The lovely lady who did the cover of my book, the talented Veganwitch, is hosting a kick-ass labour day party at her house in Jersey on Saturday. Steve and I will be making the journey tomorrow, to get there to be with other vegans. I can't wait! She always has a way of making everyone feel comfortable, and have fun.
I was thinking about making some kind of baked savoury pie for Steve, but the store across the street didn't have jack, and I didn't have time to get anything else, so I did a really quick cabbage thing. (Unslaw in the cookbook.) I made a couple of changes, based on what was around the house. For one thing, onions are getting stupid expensive, so I chucked that ingredient. Also, I used the last of the carrots earlier this week, so I just did cabbage and ginger (grated finely) instead. I could have bulked it up with some potato, but what are you going to do, right?
I did, however, use every single leaf and the stump part of the cabbage. I grated those pieces first, just to see what would happen. I was left with almost two or three cups of grated cabbage from stuff I'd normally throw out! If you think about it, that's what you'd lose in evaporation while you cook the cabbage. Never again will I throw away pieces of vegetables without seriously considering the costs. The other day, the same thing happened with some aubergine that I made in the microwave (nuke on high for 5 minutes at a time, until the thing collapses—depending on the size, you may need 3 or 4 tries; remove stem, remove skin, mash up with chopped garlic and a bit of sesame, and nuke 4 more minutes). I'd usually cut off the stem end, and then cook it. WRONG. This time, I threw the whole thing in a microwave safe dish, and nuked it. Then, when it all collapsed like I wanted it to, I just pulled off the stem. No wasted pieces.
I addressed the waste issue in the podcast, but it bears repeating: we throw away entirely too much from our produce, and it's important to take stock of it. Use every part, and you'll find that you'll be left with a fair bit more food.
I was thinking about making some kind of baked savoury pie for Steve, but the store across the street didn't have jack, and I didn't have time to get anything else, so I did a really quick cabbage thing. (Unslaw in the cookbook.) I made a couple of changes, based on what was around the house. For one thing, onions are getting stupid expensive, so I chucked that ingredient. Also, I used the last of the carrots earlier this week, so I just did cabbage and ginger (grated finely) instead. I could have bulked it up with some potato, but what are you going to do, right?
I did, however, use every single leaf and the stump part of the cabbage. I grated those pieces first, just to see what would happen. I was left with almost two or three cups of grated cabbage from stuff I'd normally throw out! If you think about it, that's what you'd lose in evaporation while you cook the cabbage. Never again will I throw away pieces of vegetables without seriously considering the costs. The other day, the same thing happened with some aubergine that I made in the microwave (nuke on high for 5 minutes at a time, until the thing collapses—depending on the size, you may need 3 or 4 tries; remove stem, remove skin, mash up with chopped garlic and a bit of sesame, and nuke 4 more minutes). I'd usually cut off the stem end, and then cook it. WRONG. This time, I threw the whole thing in a microwave safe dish, and nuked it. Then, when it all collapsed like I wanted it to, I just pulled off the stem. No wasted pieces.
I addressed the waste issue in the podcast, but it bears repeating: we throw away entirely too much from our produce, and it's important to take stock of it. Use every part, and you'll find that you'll be left with a fair bit more food.
awwwwww...thanks Dino! We had such a great time and I think Liam is your new best friend!!!!
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