of post, where I separate out how I used food fragments and lingering pantry items helpful to you? Does it make you stop and think about your own food stores and the items that you haven't used? Have you been inspired? I would love it if you shared some of your ideas for using up items.
All that said, I have been Gathering Fragments in my home this week. Here's what I've done.
Saturday: Noted that John left a peanut butter jar on the counter. This is a sign that he's done with the jar, but he knows I will clean it out properly. I guess I've taught him something because not just the peanut butter jar...He found a peach with a bruised spot on it and set it in the fridge so I could, in his words, 'use it up'. I do appreciate that the man has noticed how I do my best to make good use of all our foodstuffs.
Bess, too. She walked over this morning with a big two quart jar about half full of whey left from straining her yogurt. She mentioned that it freezes well, too. I'll be happy to try and make good use of this item!
Monday: Yesterday we went grocery shopping. I was putting things in the produce drawer and noted that it seemed damp. Doggone it! My celery from last month had spoiled and it was well wrapped in foil and everything. No salvage of that except to use as compost.
Well that made me think of an article I'd read a long while back about what you could compost. It listed such items as paper towels and paper towel tubes, thin cardboard that had been shredded, etc. What you shouldn't compost: citrus fruits or onions (they kill worms and take a long time to break down), glossy paper, ashes from a wood fire but not from a charcoal grill nor coal or any type of treated fire logs used in a fireplace.
I didn't get as much done in my kitchen today as I wanted but I did manage to (a) start dinner (b) scrape out that peanut butter jar, which netted me enough to spread on my morning toast and (c) make a really lovely pie using the two peaches that John put in the fridge. The bruises on both were really superficial, so I was able to use almost all of them.
I also pulled out all the older green onions and chopped them. I put the root ends into my little bowl on the kitchen window shelf to start. I'll plant them in my planter as soon as they show some type of growth.
Yesterday morning I was trying to slice Friday's bread for toast. It crumbled at the touch of the knife. I took the remaining loaf this morning and completely crumbled it then put these crumbs in the freezer. I'll use these as my fresh bread crumbs. It freed up space in my refrigerator freezer and compacted down to a smaller space in my chest freezer.
Tuesday: Went through the fridge and noted I need to use spinach leaves right away. I also found the ginger root that Bess bought me a few weeks back, which I'd more or less forgotten. I sliced it and put that into the freezer.
I didn't have any foods to 'gather' or use right away but I am now fully aware of what is in the fridge which means less chance to waste food.
I did have a bit of food waste. I think it's because it's not something I typically have on hand, I waited too long to try to use, 2 small Asian pears. I waited until they were slightly soft, which meant the inside was mushy. I think it's one of those fruits I should have used while still firm and crisp.
Bess went to visit the girl who sells me the produce bags. She sent my bag with Bess to save me the trip over to pick it up. I snapped and blanched green beans, put half in the freezer and cooked the rest for our supper tonight. I also went ahead and sliced the okra, dusted heavily with cornmeal and put that in a container in the freezer. Those are my 'every little bit counts' items.
Wednesday: The bananas we purchased Sunday were at peak ripeness. I pulled off two for John and I to eat today and immediately put the rest in the freezer in a container marked with how many is in the container.
The avocado Katie gave me was at peak ripeness too. I diced it, salted it and sprinkled lime juice on it. I'll have this with my taco meat for supper tonight. I saved the pit to try and root. I've had small Avocado trees in the past but never stay on top of them. They will grow in my area if I move them indoors at night (I mean to lobby hard for a small green house next year...).
As I diced tomato, I noted that some of the seeds and juice were on the counter. I used a paper towel to wipe this up and will let it dry, then save those little seeds to replant.
Thursday: John made omelets this morning. He used the last of the shredded pepper jack cheese, diced tomato and diced green onions in the omelet. It was really good!
I peeled and sliced three peaches to put into the freezer.
waste: I had an orange with a bad spot on it. After reading that this is no good for compost, I decided to toss it into the trash.
Our lunch today was an accumulation of things from the fridge: avocado tossed in lime juice, shredded lettuce, leftover macaroni salad and two pieces of cubed steak from supper the other night.
We've done such a good job this week of keeping up with things in the fridge but I did note last night when I went to put away the remaining taco shells that I already had an open box with a remainder in it...I guess I'd better move out of the fridge and start looking harder at the cabinets and pantry to see what I might need to use that has been lingering on the shelves.
Friday: No time to check cupboards today...Bess and Millie and the boys were here visiting this morning and stayed to have lunch. It was a lovely long visit. I figured I had two plans for lunch: hot dogs or pizza. I opted for pizza because it's a great way to use up things in the fridge. I finished off a jar of black olives, used up spinach and basil from the produce bag, as well as a green bell pepper, some cut onion.
14 comments:
Totally want the "Gathering Fragments" posts. I never even thought about it and I've been reading you for years, but now that you've made a point of it, I've been on board at my house.
One vote! lol
I enjoy reading this post but I have run my kitchen like this for decades out of necessity with raising so many kiddos. So really no vote either way. I will continue to read and enjoy if you continue to post.
I’ve been meaning to comment ... there’s a couple of things I do that fall under the gathering fragments umbrella, which I thought I would share. I like to use fresh mushrooms, but generally pull the stems before I slice the caps. I slice off a bit from the end, clean them, and put them in a bag in the freezer. When I feel like I have enough, I cook the stems down with some frozen onion remnants, chicken bouillon, and whatever else I think might work. When everything is thoroughly soft, I add in some dairy-free milk/creamer and blenderize the mixture until I get a creamed soup. My last batch included the remains of a ketchup container and salsa swished with water. I sometimes keep broccoli stems and slice them up like a carrot and include them in a stir fry. That is a nice way to use them, if you just want the florets another time. Usually, I just cook the stems and florets. I like the idea of “gathering your fragments.” I’ve always done it, just never thought of it that way.
Chris M, Thank you for the tip about the mushrooms! It is genius!
I have been watching old Jaques and Julia cooking shows and have been pleasantly surprised at how there was no waste in their kitchens. They took the core from a head of iceberg lettuce and sliced it thin and put it in the salad! They said it added a delightful crunch.
I really enjoy these posts and they have inspired me to find ways to use up the many many open sauce, jelly, and topping jars in my fridge. I have been sticking the end of celery in a cup of water to have it regrow and I get a cute little baby celery growing but when I plant it all that happens is it withers and dies. Any advice? Thank you for the time and inspiration you share.
I really like the "gathering the fragments" idea.. Please continue IF and only if you wish to. I'll read whatever you choose to write.
I enjoy the Gathering the Fragments posts, and while I've done that myself on a regular basis, I never thought of it in that way.
Chris M. - thank you for the mushroom stems idea! I have a few mushrooms in the frig and will start my container of stems in the freezer today.
I enjoy your gathering posts, and they have been inspiring to me to use the fragments. Thank you!
I'm with Margaret, I've tried to regrow celery and romaine but it died when planted. I've had better luck with regrowing green onions. I have bok choy in water so will see if it regrows.
I consider that a nice round of Aye! votes for continuing this post. I love that you all are sharing your ideas as well.
Chris, the mushroom stems tip is a great one!
Lana, I've not always been so careful, even despite our budget constrictions. I tried, but I had many fails over the years. I've become much more efficient in using what I have on hand now that I've made myself mindful of it all. I'm also stretching myself to find new recipes that I've seen for many years but have never tried. Not always successful recipes but at least I've tried!
Jacques Pepin has always been a very frugal cook. He's talked of his mother tossing wilted lettuce leaves into a perpetual soup pot on the back of the stove, etc. I love watching him and Julia Child as well, because while they are 'French chefs', they are practical cooks as well.
Margaret, Kathy, I've had no luck regrowing celery in my area. I do believe it's too hot for it here but I can get a start from the root. If nothing else it's a happy plant on the windowsill. I've noted that romaine regrown from lettuce butts is very bitter here. Again, perhaps because it's so warm here?
I think we have forgotten that delicious food does not require special ingredients and especially expensive seasoning packets and sauces. Last night we sort of followed Julia's recipe for Dover Sole but used tilapia fillets from ALdi. We just salted the fillets and floured them and then cooked just until done in a tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet. We did not make the white wine and caper sauce. It was the most simple and delicious fish we have ever eaten and was not much more work that cooking some eggs! We now have our favorite way of eating fish and will be making this simple recipe in the future.
I am late reading this but I vote to keep the fragments pots..IF you want to. We all try to save food and not throw it out but reading it here others also comment and add new ideas so between you and them I have learned a lot !!
I have citrus trees and always compost the rinds too. If I had to toss all the rements of eating the citrus I would be sorting my composting bucket and wasting a lot of time and compost material. If you want to keep them composting separately you can if you have a tumbler composter. Those types are off the ground and worms cannot get in. Then when the citrus is composted..which it does... all of this can be added to the regular compost in the garden. They are then not citrus but compost. I also throw any onion bits in the compost all the time. No problem with either here. I have seen it mentioned in the worm composter articles that worms do not like citrus but actually this is the first I have learned they con't like it period. Who knew ! :) I put any white paper in the compost bin..paper napkins, shopping lists junk mail etc. Toilet paper rolls and all sorts of stuff like you noted.Wood tooth picks...on and on. All the white paper that we shred. We have a regular big composter and a tumbler and both have their own points. I like the worms to get in but the tumbler also keeps out rodents. :) So if they start to become a problem I start to add all food waste to just the tumbler. Or bury them deep in the garden soil. You would think the mice would dig there for the food but I haven't seen that here. Ants though could be attracted to the site. :-) How you ever find the time to write such good posts I will never know ! Sarah
Lana, I agree. Simple foods are often the best tasting. Butter, salt and pepper can do wonders to most things. I often wonder if people who highly season food all of the time have any idea of how good just plain old mashed potatoes can be with butter, salt and pepper. Ditto for burgers or steaks!
Sarah, I don't have loads of citrus but I would think that we could try our hands at some of that citrus vinegar cleaner...I noted that someone had used orange and grapefruit shells to start seeds, too.
Your point about using a tumbler or off the ground composter (mine are in old lidless trash cans at present with drainage holes in the bottom) is a good one as well. So I suppose those items could be used then if I had the right sort of system set up to compost.
Hi Terri! I'm late to the game but catching up on my reading here. I'd like to put my vote in for keeping the Gathering Fragments section. I love the focus on not wasting food and like others have said, it's a great reminder to me as well as an inspiration! Thank you so much for all your great work.
Much love,
Tracey
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