September 29, 2021 -- International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

United Nations / Food and Agriculture Organization announce:

 

29 September 2021

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

 

 

FAO's Nine Tips for Reducing Food Waste

1. Start Small – Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.

2. Leave Nothing Behind – Keep your leftovers for another meal or use them in a different dish.

3. Buy Only What You Need – Make a list of what you need and stick to it. Don’t buy more than you can use.

4. Don’t Be Prejudiced -- Buy “ugly” or irregularly shaped fruits and vegetables. They are just as good but look a little different.

5. Check Your Fridge – Store food between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius (33.8 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit) for maximum freshness and shelf-life.

6. First in, First Out – Try using produce you bought previously (freeze or pickle). Stack up your fridge and cupboards moving older products to the front and newer ones in the back.

 

7. Understand Dates -- “Use by” indicates a date by which the food is safe to be eaten, while “best before” means the food’s quality is best prior to that date, but is still safe to eat after it. The "Sell by" date is helpful for stock rotation by manufacturers and retailers.
 

8. Compost – Some food waste might be unavoidable, so why not set up a compost bin.

 

9. Donate the Surplus – Sharing is caring.

 

Source: http://www.fao.org/zhc/detail-events/en/c/889172/

#ZeroHungerHero #NotWasting #KitchenMemories

Stovetop and Microwave: Hug-A-Mug - Spicy Ramen Noodles with Leftover Chicken & Vegetables

Hug-A-Mug - Spicy Ramen Noodles with Leftover Chicken & Vegetables

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/chicken-yakisoba/)

 

Obviously, I adapted and reduced the size and ingredients of this recipe going from a bowl to a mug.

 

This is Not, Not #NotGerd-Friendly.

 

Use a large mug.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

A Dolllop of Vegetable Oil

1/2 Tspn Ginger powder

1 Tspn Onion flakes

1 TBspn Soy Sauce

1 TBspn Worcestershire Sauce

2 TBspns ketchup

1 Capful Hot Sauce

1 Tspn Sugar

2-4 TBspns Leftover Canned Mixed vegetables

2-3 TBspns Leftover Cooked Chicken, diced

2 TBspns Sauerkraut

3/4 Packet of Cooked Ramen Noodles

Noodle water

 

 

Process:

 

In a pot, add enough water to cover ramen noodles, bring water to boil, add noodles, cook for about 2-3 minutes until noodles are done. Drain and reserve some of the noodle water.

 

Add spices to mug, stir and mix well. 

Microwave for 30 seconds.
Add vegetables, chicken, sauerkraut.

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.

Add about half of the cooked noodles.
Add about 2 TBspns of noodle water.
Stir and mix all ingredients, thoroughly.
Microwave on high 1-2 minutes. 

 

This was an interesting recipe. It was much spicier than I imagined. 

 

But, it was a great recipe for leftovers.

 

 

Microwave: Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

This recipe adaptation was inspired by a recipe from @BudgetBytes. This a great recipe website. The author, Beth Moncel, writes in a fresh, clear, fun, informative style. Her recipes are always interesting and easy to make.

 

Also, I make miniature meals because as a single person, I don't need to make large meals. Plus, miniature meals reduces food waste.

 

As usual, I don't have all the ingredients. In this case, I was able to use several leftover items, so my measurements are a guess. Being frugal is a creative and adaptive process.

Microwave: Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-chicken-and-rice-skillet/)

Ingredients:

 

1 Cup Leftover Cooked rice

1/3 Cup Canned Salsa

2-3 Heaping TBspns Canned Mixed vegetables

1/3 Cup Cooked Chicken, diced

1/2 - 1 Cup Chicken broth (or use broth made from Chicken bouillon and water)

1 TBspn Crushed Dry Thyme

A few grinds of Black pepper

Plain yogurt

2-3 TBspns Mozzarella Cheese, grated (or use more if you desire)

 

 

Process: 

 

In a medium bowl, add ingredients, except the yogurt and cheese.

Stir and mix thoroughly.

 

Because, at the moment, I only wanted to taste the end result, I scooped out about 3 TBspns of the mixture and placed them into a dessert bowl.

 

Then, I microwaved it for 1 minute on high until hot.

 

After removing the bowl, I stirred in 1-2 ounces of plain yogurt and added cheese on top.

 

Then, I microwaved the mixture, again, for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese.

 

 

While it may not be clear, I made a larger batch than a dessert bowl and only microwaved a portion to make a miniature meal.

I can't say enough about the herb Thyme, I should use it more, it really makes this dish heavenly.

 

Skillet: Chicken, Vegetables and Fruit Skewers

Here’s a recipe that illustrates when a recipe search takes me down a rabbit hole.

I took to calling bits of food on a stick a skewer but what was a kabob or kebab?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebab

See notes after recipe for options gathered from various sources.

Also, this recipe uses a gift of shrimp and a salvaged food item. (See Garlic Spread post).

 

After excessive research, this is the result.

 

 

Skillet: Shrimp Skewers with Vegetables and Fruit

 

Ingredients:

A large handful of frozen shrimp in a baggie

 

Marinade: add enough lime juice, crushed dry parsley, garlic spread to coat shrimp

 
Vegetable oil

A Dab of Butter

1/4 Squash, cut into chunks

A few Canned Pineapple chunks, drained

1 Cup Cooked rice

 

 

Pre-Preparation:

Add marinade to baggie with shrimp.

Close and shake baggie to coat shrimp with marinade.

Place in refrigerator to allow shrimp to defrost and marinate for 1-2 hours.

 

 

Process:

Cook Marinated Shrimp

 

Heat skillet at medium-high.

Add butter and oil.

Add shrimp to skillet.

Stir and spread over bottom of skillet.

Cover.

Cook 2 to 4 minutes until shrimp are opaque.

Remove and reserve.

In the same skillet, add slices of squash and chunks of pineapple in remaining vegetable oil.

Cook on medium-high until browned, flip, so both sides are browned.
Remove and reserve.

Thread shrimp, and pieces of squash, pineapple onto skewer.

 

Serve over rice.

 

I know I did this backwards, usually the uncooked items are threaded onto the skewer and then cooked. Then the items are removed and topped over rice.

 

But, my skillet was too small to fit a skewer, so I just did it for looks. Plus, I enjoy using the skewer like a utensil.

 

 

I was surprised, this recipe was tasty.

 

Notes from Various Sources:

Use one of several marinates:

- lime, parsley, garlic, veg oil, pepper

- butter, paprika, salt, garlic

- lime, garlic oil, parsley, worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, pepper

 

Other Addition Options:

 

Along with individual pieces of shrimp, add one or more of these items: chunks of cheese, cucumber curls, pineapple chunks, seared squash slices, bell pepper slices, olives, seared corn on cob, sausage, or items of your choice.

Optional: sprinkle with basil and feta cheese, mushrooms, onions

Variation: marinate cucumber curls in lime juice

Other shrimp cooking methods:

- Bake at 400F for 4-8 minutes.

- Broil in the oven if you don’t have a grill. Once the broiler is preheated, place the shrimp skewers on a sheet pan coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Broil for 2-3 minutes, then flip and broil for another 2-3 minutes; watching it closely so it doesn’t over-cook.

 

Resources:

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/mediterranean-garlic-shrimp-skewers/

https://www.saveur.com/gallery/essential-ways-to-cook-shrimp/

https://www.weightwatchers.com/uk/recipe/cucumber-prawn-skewers/5cf6281448a155007c53887e

DIY Garlic Spread

This was a delightful experiment.

Where I live, often some of my spices like garlic powder, get clumpy, or dry and hard.

As I was cleaning out some drawers, I picked out that jar of hardened garlic powder I had hesitated to toss out. Hmmm, what if I made a garlic dressing using the hardened garlic powder?

So, I got a small jar and filled it 3/4 with vegetable oil, then I scraped the garlic powder into the jar. Next, I filled the jar with apple cider vinegar.

With the lid, I closed the jar and shook it vigorously. I did not know what to expect. What I got was something like a thick garlic spread.

  

It didn’t taste bad. It had a milder garlic flavor than I expected.

The first recipe I used the garlic spread was in a marinade for Skillet: Shrimp Skewers with Vegetables and Fruit. It came out great!

Great Save!

 

It's Been a Week of Salvage Operations

This week, I attempted to salvage lettuce, sardine fishballs, and some papaya and pumpkin fruit.

On Saturday, I made two fishball recipes. Both were a flops. I had over 60 fishballs to salvage.

With some DIY Tartar sauce or a red sauce, they worked as appetizers.

Then, I got a craving for Tostadas. That required lettuce. So, I have been eating a lot of Tostadas this week to save the lettuce and fishballs.

On a store-bought tostada chip, I added a base of refried beans, a crumbled fish ball on top of a base, with a little red sauce or DIY Tartar sauce, shredded lettuce and parm cheese.

The red sauce and DIY Tartar sauce helped add flavor.

There was not much difference in taste between the two types of fish balls. Plus, there’s not much difference in the pictures, either. I am too embarrassed to show the assembly of ingredients.

I can not afford to throw out these fish balls, so I will continue to look for ways to salvage them.

While I enjoyed these fishball Tostadas, another savage operation was a great success. Chicken Soup with pasta and a crumbled fishball.

The base of the soup was made from a previous Chicken broth recipe. The pasta was precooked and flavored with olive oil and basil. I just added the pasta and crumbled fishball to the broth. The fishball was like a dumpling.

Then, I thought about that bit of papaya fruit and pumpkn puree I had in the freezer.

Let's see if I add some plain yogurt, could I make mousses? Yes, I can.

Over the last five days, I saved 60+ sardine fishballs (some are frozen, will see how they work after thawing), a 1/2 head of lettuce and some frozen fruits.

#GERD-friendly

Utterly Putterly - New Use for Insulated Beverage Container

It is the simple things in life that can make you happy.

I like cucumbers. I especially like to pickle them. But, occasionally, I'll keep one cucumber to make snacks and salads. But, one drawback is cucumbers don't keep long and you can't freeze them.

While I try storing them in the vegetable bin, it just seems they go bad too quickly.

On 5/28/20, I got a big beautiful cucumber (.415/kg, 43.50 / 18.05).

After a day or two, I made a small cucumber salad and some snacks.

Now, here I was with 3/4s of a cucumber I wanted to save for more snacks, salads or pickles. Could I find a way to make it last longer?

So, on 5/31/20, while I was washing dishes, I washed out a insulated souvenir beverage container. I sighed. Like many souvenir mugs or beverage containers, I did not often use this container. Do I give it away? No use keeping things you don't use.

Hmmm, would this hold the remaining cucumber? Would it help keep the cucumber fresh longer? Let's try it.

It works. So far, so good, been eating fresh cucumber snacks for two more days, now, and the remaining cucumber is still fresh.

I love the fact the container is compact and does not take up too much space in the frig.

Microwave: Mug O'Apple Bread Pudding

During the COVID19 quarantine, I am rummaging around in closets, drawers, cupboards, and the frig.

I had a tablespoon of canned apple pie filling in the frig that had been sitting around for quite awhile.

I usually have a heel of bread somewhere in the frig.

So, I decided to make a Mug O’Apple Pudding based on a prior Mug O'Bread pudding recipe.

All I did different this time was stir the mixture well before microwaving.


Microwave: Mug O'Apple Bread Pudding Recipe
(Adapted from: https://riastoneblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/mug-obread-pudding.html)


Ingredients:

1 8oz coffee cup

1 TB Canned apple pie filling
1 Slice of bread, torn into pieces
1 egg
1 1-2 TB sugar
2 TB milk or yogurt (I used lactose-free dry milk mix)
1 TB vegetable oil (or margarine)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Dashes of cinnamon

Process:

Add apple filling to bottom of cup
Break bread into pieces, place in cup.
In separate bowl, mix rest of ingredients
Pour mixture over bread.
Push bread down into cup so all pieces are soaked in mixture.
Stir and mix bread, fruit and egg mixture together.
Microwave 2 minutes on high.
Remove, let it cool for a bit before eating.

It tastes like apple crumb cake!
 
Variations: use other types of fruit or no fruit.
 
#GERD-friendly

Converting Jack's Peach and Chickpea Curry into a Toast Topping

As you can see, if you preview my blog posts, I follow Jack Monroe https://cookingonabootstrap.com/.

I have also bought most of her books. Like Amy Dacyczyn, author of the Tightwad Gazette, Jack encourages people on a limited budget with limited cooking skills that they, too, can make great frugal meals.

Here is Jack's original Peach and Chickpea Curry:
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/11/05/peach-chickpea-curry-recipe/.

While this post is not an actual recipe, you can go to Jack's website and try her recipe.

I was skeptical about trying to make this recipe for several reasons. Because I need to adapt recipes to make them GERD-friendly and according to available supplies, I wondered if I could actually achieve a curry.

Suffice it to say, adapting the recipe to make it GERD-friendly meant No onions, No garlic and No tomatoes. I tried to use a bit of onion and garlic powders. I tried to give it the tomato flavor by adding a few crumbles of tomato bouillon. If I use too much of any of these spices, my stomach rebels.

Well, it did not turn out the way I thought. So, I now I had a lot of peaches/chickpea mix left.

What could I do with this? First, I thought, I’d try to make the curry again by recooking a batch with additional spices. No, that won’t work, it would be too spicy.

Ok, let me sleep on it.

Then, I thought let’s see if it works as a toast topping. So, in the morning, I spread some cream cheese on a slice of toast and topped it with a 1 1/2 tablespoons of the peaches/chickpeas mix. It worked! It’s great. Hurray, another save!

#GERD-friendly

Hotplate: Quick Tomato and Vegetable Broth

This is a "Kitchen sink recipe", meaning toss in whatever vegetables you can find in the frig.

Quick Tomato and Vegetable Broth



Ingredients:

4 cups water in a pot
1 cube tomato bouillon
1 dollop canola oil
5 dashes garlic powder
5 dashes onion powder
1 Tspn thyme, crushed
2 dashes oregano powder
2 dashes hot sauce
2 grinds ground black pepper
6oz leftover tomato-pasta liquid
6 snack carrots, diced
6 stalks celery, diced
1 1/2 cup cooked small white beans
3 TBspns canned mushroom pieces, drained


Process:

Add bouillon cube to pan of water.
Add oil.
Add spices.
Bring to a boil.
Add diced vegetables and beans.
Stir.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, to a simmer.
Add mushrooms.
Simmer for 15 minutes.

A New Batch of Vegetables - How Meals Will They Make?

I went to a local Expat market to get 1 cucumber and came home with 9 vegetables.

How many meals will they make?

Day One:

Quick pickles
Cucumber water with cucumber slices
Cucumber and Apple salad with yogurt
MW Baked potato topped with beans and cream cheese
Sliced up lime and froze for use in various drinks

Day Two:

Baked Apples
Vegetable Soup with potatoes
Sliced up Bell peppers and froze for future recipe

FYI: The cost for the 9 vegetables was $62MX. This was an Expat market, so I assume the prices are higher than at a local market.

$62MX = $3.30US (based on $18.77 exchange rate for 1$ on this day.)

I looked at an American Grocery flyer (I do not have a car, so I choose a store near my home that I can reach by bus) online and came up with this cost comparison:

Apples $1.79 - 2.49 a pound
Potatoes $3.50 for a 24oz bag or 3.99 for a 5lb bag
Peppers and/or Cucumbers 3 for $5
.10 or .25 for a lime, a Key lime or a Persian Lime

Estimated cost:

1.79 - 2.49 Apples
1.25 Potatoes
5.00 Peppers and Cucumbers
0.10 Lime
--------
$8.14 - $8.84US

Quick Pickles

DIY Quick Pickles
(Thanks to: Quick Pickled Cucumbers | Easy Refrigerator Pickles Recipe)


Ingredients:

1 Cucumber
A jar with a lid
Water
Apple Vinegar
1-3 TBspns of sugar
2-3 Tspns of rock salt or salt



Process:

Wash cucumber.
Cut in half vertically in the middle.
Cut each half into length-wise strips (julienne).
Cut away the seeds.
Add cucumber strips to jar.
Add water to jar until about 1/2 half to 2/3rds full.
Add spices.
Fill with vinegar.
Affix lid.
Shake jar to mix spices and liquids.
Store in frig.

Microwave: Baked Apples with Jam, Oats and Cinnamon

Update 2/11/2020

I just made this recipe, again, because in the first recipe, I used wax paper, and overcooked the stuffed apples. I microwaved them on high for 10 minutes and they came out like hard candy. I don't think the wax paper was useful.

Today, I covered the stuffed apples with plastic wrap and microwaved them on high for 3 minutes and they came out perfect.

I, also, made some minor adjustments to the ingredients.

So, I altered the recipe to reflect these changes.

You can find several online cookbooks at The Guelph Family Health Study.

I appreciated their goals of involving children in cooking in the kitchen and making recipes to avoid food waste.

Often, when I buy even 1 or 2 apples, somehow they don't get eaten quickly. So, I have to devise ways to cook them to preserve them. Often, I can freeze what I have cooked.


Microwave: Baked Apples with Jam, Oats and Cinnamon
(Adapted from: Baked Apple with Crisp Topping https://guelphfamilyhealthstudy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GFHS-Fall-2016-Cookbook.pdf)


Ingredients:

4 small apples
4 Tspns of Jam
4 Rounded TBspns Oats
2 Level TBspns Flour
1.5 - 2 TBspns Sugar
4 Dashes of Cinnamon powder
1.5 - 2 TBspns Butter, softened
Plastic wrap to cover microwave dish


Process:

Wash apples.
Cut apples in half, horizontally.
Place apple halves in a microwave dish.
Scoop out cores.
Fill space with a Tspn of jam.

In a bowl, stir and mix flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon.
Add butter.
Stir and cream the butter into the mixture.
Add about 1 TBspn of mixture over top of apple halves.

Cover microwave dish with plastic wrap.
Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes for small apples. Microwave a few more minutes, if the apples are larger.

New picture of 2nd Batch of Baked Apples

 

Hotplate: Simple Chicken Vegetable Soup

Hotplate: Simple Chicken Vegetable Soup
(Inspired by: https://natashaskitchen.com/easy-chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/)

I love soup. It is one of many comfort foods. This recipe is also frugal (Budget-friendly).

I appreciate Natasha's recipe. It inspired me to keep trying to make Chicken Soup. I had failed before so many times. While my recipe is a major departure from Natasha's, she pointed me in the right direction.

Now, I have an easy recipe, I can make with confidence.

I used leftover vegetables and vegetables I had on hand, so this recipe can have lots of variations.

I think potatoes add additional flavor and texture to the soup.


Ingredients:

1 Chicken bouillon cube
6 cups of water
1 dash of garlic powder (Optional)
1 dash of onion powder (Optional)
Ground Black Pepper (Optional)
Season to taste and GERD tolerance
Use vegetables on hand for example:
2 chayotes, 1 frozen, 1 fresh, sliced and diced
6 Leftover roasted potatoes, cubed
10 snack carrots, diced
*I added some leftover pastrami slices. (Optional)


Process:

Add 2 cups of water to a microwaveable container
Add 1 bouillon cube to the water.
Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.
Remove and stir until bouillon cube has dissolved
Add stock to large pot.
Add 4 cups of water.
Add spices.
Stir.
Cover pot.
Cook on high.
Bring liquid to a boil.
Add vegetables.
Stir.
Recover pot.
Cook on medium for about 15 minutes.
Check vegetables, if they are soft, the soup is ready, if not, cook for 5-10 minutes more.

I serve soup with crackers.

I divide remaining soup into single servings in freezer containers and freeze for later use.

#GERD-Friendly, use none or a little of the spices

Mug O'Hot Banana

I follow a few recipe websites, regularly.

Jack Monroe's Cooking on a Bootstrap is one of them.

When I saw Jack's Hot Banana Pot recipe, I laughed. What a simple and delightful recipe.

This recipe solved my problem of an excess of overripe bananas. I have several containers of overripe bananas in my freezer. I keep thinking I would use them in a mug cake or a frozen yogurt dessert but somehow that has not happened.

So, after seeing Jack's recipe, I grabbed one of the containers, put the frozen banana into a mug and popped it into the microwave. Then, I microwaved it on high for one minute.

When it was done, I sprinkled a little cinnamon on top and called it Mug O'Hot Banana.

So happy to have a delightful way to use my over-ripe bananas! Thanks, Jack.

Jack Monroe's Hot Banana Pot
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/03/16/hot-banana-pot-recipe/

#GERD-Friendly
 

Great Depression Cooking With Clara - Pasta and Peas

I had heard of Clara's cooking show on YouTube years ago but during a recent random search on YouTube, I found her videos. Also, found Clara on @food52.

"In 2007, her grandson Christopher Cannucciari began filming Clara preparing her mother's Depression meals and assembled the footage into the YouTube series Great Depression Cooking with Clara. She retired shortly after her 96th birthday and her last video was posted on November 10, 2013 (Twice Baked Potato)"  (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Cannucciari)

You can find Clara's recipes and more in her book, Clara's Kitchen, Wisdom, Memories and Recipes from the Great Depression (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/claras-kitchen-clara-cannucciari/1101904999#/).

I watched several of Clara's videos. I was particularly impressed with her dandelion salad. But, her Pasta and Peas Recipe caught my attention because it was a perfect recipe to use for my leftover cooked potatoes, peas, and pasta.

Clara's Pasta and Peas Recipe
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuMkW35BwK8)


Ingredients:

1 Potato, diced
1 Onion, diced
Olive oil
1 Can of peas, drained
1 Bag of pasta macaroni
s/p


Process:

Put potatoes and onion in a pan.
Add a dash or two of olive oil.
Cook until soft.
Add peas
Stir.
Add enough water to cook pasta.
Simmer until pasta is cooked.
Season to taste.
 
Variation: add some tomato sauce.

Serve a portion on a plate, top with Parmesan cheese.


Leftover Potatoes, Peas and Pasta
(Adapted from Great Depression Cooking with Clara, Pasta and Peas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuMkW35BwK8)

I made Clara's recipe backwards in order to use my leftovers.


Ingredients:

1/2 Bag package pasta
Water
LO Cooked potatoes
LO Canned peas
1 tsp Onion powder
2 TB Olive oil
s/p to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Topping: Parmesan cheese


Process:

Make pasta first. When ready, drain most of water.

Note: I call the pasta I used in this recipe "Octopus Pasta" because I have never seen pasta in such an unusual shape.

Add leftover potatoes and peas.
Add onion powder and olive oil.
Season to taste with s/p and hot sauce.
Stir well, cook on medium-low for a few minutes to make mixture warm.

Serve warm, top with a few shakes of Parmesan cheese

Thank you Clara.