Leave No Scrap Behind

Finding ways to be more frugal isn't an activity that I began by accident. When I chose to turn in my business dress for jeans and casual wear 24/7, I was well aware of the compromises that would need to take place. I was already somewhat frugal and practical, so, it wasn't a huge leap. Since then, I continue to look for ways to do more with less. I realize that I'm not doing anything new. Some people have been practicing frugality for much longer. So, if I seem a bit fervent on finding ways to practice frugality with food, please forgive me! Food and frugality inspire me. 

As our garden continues to wind down, this past weekend was another busy one as we harvested tomatoes, bell peppers, cayenne, jalapenos, and kale. We use a lot of marinara sauce in our house, so we can the majority of our tomatoes. This weekend's particular batch produced nearly one dozen quarts. During the process, we had leftover tomato skins, and juice.  If you have canned tomato sauce before, then you know that after draining chopped tomatoes over the colander, before cooking them, will result in a lot of juice. When I saw all of the byproducts of the sauce, it was an easy decision to dehydrate the tomato skins, which was then pulverized into a powder that can be used in dips and soups. Speaking of soup, the four quarts of tomato juice that we collected, and processed, will be perfect for one of my favorite's - chicken tortilla. 

All this saving made me think of the other foods or byproducts that I may have scrapped in the past-- that I now look at differently. I came up with a list of of a few of the ways in which I practice frugality when it comes to food. 

1. Save veggie scraps like bits of celery, onion, carrots to make stocks to use for tastier soups.
2. Canning tomatoes? Process the leftover tomato juice to use in tomato or tortilla soup. Dehydrate the skins and pulverize for use in dips and adding flavor to a variety of dishes.
3. Leftover bits of cheese? Save them for a delicious macaroni and cheese. If you have old rinds, save those too. Steep cheese rind in a soup for additional flavor. Just be sure to retrieve it before serving!
4. Old slices of bread or rolls? Freeze and make your own breadcrumbs for use in any recipe that requires breadcrumbs as a binder. There is no reason to ever buy breadcrumbs again.  Stale bread and extra eggs also make a scrumptious strata.
5. Broccoli stems? Peel, and use to make a broccoli salad. 
6. Leftover pickle brine can be tasty the second time around with freshly blanched green beans, or even as a base for salad dressing.
7. Leftover mustard? Add oil, vinegar and your favorite herbs; shake, and you have a vinaigrette.
8. Potato peels? Perhaps the oldest trick in the book, but a little bit of oil, kosher salt, herbs like rosemary, and even grated Parmigiano, and you have a snack from virtual scraps.
9. Citrus peel? Peels can be used to make your own vinegar-based cleanser, but we're focusing on how to use food scraps in making something edible. So,  how about candying the lemon or orange zest?
10. Over-ripe bananas? Freeze and use for banana bread or fruit smoothies.
11. Left-over coffee along with vanilla extract intensifies the chocolate flavor when baking brownies or chocolate cake.

You may already be doing many of these things, or perhaps it will make you think about food differently, before you toss it into the bin.