January 8, 2010

It's Friday

Happy Friday. I haven't done a Food Waste Friday post for a couple of weeks now, because last Friday was New Year's Day and the week before that was Christmas Day. We did have some food waste during those two weeks, although I can't recall what it was. Mostly stuff that was composted, I think. A little bit of turkey, which I put in the freezer, and might end up as future food waste because I waited a little too long to freeze it. My plan is to at least use it for broth.

I'm going to continue to document our food waste on Fridays, a la Kristen at The Frugal Girl, because I think it's important and taking a photo and writing about it on my blog seems to help us to waste less. But I'm also going to mix it up on Fridays and sometimes bring you Friday Freebies, and other times Friday Favorites, which will be my favorite blog post I've read that week. I'll try to do those in addition to documenting our food waste, and sometimes I'll have all three.

So first, as far as food waste goes, we don't seem to have any this week. But there are a few things that are going to be waste very soon if I don't think of something to do with them. The first is a bunch of small jars of rosemary jelly that didn't set. This was the only homemade gift I tried this year that wasn't successful. I'd never made jelly, and the pectin didn't seem to work. So it tastes delicious, but it's too runny. My husband and I can keep a couple of jars, but I don't know what to do with the rest of it. Here's a challenge for you: does anyone have any ideas for what to do with runny rosemary jelly? The other thing is two large daikon, which I've never used before. I'll probably look on a recipe site, but I always prefer recipes that people have actually tried and had success with to something I find at random.

Next, here's a great Freebie: free breakfast at Mimi's Cafe for joining their E-Club. I wasn't aware of this place, but I plugged in our zip code and there are tons of them all over. The breakfast includes bacon, eggs, and blueberry-stuffed French toast. All you have to do is fill out a form that takes less than 1 minute. Click here to sign up.

And finally, my favorite blog post of the week: this post by Danielle at Less is More Balanced about heirloom design, which is stuff that's designed to last long enough to pass on to the next generation, versus planned obsolescence, which is what we're loaded down with now-- cheaply made junk with parts that can't easily be replaced. Reading it really kicked my desire for a cast iron skillet into overdrive. Supposedly you can get one that will last a lifetime for about twenty bucks. I've got to look into it.

Have a great weekend, everyone! And please share your questions and tips to reduce food waste, and ideas for runny jelly and daikon, in the Comments section.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe use the jelly in a cake or pie? I am not really a jelly person so that would be my most generic guess.

As far as the other....no idea but good luck with whatever you do.

Angela said...

Floridagirl10- That's a good idea, it might make a really interesting apple pie... I think I'll try it! thanks!

Penny said...

Try adding the runny jelly to a fruit smoothie or use it for ice cream topping

annet said...

Use it like syrup on savory pancakes (such as ones made with winter or summer squash). I like savory foods for breakfast once in a while (or savory pancakes can make a nice lunch or supper).

Bean said...

You could try baking the jelly into something, bread, biscuits, a loaf, a casserole, a sauce, pasta etc...

Anonymous said...

You can use the jelly to make a sweet & sour sauce for meat....just mix it with bbq sauce.simmer in the crock, or bake in the oven.

Angela said...

My brilliant, creative readers have come through again! Something that was a problem taking up space in the refrigerator has become an area of abundance. I can't wait to try every one of these ideas.

I transferred all the jelly out of the small jars and now it's in three larger jars and doesn't take up much space. First I'm going to bake an apple and/or pear tart/pie with just the fruit and the jelly. Then I'm going to cook some chicken in the crockpot and I'll still have plenty left over for toppings for ice cream and pancakes, and to use in smoothies. We're going to have a delicious time. And I'm very curious to try making "savory" pancakes...

Thanks everyone!

Lisa said...

All of these are great ideas! I'll add a couple more....try baking a jelly roll or freeze a jar. It'll last several months and can be used at a later date by thawing then keeping in the fridge.

Angela said...

Lisa- Ooh, I like the idea of a jelly roll. Roll out dough, smear with jelly, roll up, and bake, right?

How long do you think jelly (not commercial but homemade) lasts in the refrigerator? I thought I could use this up in the next month or so... maybe 5-6 weeks...

Thanks!

sloejennfizz said...

Here is a link to the University of GA's info on storage. On a quick look I didn't see a recommendation for jelly but it mught be there. Also, on the left side of this page there is a "Make Jam/Jelly" link which may have some useful tips for next time & even tells you how to re-process the batch if you are interested. This site is an AMAZING resource for those who are new to canning & food preservation.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/store.html
Jenn

Countess said...

Rosemary Jelly would be really good as a glaze on pork tenderloin.

Ellen said...

I've got some cast iron skillets to give to you, Angela, whenever we meet. They're ones I've picked up at thrifts, so you'll have to do some cleanup and re-seasoning, but cast iron lasts for generations.

Angela said...

Jenn, thanks so much! That is really helpful.

Countess- I agree, pork is the meat that screams out to me. Unfortunately, I don't cook it. But I do still have a couple of the smaller jars that I feel better about giving away to friends now, with these suggestions included... Thanks!

Ellen- That is so generous and I really would love a cast iron skillet- we WILL manage to meet up this year- in the next month or two hopefully. Thank you!

rmlrhonda said...

I'm with the folks who think it would make a wonderful marinade or sauce for meat. One of our favorite saute recipes calls for browning bite size pieces of meat in butter and lots of rosemary then on high heat making a quick glaze with a tablespoon of worstershire (sp?) sauce, a tablespoon of wine, and a teaspoon of mustard. I'm sure you could vary this a bit and use your rosemary jelly to get a similar glaze. It sounds yummy to me!

Leslie said...

I'm a little late, but for daikon, make some daikon pickles, daikon kimchee or freecycle it!