Cooking with Compost: Split Pea Soup

February 1, 2012 By 4 Comments

Raise your hand if you are an absolute NUT over soup.  Yeah, me too!  I regularly eat soup for breakfast I love it so much.  When I make a pot, I have it three times a day the first day and sometimes the second day, too.  After that I will freeze what’s left in individual servings to enjoy later.

This is my split pea and lentil soup.  Most split pea soup is a little bit thinner than I like.  So I put less broth and add lentils to make it more hearty and thick.  A friend of mine invited us over for a family dinner and the main dish was a baked ham.  When we were cleaning up for the night, she took all the meat off the ham bone and was going to toss the bone.  I politely interjected and asked if she minded if I take it home.  There was still a TON of meat on the bone and I knew that if I made stock with the bone, the rest of that meat would tenderize and fall off plus flavor the stock.

I used my regular bowl of vegetable trimmings in the bottom of the fridge and the ham bone to make a very rich homemade stock.  I drained the stock and let it set overnight in the fridge to skim and defat the pot.  I used my hands to go through and pull out all the largest ham chunks that were cooked off the bone.  Then I put a half a bag of dried split peas and a half a bag of lentils in the stock.  I check for the salt and pepper to make sure it’s seasoned well.

My favorite way to eat split pea soup is to add a teaspoon of sour cream and some fried onion pieces to the bowl.  But I am trying to behave and keep it as  healthy as I can so I kept my craving in check.  The great thing about split pea soup is it’s a wonder food on the glycemic food index.

What is your favorite soup recipe?

Shared on Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.


Pin It
Filed Under: Cooking With Compost, Featured, Food & Fitness, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Food Prep Day

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I know you are thinking, “What in the world is all that mess?!?”  Sometimes I do, too.  This is a little mini kitchen prep session I did last weekend.  Tasks included:

  • peel and cut in half ten pounds of browned bananas
  • break up and freeze several cheese packages
  • veggie compost bowl and bones to make stock with
  • chicken stock and chicken to make into soup
  • a ham bone to make split pea soup
  • pork chops to cook and freeze
  • bbq sauce to reduce and freeze

All of this was accomplished in about two hours while I was getting ready to hang out with a friend, shower and at the end, my friend helped finish the bananas.  All in all a productive day.  I just wanted to show you some typical cooking “to do’s” in my fridge as it relates to my compost cooking and other frugal foodie tasks.  It really doesn’t take much planning or creativity to get to this point.  Just be willing to try and think about what you have and how to get the most from it.

What do you do to save time and money in the kitchen?

Shared on Heath and Soul Blog Hop.

Pin It
Filed Under: Better Home Management, Cooking With Compost, Food & Fitness, Recipes, Time Saving Food Prep Ideas Tagged With: , ,

Cooking with Compost: Vegetable Stock

January 6, 2012 By 2 Comments

This is a typical bowl of vegetable trimmings in the bottom of my refrigerator any given week.  No matter what vegetable it is, I keep whatever is cut, sliced, shaved, sliced or chopped off to either put in a compost pile at my CSA farm or to give it a second chance to make something delicious!

I know you think it sounds crazy, using vegetable scraps to cook with.  But trust me when I say you can make some very yummy recipes, save some money and reduce your kitchen waste by using what you have on hand until it can’t be used anymore.

To make ‘free’ veggie stock I use cleaned vegetable trimmings, about four cups.  Place them in a stock pot and cover with water.  I bring to a boil and continue to boil until the vegetables are falling apart.  I place a colander inside of another larger bowl or pot and pour out the hot broth and vegetables.  I let drain until all liquid is gone from the vegetables.  If you put the broth back in the pot and onto boil longer, the broth will concentrate using less space in the refrigerator and freezer until use.  I always try to do this.  By the time I am done with the double boil, here is the thickened, rich, chilled stock:

I do not season my broths and stocks usually.  This way, I can use them in whatever type of recipe I am making at the time.  I also do not put in salt and pepper to taste.  I save this for when I actually make a dish.  When all is said and done I usually get about two quarts of condensed stock from one batch.  I divide the quarts up equally in freezer bags, burp the air from the bag, and lie flat in the freezer.  Once frozen, I can move the bags anywhere in the freezer and they take up less space than a container and fit easier in tight spaces.

If you want to make a bone broth, simply add chicken, beef, or pork bones or even seafood shells to your vegetables before you boil them.  You must remove these bones and shells before pureeing or emptying into the compost pile.

Depending on which vegetables I use, I go a step farther and use the boiled vegetables to make a veggie puree.  I simply put all the vegetables in my trusty blender, and puree-adding a little water if needed.  Once I have a decent liquid, smooth consistency, I pour the puree through a fine, mesh strainer over a bowl and push the liquid through as I move the pulp around.  Typically I add a handful or two of fresh spinach, hot sauce and seasonings to make a spicy homemade V8 type drink.

The pulp goes into the compost pile, the juice goes in the fridge or freezer, and I have plenty of stock for the next delicious recipe from discards!

Do you make homemade broth, stock or other tasty dishes from leftovers?

Shared at Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.


Pin It
Filed Under: Cooking With Compost, Featured, Food & Fitness, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Giveaway for a Wal Mart Gift Card

November 30, 2011 By 34 Comments

It’s random giveaway time!  For those of you that have been reading for a while you know about my Cookin’ with Compost Recipes I share on the blog and on my Facebook fan page.  For those that are new, check them out!  Everyone who has seen them and has wanted to try and do the same thing for your budget, health, and ‘green’ goals, now is the time to speak up!  If you have any questions about this process and type of cooking, leave a comment here or on Facebook with your questions.  Everyone who posts one, will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Wal Mart Gift Card!!!  All questions must be left by Friday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m. for a chance to win the gift card.

So, what questions do YOU have about compost cooking and other delicious discards?

Filed Under: Cooking With Compost, Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cooking with Compost: Strawberry Limeade

September 13, 2011 By 3 Comments

One of my favorite indulgent treats is a Cherry Limeade from Sonic.  Aside from happy hour from 2-4 pm I don’t get one of these drinks very often.  It’s really too much sugar for me in it’s natural form and a diet one just doesn’t seem the same.

The 14 year old’s favorite fruit has got to be a strawberry!  They are still at a good price in the grocery stores around me this time of year, $1.77/quart for the organic Driscoll’s brand.  I bought two quarts this week.  After I cleaned, trimmed and macerated the fruit I was cleaning up and thought, “Hmm…”

If you have read my blog for any length you know I don’t like waste.  I will get every last dime out of food that is possible to get!  And the strawberry tops I trimmed were no exception this day, inspiration struck.  They weren’t cherries but they would still make a delicious limeade syrup with the three limes I had in the fridge.

I bought the limes at least 3 weeks ago because I was going to make guacamole or some mexican corn  or bean salad with them.  I never got to it.  They were hard as a golf ball in the crisper drawer, well almost a golf ball!  A quick minute in the microwave and these limes were waiting to spill their tart goodness!

I used agave nectar and local honey from my CSA farm, Madison Creek Farms, as the sweetener for the tart berry treat.

I sliced the limes and placed them in a bowl with all the strawberry tops.  I added 2 tbsp of agave nectar and 2 tbsp of honey, approximate measures on each.  Then I used my trusty potato masher to start the hardest part…

I smashed with all I had in my pitiful wrists until juiciness started to form in the bowl.  Then I picked up the lime slices and squeezed them by hand so all the juice and pulp would be in the syrup.  I left the bowl in the fridge for four hours.  When I took the bowl out of the fridge this is what I had:

Again I used my hands to squeeze the lime slices then I threw them away.  I placed the rest of the mixture in my heavy duty blender and pureed it until it was completely smooth.  Then I passed the mixture through my kitchen strainer, like when I made my gazpacho with compostable tomato parts shown here.

And what I had left was this delicious, refreshing, sweet and tart treat that can be enjoyed several ways.  The glass above is simple cold water with 3 tbsp of the syrup stirred together.  It tasted very light, fresh and healthy.  I also added 3 tbsp to a Diet Sprite today and it was absolutely fabulous! You could use this as a sauce for a slice of angel food cake or pound cake.  You can also drizzle some over vanilla low fat yogurt and add granola for a parfait.  If you cook the syrup down and make it more thick you could use it as a sundae topping, too.

It’s not a bad substitute for a cherry limeade that’s for sure :)

Do you have a hot weather treat you make at home?

Shared on Penniless Parenting Blog Hop.  Check it out!

Pin It
Filed Under: Cooking With Compost, Featured, Food & Fitness Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts