What do Bloody Mary mix, carrot-top salsa, yogurt whey muffins, and roasted raspberry jam have in common? All these delicious recipes rely on ingredients that typically head straight for the compost or sink drain. In the Twice as Tasty workshop at last weekend’s Free the Seeds fair, I shared ways to eat from top to root. Here I share my notes from the workshop, which include ways to give trimmings a second life, ban “discard” from your kitchen, and ultimately look at what heads for your plate versus your compost bin in a new way.
Read more about eating from top to root
Category: Refrigerating
Holiday Cheers
Every year, when nights start to crackle with cold and I’m cozying up to the woodstove, my alcohol tastes shift. Instead of a gin and tonic, I order an old-fashioned. We buy more bottles of whiskey and fewer bottles of tequila. And I even find space for the occasional rich milk-and-egg drinks like eggnog and its warm cousin, tom and jerry.
I’ve made many variations on eggnog over the years before settling on a quick recipe that makes a pair of drinks at a time, perfect for an evening in. You’ll note it uses raw egg. I always recommend fresh eggs from a well-kept flock, but I became even more confident in the recipe when I learned that a scientist at Rockefeller University found bacteria can’t stand up to a mixture of raw eggs and 20 percent alcohol.
Learn to make Homemade Eggnog and Homemade Tom & Jerry
Gifting Food
With the holiday season on your doorstep, you’re likely planning meals and buying and making gifts. If you’re like me, you’re preparing to give the gift of food. It may not sound as sexy as an Apple AirPod or gravity blanket, but when you’ve taken the time to make it, package it, and set it aside with a specific person in mind, it carries far more love.
Still, giving and receiving food has its challenges. I’m not talking about the effort you put into preparing it, which you’ve likely already planned into your schedule and budget. I’m talking about ensuring your hard work will truly be appreciated by the receiver—and about how you, when you’re the receiver, can value what’s been created for you. With a little thought, you can make your food gifts the highlight of someone’s holiday season—and of yours.
Read more about gifting food
Classic Zucchini
As I was growing up, my mom tried every way she could think of to feed us zucchini. My dad always planted several hills, plus a couple extra in case one failed, and Mom found endless ways to sneak it into dishes once the crop started coming in. Chocolate zucchini cake was her favorite way to disguise the squash: the texture gave it away, but that didn’t stop us from reaching for a slice. She also processed it as pickles, relish, and even salsa.
My favorite way to save zucchini today is grated and frozen for pancakes and quick bread. But if you’re short on freezer space, pickled zucchini becomes far more attractive. The year before I was born, my great-aunt Verle gave my mom a classic zucchini relish recipe that Mom made for decades. She claims we liked it even better than Cucumber Relish. Zuke relish doesn’t stand out in my memories, but I loved relish as a kid, so I must have been eating a lot of these jars. It’s stood the test of time; my great-aunt’s original recipe required only minor tweaks to match today’s safe-canning standards.
Learn to make Zucchini Relish and Bread-and-Butter Zucchini Refrigerator Pickles
