Prevent Wasted Food

Kids rocking the waste-less kitchen

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumer Families!

In this edition of Kitchen Confessions, we’d like to offer some resources and support to families of Future Chefs and Conscientious Consumers. It’s the middle of summer vacation, so hopefully you are having some opportunities to enjoy spending time in the kitchen together!

How many of your treasured memories involve cooking and food preparation in the family kitchen? Did the pandemic help your family rediscover the joy of cooking at home?

Many kids are eager to help in the kitchen from the time they can maneuver on their own two feet in there and comprehend an adult’s instructions. From that point on, they’re learning significant life lessons about the value of food, food preferences, nutrition and how to shop, as well as desirable practices in the handling and preparation of food. Sustainable food practices are skills that will serve children for the rest of their lives!

Just like us grownups — but as appropriate for their age and with adult supervision — kids can learn how to plan meals and create shopping lists for what’s on the plan, to properly store perishable food and, finally, how to prepare it. After the meal, they can learn how to properly freeze leftovers and other foods, and to start regularly scouting the “Eat First” areas in the fridge or freezer. (All these “Smart Strategies” available in Spanish.)

Young Farmers’ Market patron’s waste-less pledge: “Take only what I will eat”

KNOW-HOW FOR KIDZ WHO COOK

You may already be familiar with the glow of pride and accomplishment on a child’s face when the family enjoys a dish or meal that he/she/they helped prepare, or that they made all by themselves!

Excellent resources for kids learning to cook are available from Oregon State University’s KidSpirit year-round programs (scholarships available), and Food Hero, offered free by the OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health division.

Both programs emphasize safe kitchen practices (including washing hands often) and offer an extensive selection of kid-friendly recipes for making healthy food, while helping kids develop confidence and have fun! Food Hero’s compendium of family resources includes gardening, large-batch cooking, and information for older adults and in Spanish.

Be sure to check out the huge list of videos at Food Hero’s Kids Cooking Show — including Grape and Cucumber Salad, a fresh and yummy summertime snack!

WASTE-LESS KIDZ WHO COOK:

  • Are learning to make the most of a family grocery budget, instead of just tossing things in the compost or garbage. (The average American family of four wastes at least $1,600 a year on food that was purchased but not eaten!)
  • May stretch their comfort zones as picky eaters. (I had one of those in my home.) A kid who says “beets are gross” may be willing to sample some pretty pink-colored hummus that he/she/they made themselves from a kid-friendly recipe. Bonus: beet juice is great for coloring summertime Easter eggs!
  • Eat “ugly” produce (like apples with minor bruising, spotted grapes, strangely-shaped tomatoes) or other food products with less-than-perfect characteristics — and have fun doing it.  Next time you see the OSU student Organic Growers Club at the downtown Saturday Farmers’ Market, ask if they still give away free “ugly” produce!
  • Learn portion control early. Many kids are happy to serve themselves when they get the chance. Let’s help them be like our young Farmers’ Market patron (above) who pledged to “take only what I will eat” on her next plate!
  • Learn good waste-less habits early. Check out these waste-less training tips for kids from SaveTheFood.com to see how they resonate with your parenting approach.
  • Make friends with their family freezer. Remember those overripe bananas that were saved from the compost a couple months ago by popping them in the freezer? It’s Banana Smoothie Time! Or popsicles…  Or maybe even banana ice cream for breakfast!
  • Get creative with what’s collecting on the “Eat First” shelf in the fridge. See a video of the “aha” moment for this father and daughter below! Delight your budding chef with the task of assembling “Bagel Faces” from leftover veggie and fruit pieces, or maybe the last few olives in the jar. Thanks to Mollie Katzen and her charmingly-illustrated cookbooks for younger children.
  • Keep making friends with their family freezer.  Oh boy! Frozen grape “ice cubes” (great for iced tea and sodas)! All because somebody got proactive with the last third of a bunch that had started to shrivel. Veggie freezing tips here.
  • Enjoy portion control as part of summertime grilling and social gatherings. Foil-wrapped grill packages or bamboo skewers (with the sharpest point removed) are perfect for this. First kids help prep ingredients, then load up their own appropriately-sized servings. Wrinkled cherry tomatoes and peppers from the “Eat First” shelf can be pretty tasty right off the grill! Same with summer squash, onions, leftover chicken nuggets/tempeh, or what have you.

Getting creative with what’s already in the fridge! Credit: StopFoodWaste.org

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NEW IN LOCAL SCHOOLS THIS FALL!
A fun educational video in English and Spanish, starring local kids

We’re pleased to shine a brief spotlight on NFLB’s amazing “Eco-EduTainment” program for local schools, run by our Outreach Specialist Kjersten Hallin, aka Magic Mama. When the pandemic shut down schools, she also shifted digital and began developing an educational video as a fun new way to teach kids about the massive issues around food waste and climate change.

Anyone who’s seen “Magic Mama” at the downtown Farmers’ Market (prior to COVID19) or in their classroom knows what a delightful presence she brings to this huge topic. Her curriculum, delivered with the help of some catchy raps performed on unusual handmade instruments (like a repurposed pizza box), inspires kids to “rock” the prevention of wasted food in their own families and social circles of influence.

More than just entertaining, Kjersten’s presentations also help schools fulfill their district’s core and STEM education goals. (Please click on the photo to jump to NFLB’s Eco-EduTainment program page.)

Watch for exciting details about the Eco-EduTainment videos, launching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms this fall!

 

Carrot Top Pesto & other “zero waste” ideas

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

We’re still giddy over the response to our first-ever Leftovers Recipes Contest (Drawing), in which local Conscientious Chefs shared creative methods for wasting less food and money at home, one meal at a time! Thanks again to all who participated.

Emily S.’ Leftover Spaghetti Pie

We’re pleased to highlight in this blog some of our Recipe Contest chefs who are tossing fewer items into the compost and making more soups, casseroles, pesto, curry and muffins — thus demonstrating a “zero waste” kind of mindset. Be sure to check out our new Recipes for Leftovers section, which we hope will provide you with some fresh inspiration as well as more $aving$ for your grocery budget!

Remarkably, one of our original drawing winners donated her gift card — so we were delighted to be able to do a second drawing. Congrats to our “Runner Up” drawing winner Emily S. of Philomath, whose leftover Spaghetti Pie has also been uploaded to our new Recipes section.

(Note: you’ll see quotes around the term “zero waste” because I’m using it rather loosely.)

FROM LESS WASTED FOOD TO “ZERO WASTE”

For many of us, even if we’re actively pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle, “zero waste” may sound a little intimidating.

You’re already being more conscious about wasting less food at home. You’re already working the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What more can you do? You can step it up and place added focus on “Reduce,” which means preventing waste in the first place. With everything we use and consume — especially in our own kitchens — we can all develop a “zero waste” mindset that asks:

    • “What can I do with this before it becomes part of the waste stream?
    • Can I eat it/reuse it/compost it/recycle it first?”

In Kitchen Confessions terms: how can you do more with the food you already have? How can you use parts of the food you don’t typically think of as edible, like cheese rinds? Produce peels, rinds, stalks, tops and bottoms? Bones and coffee grounds? Keep scrolling, Conscientious Food Consumers!

COMPOSTING VERSUS ZERO WASTE

Most of the time, we on the NFLB staff downplay composting in our messaging and outreach, even though we do actively support the practice. Why downplay it? Composting can make it easy for us to excuse our wasting habits. If the food that got composted was edible in the first place, then technically it was still wasted! See our page: “What About Composting?”

Given the scale of the food waste problem, composting is “inextricably linked” with zero waste. But the real goal with “zero waste” is to maximize, as much as possible, the resources represented in every part of our food.

Producing soil amendment from spoiled and/or undesirable food is certainly better than sending that inedible organic waste to the landfill. In Corvallis and Philomath, residents have the option of curbside composting through Republic Services, while OSU’s Extension Service offers advice on getting started with backyard composting.

Donna T’s Watermelon Rind Pickles
Donna T’s Carrot Top Pesto
Sarah B’s Veggie Scrap Soup Stock

SOME “ZERO WASTE” CONTEST RECIPES

  • Donna T.’s Carrot Top Pesto (shown as handy frozen single portions) and Watermelon Rind Pickles, using those parts that typically go to waste.
  • “I haven’t paid for vegetable stock in years,” boasts Sarah B. when introducing her Vegetable Scrap Soup Stock. Her family’s stock-from-scratch doesn’t need aseptic packaging and uses veggies and trimmings that others might toss: “any sad and wilted individuals from the bottom of your veggie crisper,” carrot or parsnip ends/peels, onion skins/ends, mushroom stems, cauliflower/cabbage cores/leaves, kale stems, or celery stumps.
  • “Almost anything goes!” says Rebecka W. of her One Pot Adaptable Curry — a  recipe she “adapts” with odds and ends from her spice cabinet as well as whatever she finds at fridge clean-out time.
  • Mali G. blends up random fruits/veggies, and found a great new way to use the byproduct with her Juice Pulp Muffins!
  • Donna P. prepares her Everything Ramen Soup with random leftovers and stock from “scraps that I am cutting off of the produce, like onion butts, carrot tops, chard stems, mushroom stems, bits of ginger that have gotten tough, meat bones — pretty much anything that isn’t funky or rotten…”
www.eatyourselfskinny.com/juice-pulp-muffins/
Donna P’s Everything Ramen Soup
Rebecka W’s One Pot Adaptable Curry

TODAY’S KITCHEN CONFESSION:

I CONFESS that I am still learning what “zero waste” means!

I must also FRANKLY CONFESS that in this blog, I’ve been using the term rather loosely to describe recipes with ingredients that would normally get tossed or composted. Assuming these dishes were completely consumed (either by people or people food-loving animals), they might then qualify as truly “zero waste” recipes!

In the waste management and recycling industries, “zero waste” is a complex topic. It’s also a growing global movement that is fundamentally altering human attitudes and practices regarding our relationship to natural resources, consumption and waste disposal.  Learn more about the “zero waste” movement!

A few recommended resources:

As a project of the Waste Prevention Action Team of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, the NFLB campaign and Kitchen Confessions are here to help you (and ourselves) “step it up” along the path to zero waste!

Pumpkin guts are good for you!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Another pandemic milestone is fast approaching — Halloween without much trick-or-treating. Thank goodness pumpkin carving is still CDC-approved! So is, we assume, National Pumpkin Day on October 26th.

The season of the jack-o-lantern brings to mind one of my (and my kiddo’s) favorite bits of macabre Halloween hilarity — Science Bob’s exploding pumpkins experiment on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Admittedly, it was also a frivolous waste of pumpkin innards, including all those nutritious seeds…

Did you know? Pumpkin guts are good for you!

In addition to its dense flesh containing essential vitamins, beta carotene, and minerals such as calcium, the pumpkin’s oval seeds are packed with a surprising amount of protein, fiber and omega fatty acids, as well as anti-oxidants and nerve-calming magnesium. Here’s an outline of the health benefits associated with pumpkin seeds from the BBC’s “Good Food” website.

So don’t toss (or compost) those punkin’ guts! (Slimy-stringy guts, ok.) It will take a bit of time and effort, but the reward will be a healthy, versatile snack that you made yourself — while saving a few $$$ you may have otherwise spent on fancy packaged trail or nut mixes.

As usual, we turn to the OSU Master Food Preserver program for the definitive how-to on Drying and Roasting Seeds for pumpkins, other squash and for sunflowers as well. The process involves these basic steps:

  • DIG ‘EM out, CLEAN ‘EM and DRY ‘EM well in the oven or dehydrator;
  • Add seasonings, oil and ROAST ‘EM in their white outer hulls (being careful to not over-cook them),

UNLESS:

    • You really want just the tender and green inner seed (known as a “pepita“) — particularly to make the seeds easier for younger kids to eat. Then you’ll be doing the extra work to remove the tough and fibrous outer seed hull before continuing on to the frying or roasting.  If you prefer, prepare a batch to use soon and eat raw.

THEN:

    • SNACK ON ‘EM as is, or THROW ‘EM in your salads, muffins, breakfast cereal, trail mix, what have you! STORE ‘EM in an airtight container in your fridge or freezer (not the pantry, where they will likely turn rancid).

A bit of clarification regarding carving pumpkins, a.k.a. “jack-o-lanterns” versus their non-exploding cousins the “pie pumpkins” which provide the best tasting “innards” for your winter and holiday dishes. Carving pumpkins are grown for their size and tend to have unpleasant-tasting flesh, while the smaller pie pumpkins are cultivated primarily for culinary uses. Right now you might be getting ready to do some pumpkin PREP to:

Don’t forget the pumpkin’s winter squash relatives — the striped and speckled delicatas, spaghettis, acorns, butternuts, Hubbards, etc. —  in your prep, preservation and seasonal meal planning!

HAVE KIDDOS? They’ll probably jump at the chance to get their hands in some “pumpkin guts” or puree to help you make kid-friendly recipes like Jack-O-Lantern Pancakes, pumpkin pudding or even fruit dip. They’re all part of FoodHero.org, a bilingual collection of nutrition learning resources from OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health Program.

On their pumpkin home page, kids will find videos, coloring sheets,  infographics and even jokes! The “Pumpkin Basics” infographic introduces key facts and messages such as “Store well, waste less” — which we love seeing!

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And now for this week’s Kitchen Confession:

KAREN CONFESSES: This can of butternut squash was once intended as the main ingredient for a nice soup, but got “left behind” in a secondary pantry storage area that I hadn’t inventoried until… this year!

Although StillTasty.com advises that it is still safe to eat as long as the can is undamaged and its seals intact, I didn’t feel comfortable using it.

$$$ WASTED: $2.49

LESSON LEARNED: Consolidate and reorganize my pantry storage by placing older items in front of those with a longer “Best by” date. Check for other items nearing their date and transfer to upcoming Meal Plans!

 

“Local Eats Month” is underway in Corvallis, with special menu offerings at selected local restaurants celebrating the farmers and foods produced within our six-county region. Between October 18 – November 14, check “Sustainable Corvallis” on Facebook for announcements from the Food Action Team about the latest specials from participating restaurants. On Instagram: @sustainablecorvallis

 

How do you like (not waste) them apples?

photo by Jeanette Hardison
photo by Prisha Brown

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Apples are a quintessential taste of autumn. Whether you enjoy them fresh off the tree or from the market, where would we be without this crisp and colorful fruit for our pies and cobblers, applesauce, muffins and cakes, Thanksgiving stuffing, or our traditional Halloween treats drizzled in caramel?

Apple cultivation and cider-making is as old as America, and many apple stocks migrated westward with the pioneers to the Pacific Northwest and the Willamette Valley. In 2019, apples represented a $39 million chunk of Oregon’s agricultural economy, and are a valuable export crop. One regional grower is even offering its heirloom and other apple woods for the first time so that new orchards can be established.

Apples in abundance also means cider time. The kids in our featured photos had fun learning how to make it the old-fashioned way, with a hand-cranked cider press. You can learn how to do it at home with this helpful publication from the OSU Extension Service.

If you’re a fan of hard cider, there’s plenty of apple varieties to like at the annual Harvest Party celebration put on by 2 Towns Ciderhouse, a Corvallis establishment that has grown into Oregon’s largest craft cider producer of crushes from carefully-selected Northwest grown varieties.

So how do you like — and not waste — “them apples” on your counter? Help them retain their delightful aroma, taste and texture by utilizing the following Smart Strategies and resources:

STORAGE/PRESERVATION

PRO TIP: Apples, as well avocados, bananas and some other fruits, emit ethylene gas as a normal part of their ripening cycle, and that may accelerate spoilage for any nearby fruit or vegetable items. So keep ’em separate!

USE “THEM APPLES”

  • Them apples getting wrinkly or mushy? Prep ’em quick and pop ’em into a batch of muffins, a casserole, a smoothie or a creative dish involving something from your “Eat First” shelf.
  • If you want to go “zero waste,” you can even use the core in many dishes (first make sure there’s no mold)!
  • Stumped for ideas? Download the “Big Oven” app, type in up to three ingredients, and see what pops up!
  • KIDS WILL LIKE THEM APPLES MORE (probably) if they get involved in making apple sandwiches, applesauce, apple bars or other kid-friendly apple recipes at FoodHero.org. It also offers videos and resources in both English and Spanish to help kids learn about nutrition, kitchen skills and even gardening.
  • Try this Simply Seasonal baked apple recipe from the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition’s Food Action Team.

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This week’s Kitchen Confessions also involves apples!

KAREN CONFESSES:

After only a few servings from this bottle of commercial apple cider, I let it get pushed to the back of my fridge where it sat until well past its “Best by” date. It didn’t smell bad but I thought I saw something suspicious floating in the liquid, and tossed it down the drain.

Maybe I made hard cider without realizing it!

$$$ WASTED: About $2.50 (1/2 the cost of the bottle)

LESSON LEARNED:  Buy a smaller bottle next time (this size bottle was bit too much for one person to consume). Learn about the fermentation process for hard cider…

JEANETTE CONFESSES:

Unfortunately I didn’t follow our own advice to store apples in the fridge, and ended up with a handful of shriveled specimens on the counter. But luckily, they weren’t moldy, just a bit dehydrated and still tasty! I was able to peel and dice them, to add some sweetness to a yummy green salad!  They also work well this way in oatmeal.

$$$ WASTED: zero!

LESSON LEARNED: Move apples to the fridge within 5-7 days of bringing them indoors.

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Enjoy “them apples”! And check out some Northwest-grown varieties you’ve never had before. Just ask at your nearest farm stand or Farmers’ Market.

Post-apocalypse produce

Cover photo: squash plant ash accumulation in backyard garden in Corvallis (staff photo)
Ash accumulations on bean plant leaves, lettuce, and tomato plants (photos courtesy of Eating Rainbow Garden Coop, Corvallis)

 

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

The skies have finally begun to clear during this second week of horrific and historic wildfires in northwest Oregon, but evacuations continue and the extent of the destruction of lives, property and natural resources has yet to be assessed as this edition of Kitchen Confessions is published. NFLB staff joins everyone in witnessing and mourning the tragic consequences of the massive wildfires raging in Oregon, throughout our region, and in our neighboring states.

Here in the mid-Willamette Valley, the menacing orange and brown hue overhead is gone, and our local Air Quality Index has finally begun to incrementally improve — from “Hazardous” or “Very Unhealthy,” to merely “Unhealthy.”

The losses to Oregon’s agricultural industry are likely to be catastrophic. Backyard gardeners and larger-scale farmers alike lost more than a week of tending and harvest time. Both the Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Markets and the South Town Farm Stand and Market had to take a week off.

At Midway Farms near Albany, owner/farmer Cynthia Kapple says her primary losses resulted from consecutive days of hazardous air quality that kept her and her employees from harvesting which left crops rotting in fields, and, the continuous smoke haze blocking out sunlight. That meant her strawberries could not properly sweeten up, her chickens were stressed and stopped laying, and even her cow was coughing. Cynthia’s concord grapes took on the smoke flavor – no telling yet whether this will affect the taste of the jelly.

Local farmers need everyone’s support now more than ever!

After watching the local AQI closely for a week, my neighbor and I donned our N95 face masks to see how well his garden held up under the continuous blanketing of smoke and hazardous ash.

The verdict: surprisingly well, despite noticeable deposits of the powdery-gritty fallout and the extreme de-humidification from the massive fires in our neighboring counties.

Whether you have a garden or not, it’s now important to thoroughly inspect, rinse, re-wash (and dry if not preparing immediately) and carefully prepare produce that has been exposed to the hazardous residues of the wildfires’ destruction.

Once again, we turn to the experts at the OSU Extension Service for advice on dealing with smoke- and ash-tainted produce. While smoke and ash can definitely ruin the quality of some crops, that exposure is not necessarily a food safety issue unless the skin of the fruit or vegetable has been broken — allowing for contamination by toxic particulates and residues.

However, unless you’re part of a direct-to-consumer or commercial produce business, it’s a matter of personal judgment whether to simply cut out the damaged portions and make use of the rest, or to dispose of the whole item or batch. In my case, I harvested two pints of cherry tomatoes, but ended up composting nearly a whole pint with cracked skins. Sometimes food does have to be left behind…

My remaining tomatoes, squash and a batch of broccoli were treated with a 10% vinegar rinse (see photos) — which gave me peace of mind as well as the satisfaction of consuming something I freshly harvested myself! Pizzas and omelets are the perfect match for these garden rescues — so noted on this week’s Meal Planner.

Light ash accumulation on yellow squash; cherry tomatoes and broccoli in separate containers with vinegar water rinse. (Staff photos)

Especially during times of emergency, food can get left behind. But as we prepare for the winter of 2020 under the shadow of both COVID-19 and the devastation of wildfire, let’s make the most of what remains available to us. Our food is more valuable now than ever!

No Questions Left Behind (ok, a few)

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

As autumn approaches, we can all look back on how our lives have changed since March, and the reality of COVID-19. Like most everything else, No Food Left Behind Corvallis has transitioned online, and in April we launched “Kitchen Confessions.”

Before COVID-19, NFLB’s outreach happened in the schools, community presentations, and through all-seasons tabling at the Corvallis Farmers’ Markets — we miss seeing everyone! Although we are doing limited outreach at the Corvallis Southtown Farm Stand & Market (pictured), we’re not reaching as many of you in person now.

Now more than ever, NFLB — a project of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition’s Waste Prevention Action Team (WPAT) — is here to support you in conscientiously developing smart, money-saving approaches for making the most of the food in your home during this pandemic, and beyond.

So with this installment of “Kitchen Confessions,” we’re highlighting a few Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that we hear regularly.

“Are you with the gleaners?”

NFLB is not involved in gleaning, but we love promoting local groups like Mid-Valley Harvest and our Coalition partners, Linn-Benton Food Share and the Marys River Gleaners! These volunteer-driven organizations are helping local property owners, from small rural farmers to your neighbor down the street, manage the bounty that would otherwise go unharvested and rot on the ground. They welcome your energy and financial donations.

“WPAT? What’s that about?”

The Waste Prevention Action Team’s (WPAT) vision for Corvallis is “a waste-free community that fosters behaviors to reduce consumption of material goods.” Strategies include significantly increasing the community’s recycling rate, and diverting hazardous waste and other materials from the landfills — especially wasted food.

We’ve got a big problem there, with almost half of Corvallis residents throwing wasted food into the garbage instead of using the Yard Debris carts provided by local hauler and Coalition partner Republic Services. You can even toss nasty wasted meat, bones and dairy items into the Yard Debris cart!

The video at the bottom of our composting page describes the serious industrial-scale processes used by Republic to create a high-quality compost product. (Note: this curbside composting service is currently available only in Corvallis and Philomath.)

“What about composting? Do you teach people how?”

Composting, and how-to, is not our focus with NFLB. We’re focused on what happens before food gets turned into compost! If something that was edible in the first place ends up in your compost bin or yard debris cart, it was technically still wasted. Just think of all the resources that went into getting that food from farm to fork.

What we do try to teach is how to avoid the waste that has to end up in the compost, and we provide many tools to make that easier!

Utilizing organic waste matter to create new soil is great, and we highly encourage this practice over throwing food away. That’s also why we offer these handy kitchen compost pails — made from recycled plastic, of course! — that you may have seen at our Farmers’ Market table. You can get one of these popular counter-top compost pails for free, or help offset our cost through a tax-deductible donation.

If you’re just getting started, here’s an intro to composting, along with many other informative publications from our local experts at the OSU Extension Service. Additional advice is also available from Extension volunteer Master Gardeners.

“Are you a volunteer group? Who are you funded by?”

As a project of the volunteer-driven Sustainability Coalition and WPAT, No Food Left Behind’s current staff and operations are grant funded by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in contract with the non-profit Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. We are proud to support the Corvallis Climate Action Plan goals, as well as DEQ’s long-standing work on food waste prevention and its response to Governor Brown’s March 10, 2020 directive (p7) “to prevent and recover food waste, with the goal of reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030.”

You can read our 2018-19 DEQ Final Report here.

“What about all the food waste happening in restaurants and grocery stores?”

It is a huge problem, estimated to cost U.S. businesses $57 billion annually, while creating mountains of waste in landfills and climate-changing methane emissions. However, a 2017 study revealed that the greatest amount of wasted food happens at home! That’s why it is NFLB’s focus.

Oregon businesses are making great progress in addressing this problem with help from DEQ’s “Wasted Food Wasted Money” campaign. as well as Metro Portland’s Food Waste Stops With Me program, in cooperation with industry associations like the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. Businesses receive free resource guides, on-site assistance to train employees in food waste prevention, and ways to donate edible surplus food and set up on-site composting programs.

 

This Week’s Kitchen Confession:

KAREN CONFESSES:

This sad specimen of ruined cantaloupe was destined for a fresh fruit salad or ice cream/yogurt bowls. Following my handy Fruit and Vegetable Storage Guide, I put it on my counter to ripen for a couple of days, and then stowed it in the “Eat First” area of my fridge… where it somehow migrated to the back. It was shriveled, over-ripe and moldy on the bottom by the time I retrieved it!

$$$ WASTED: $3-$4

LESSONS LEARNED: Cut/prep the melon for that fruit salad the same day it goes into the fridge! Make more room for my “Eat First!” items. Place cut melon in a labeled or see-through container in my “Eat First” area AND make a note on my weekly Meal Planner.

 

We look forward to supporting you and your loved ones through the coming months of the COVID-19 era. Be Well!

Mind your ‘maters!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

When was the last time you delighted in the taste experience of a ripe exploding cherry tomato? For many, one of the greatest pleasures of summer is the color, aroma and savory satisfaction of garden-fresh tomatoes, that ubiquitous vegetable (actually a fruit) that gardeners tend to have in over-abundance this time of year. Besides zucchini! (Also technically considered a fruit.)

Tomatoes are the 4th most-popular fresh market produce item for good reason: this versatile veggie-fruit can be sliced, diced, baked, stewed, roasted, sun-dried and pureed for so many of our favorite meals, year-round. Tomatoes are an essential ingredient of fresh summer salsa and many vegetable medley dishes from a variety of cultural and ethnic cuisines.

Of course, they’re also quite perishable and can be pricey, especially premium tomatoes still attached to their vines. Why not take advantage of our seasonal abundance and stock up on locally-sourced ‘maters that you prepped, froze and perhaps canned yourself? They’re sure to be fresher and better tasting than those imported from Mexico or China, not to mention anything you can buy in a can six months from now.

So let’s “mind our ‘maters” and make sure they end up where they can be properly appreciated! Here’s a few tips we hope you will find helpful:

  • Place tomatoes on the kitchen counter to ripen, away from direct sunlight, with the stem end up to prevent bruising. Monitor the ripening, then wash and prepare them for consumption at their height of flavor and juiciness! In a fridge, these qualities will diminish after just a few days.
  • Tomatoes are one of those veggies that naturally emit ethylene gas as part of their plant maturation cycles, so avoid placing or storing them near other produce that you don’t want to ripen too quickly or spoil.
  • Got too many ‘maters? Share with friends, or find the downloadable OLIO app on our website for locating people with whom to share your prodigious produce (keeping COVID-19 concerns in mind). Unfortunately, most local food banks and soup kitchens are currently not accepting donations of fresh produce, so let’s share with each other.
  • Once your tomatoes have spent time in the fridge, let them return to room temperature before preparing and consuming.
  • Ugly ‘maters still taste great! Bruised or cracked tomatoes may not work for the presentation of your bruschetta or for picky kiddos, but they are fine for freezing or canning, or as the foundation of a refreshing cold gazpacho soup, fresh salsa, or tomato juice/cocktail. (Just cut out the cracked areas and use the rest.) Over-ripe tomatoes tend to have black spots, signs of mold or an “off” smell — so off to the compost bin they go.

With COVID-19 keeping us all home more this summer, children will enjoy learning veggie-prep kitchen skills, like how to safely dice a tomato through the kid-friendly recipes and visual learning resources (in both English and Spanish) on OSU Extension Service’s “Food Hero” website. There’s 25 recipes to start with for fresh tomatoes! Numerous other veggies and categories of food can be explored as well.

This Week’s Kitchen Confessions:

JEANETTE CONFESSES: This is one of 3 or 4 portions of shredded pulled pork left from prepping for family meals. Fortunately most remaining portions went into the freezer in baggies, but this portion in the fridge got “left behind” (moldy), forgotten for too long.

$$ WASTED: About $6

LESSONS LEARNED: Either put all extra quantities in the freezer, or make sure small meal portions get onto our “Eat First” shelf or flagged on our Meal Planner so they’re eaten sooner!

KAREN CONFESSES: Before local tomatoes were in season, I bought mild sweet mango salsa which my son likes, and we enjoyed it with one meal of burritos and nachos. He went home afterwards and I placed the opened jar in the fridge door with the rest of my condiments. Since I prefer a green chile-based salsa (a bit more spicy), it tends to get used first and, eventually, I was dismayed to find a “science experiment” brewing inside the mango salsa jar.

$$ WASTED: About $2 (1/2 the cost of full jar)

LESSON LEARNED: Label it with the date opened and note it as ingredient for “Gazpacho” on my Meal Planner. Store opened jar in “Eat First” area in my fridge or encourage my son to take the rest of the jar home with him next time!

Happy Salsa Season!

‘Chillin’ with those summertime fruits and veggies

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

It’s “chillin’ time” — mid-summer — here in the Mid-Willamette Valley. We endured a heat wave in late July with near-triple-digits, while our gardens and markets were bursting with colorful varieties of seasonal produce. Now the challenge is on: getting it all harvested, properly stored, processed, prepared and onto our plates before too much of it ends up in the compost!

Despite our best intentions, fruit and vegetables are still the most common foods that end up going to waste. We can be more proactive about waste prevention right after the produce enters our homes, by taking the time to

  • properly store it in the right places, and
  • do some prep and processing so it’s ready to be cooked and/or consumed.

You’ll be delighted by the convenience and cost savings these habits can deliver for you and your family!

To support this process, No Food Left Behind (NFLB) offers the A-Z Fruit & Vegetable Storage Guide. for preserving the “fresh factor” of your summer produce. For example: fresh basil leaves will turn black if subjected to refrigeration. Keep bunches of basil green and fragrant by storing them in a cup of water on the kitchen counter, with an optional plastic bag “tent” over the top to keep them moist.

Prep Now, Eat Later:  Clean and prepare your produce for upcoming meals and snacks before they go into the different “chill” areas of your fridge — and you’ll see how quickly they tend to get used up and eaten! A batch of carrot and celery sticks, stored in a tall glass of water on the fridge shelf, makes it very easy to grab a healthy snack throughout the week.

Blanch before freezing: Some fruits and most veggies will need more prep before going into the freezer, through a pre-cooking/cooling process known as “blanching.” This easy process helps preserve the flavor, vitamins and colors of your produce — though it requires some careful attention. You can get the details on this process from OSU’s Extension Service, a quick Web search, or a thumb-through of your favorite cookbook!

Don’t overload your freezer. The “chill” needs to have some space to circulate around your stored items. Be sure to check this Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart for recommended time limits.

Food safety questions? Just call OSU’s Extension Service’s Food Safety and Preservation toll-free hotline at 800-354-7319, staffed by certified Master Food Preserver volunteers, Monday – Friday between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., through October 9, 2020.

What’s in your freezer? Don’t freeze it and forget it!

JEANETTE keeps track with NFLB’s  handy-dandy Freezer Inventory Guide. It works best when combined with NFLB’s other “Smart Strategies” to help you plan more, waste less and save more money.

This week’s Kitchen Confession:

KAREN CONFESSES:

With peak veggie/salad season underway, I picked up some cilantro-based salad dressing from the refrigerator case at my local store. After I got home, I left the bottle on the kitchen counter, anticipating using it on a salad with my evening meal. (Typically I use dressings that don’t need refrigerating until after the bottle has been opened.)

Tragically, I neglected to READ THE LABEL specifying that refrigeration was always required. The salad did not happen that evening after all, but the bottle remained on my kitchen counter. Two days later, the magic of organic compounds fermenting had burst the lid, and the dressing was ruined.

$$ WASTED: $3.49

LESSON LEARNED: Read product labels! Make a note on my “Smart Shopping List” next time I’m looking for a new salad dressing.

NATIONAL FARMER’S MARKET WEEK: AUGUST 2-8, 2020

Whether you do your own garden and harvesting or not, let’s not forget the valuable labor of the farm workers who bring the bounty of the fields and greenhouses to our grocery stores and markets. Hooray for the harvesters! You can celebrate these essential workers and Oregon’s direct-to-customer growers August 2-8, National Farmer’s Market Week.

We are now tabling at the Corvallis Southtown Farm Stand & Market from 5-7pm on Tuesdays through October. If you haven’t done so already, check out this charming neighborhood-style market at the dead end of SE Alexander Avenue, and stop by to say hello!

 

 

 

No strawberries left behind… And hooray for the harvesters!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

We Willamette Valley dwellers are so blessed to be living in one of the largest berry-producing regions in the country. Strawberry season is here! Luscious, juicy and vibrantly red — like these, picked fresh from a Corvallis backyard garden — the local bounty of strawberries is just now waiting to delight our taste buds.

Normally in early June, we would also be anticipating a taste of the World’s Largest Strawberry Shortcake at the annual Strawberry Festival in Lebanon — but predictably, this year’s festival (the 111th) became a casualty of the coronavirus.

Here in Linn and Benton Counties, we have the luxury of enjoying locally-produced strawberries, as well as blueberries, marion and blackberries, raspberries and so many other varieties. Let’s not forget how most of those delicious fruits get to our markets and our tables — via Oregon’s agricultural workers. Hooray for the harvesters!

These incredibly hard-working people have kept the berries (and everything else) coming, despite the deadly risk of COVID-19. In late May, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, with help from OSU’s Extension Services and the Oregon National Guard, began distributing free PPE and field sanitation supplies throughout the state. Another state initiative announced June 10, the Food Security & Farmworker Safety Program, provides $30 million to help local producers with the increased costs of keeping our state’s essential agricultural workforce housed, transported, trained and safe in the pandemic conditions.

Given this monumental effort to secure our local food chain, it’s up to us, Conscientious Food Consumers, to do our part: No Strawberries Left Behind!

Step 1 (fresh): Eat A.S.A.P.! Store berries in an unsealed container on your fridge shelf away from other produce like apples and avocados, which emit traces of ethylene gas that will cause the berries to over-ripen. Don’t wash them until just before preparing or consuming, preferably within 3-7 days of purchase.

Step 2 (fresh – large batches): To prep and freeze large batches (like flats) of berries, check out these step-by-step instructions from our local experts at the OSU and Pacific NW Extension Services. (Note details regarding sugar/no sugar prep for maintaining quality of frozen fruit.) Make sure your hands and all kitchen utensils and surfaces are clean before getting started!

Tip: Avoid frozen “berry bricks” by spreading out prepped berries across waxed paper on a cookie sheet and freezing them loosely at first. Transfer portions of the pre-frozen berries into airtight containers and return to the freezer. Or stick ’em with a skewer for strawberry popsicles!

Step 3 (fresh and previously-frozen): Note the date for your berries-in-waiting on your handy-dandy Freezer Inventory List, kept on or near your fridge. Make sure to eat ’em up within 10-12 months!

Alternate Step 1 (preserving through dehydration): If you’re into making your own dried fruit/fruit leathers using the oven or an electric dehydrator, OSU’s Extension Service has the definitive how-to guide.

This week’s Kitchen Confession: A Berry Sad Story

Karen Confesses:

A friend cleaning out her freezer  when moving gave me a half-bag of frozen strawberries. I planned on using ’em right away in a smoothie, along with a small portion of blueberries I already had on hand. Carelessly, I left the berry bags in the freezer door for easy access, and didn’t take a moment to write it on my Freezer Inventory! Some weeks later… berry sad! A lack of air-tight seal on the bags ensured the spoilage.

Lesson Learned: Tightly seal berries in container, zip lock freezer bag or double-bag. Make sure berries are located where the freezer temperature is consistent. Use Freezer Inventory (take my own advice)!

$ Wasted: Around $4

Enjoy this berry beautiful season… there’s lots more on the way! Be well.