Waste free kitchen handbook : a guide to eating well and saving money by wasting less food

286 Pages·2015·2.3 MB·English

by  Gunders

For my dad, who can suck meat off a chicken
bone like no one else.
For my mom, who has been reusing tea bags for
as long as I can remember.
For my sister Debi, who reigns as the queen of
kitchen concoctions.
For my husband Jose, who completes me, and
my plate.
For the growing army of passionate food-waste
warriors who love food as much as I do.
Copyright © 2015 by Dana Gunders.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-4521-3354-6 (pb)
ISBN 978-1-4521-4943-1 (epub, mobi) Designed by Walter C. Baumann Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
Contents
7 Acknowledgments
8 Introduction: Making a Difference
9 Food-waste warriors don’t plot and fight. We pickle and freeze.
11 Where Food Is Wasted, from Farm to French Fries
13 What Contributes to Food Waste in Homes
16 What It Takes to Produce Food
19 Wasting Less Food Saves Resources and Money—and Might Even Save
Lives
21 No One’s Perfect—Just Get Started on the Journey
22 Part One: Strategies for Everyday Life
24 Sage Shopping
25 Tricks of the Grocery Trade
27 Meal Planning
28 Ten Key Elements of Meal Planning
34 Shopping Guidelines
34 Resisting Temptation
35 Buying the Right Amount
36 Keeping It Fresh
36 Buying Frozen Foods
37 Reducing Waste up the Chain
39 Waste Diagnostics
39 How to Do a Waste Audit
41 A Note on the Reasons for Discarding Food
44 Smarter Storage
45 The Food Storage Mission
46 Demystify Your Refrigerator
52 Rely on Your Freezer
53 1. Prep
55 2. Pack
57 3. Thaw and Use
58 For the Slightly Audacious: Canning, Pickling, and Drying
59 Canning and Pickling
60 Drying
61 Root Cellars
62 The Crafty Kitchen
64 Set Your Kitchen Up Right
64 Organize
65 Kitchen Equipment
67 Foods to Have on Hand
68 Tenets of Mindful Cooking
70 Make the Right Amount
72 Salvaging Kitchen Crises
72 Burned Food
72 Oversalted Food
73 Overcooked Food
73 Bland Food
74 Love Your Leftovers
75 Keep It Safe
77 Foods to Be Particularly Careful With
78 Party Hard, Waste Lite
82 Can I Eat It?
84 Why Does Food Make People Sick?
85 What Happens When Food Ages?
85 Generally Harmless
88 Better to Steer Clear
89 The Surprising Truth About Expiration Dates
92 Hey You: Be Careful!
94 Getting Scrappy
96 Food Scraps for Your Pets
96 Foods to Avoid for Cats and Dogs
98 On Raw Meat and Bones
98 Have You Heard? Backyard Chickens Are All the Rage
100 From Garbage to Garden
102 Household Uses for Food Scraps
105 Composting
106 Backyard Composting
109 Apartment Composting
114 Community Composting
116 Go Forth and Go For It
118 Part Two: Recipes
120 Chilaquiles
121 Sour Milk Pancakes
122 Free-for-All Frittata
124 Anything Goes Soup
126 Gazpacho
127 Sautéed Lettuce
128 Fried Rice
129 Asian Pasta Salad
130 Broccoli Stalk Salad
131 Light Chicken Salad
132 After-Party Crusted Chicken
133 Shepherd's Pie
134 Tacos Your Way
136 Drunken Marinated Meat
137 Banana Sorbet
138 Buried Avocado Chocolate Mousse
139 Sneaky Black Bean Brownies
140 Herbed Butter
141 Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles
142 Infused Vodka
144 Part Three: Directory
148 Fruits
148 APPLES
148 AVOCADOS
149 BANANAS
149 BERRIES (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
150 CITRUS
151 FIGS
151 GRAPES
151 MELONS
152 PEARS
152 STONE FRUITS (apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, Pluots, etc.)
153 TROPICAL FRUITS (pineapple, papaya, and mango)
155 Sugar Syrup for Freezing Fruits
156 Vegetables
156 ARTICHOKES
156 ASPARAGUS
157 BEETS
157 BROCCOLI
157 BRUSSELS SPROUTS
158 CARROTS
158 CAULIFLOWER
159 CELERY
159 CORN ON THE COB
160 CUCUMBER
160 EGGPLANT
160 GARLIC AND SHALLOTS
161 GINGER
161 GREEN BEANS, SNAP PEAS, AND FRESH PEAS
162 GREEN ONIONS (scallions)
162 GREENS, HEARTY (kale, chard, beet greens, bok choy, collard greens,
cabbage, etc.)
162 GREENS, SALAD (lettuce, arugula, endive, radicchio, and spinach)
163 HERBS, BASIL
163 HERBS OTHER THAN BASIL (rosemary, parsley, cilantro, dill, lavender,
mint, sage, thyme, etc.)
164 MUSHROOMS
164 ONIONS
164 PARSNIPS
165 PEPPERS (red, green, or hot)
165 POTATOES
166 RADISHES
166 SQUASH, SUMMER (zucchini, pattypan, crookneck)
166 SQUASH, WINTER (pumpkin, acorn, butternut, Hubbard)
167 SWEET POTATOES
167 TOMATOES
168 TURNIPS
169 Meat, Poultry, and Seafood
169 BACON
169 CANNED FISH
169 CANNED MEAT
170 DELI MEATS
170 FRESH FISH
171 FRESH MEAT (poultry, pork, beef, lamb)
171 HOT DOGS AND PRECOOKED SAUSAGE
172 SAUSAGE (fresh and dry/cured; see “Hot Dogs” for precooked)
172 SHELLFISH
173 Pantry Staples
173 BREAD
173 BREAD CRUMBS
173 FLOUR, WHITE
174 FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT
174 OATS
174 PASTA
175 QUINOA
175 RICE, BROWN AND WILD
175 RICE, WHITE
175 SUGAR, BROWN
176 SUGAR, WHITE
176 WHOLE GRAINS (wheat berries, spelt, uncooked popcorn, millet,
amaranth, buckwheat, barley, dried corn, teff)
177 Dairy and Eggs
177 BUTTER
177 CHEESE, HARD
178 CHEESE, SOFT
178 COTTAGE CHEESE
179 EGGS
179 EGG SUBSTITUTES
180 MILK
180 MILK SUBSTITUTES (almond, soy, rice)
180 YOGURT
181 Beans, Nuts, and Vegetarian Proteins
181 BEANS, CANNED OR COOKED
181 BEANS, DRY
182 PEANUTS
182 SEEDS (pumpkin, flaxseed, sunflower)
182 TEMPEH
183 TOFU
183 TREE NUTS (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios)
184 Oils, Condiments, and Spices
184 COCONUT MILK (canned)