Like most of the people on this planet, I love food. My love
affair with food and my lack of budget to dine out every night, results in a
fair amount of cooking which I enjoy almost as much as eating the food.
Over the last year, I’ve come to appreciate even more the
value of food. Everything we eat tells a story filled with the labor of the farmer, the soil and water to grow the food,
the fuel to transport the food, and the energy to keep the food fresh in the store and your home. Everything
we eat requires…
So many resources!
So, when a recipe calls for half an onion, I am faced with a
choice. I could throw caution to the wind, chop the whole onion, and toss it in
hoping for the best. I could store the half-onion in my fridge for a few days
waiting for another recipe needing half an onion. I could, of course, compost
the other half of the onion. But as much as I love compost, I hate to see
perfectly edible food not used.
Just think of the resources!
So I’ve started something new. I took a gallon-sized freezer bag and labeled it “BROTH.” Every
time I have a half-onion, carrots about to go bad, or the ends of mushrooms or
leeks, I place them in the freezer bag and into the freezer. Last weekend the
bag was full so I pulled out my stock pot and made a giant pot of delicious
vegetable broth.
The spent veggies I pulled out of the broth? My compost
welcomed them with open arms (millions of tiny outstretched arms). It felt good
to make something out of the veggies before composting them and I generally pay
good money for broth at the store. My efforts were rewarded with a delicious
soup that evening.
If you want to feel an unnatural emotional attachment to a
fruit, check out this fantastic video detailing The Extraordinary Life and Times of a Strawberry from
the Ad Council and NRDC. Like any good drama, it is filled with romance,
promise, and despair. J
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