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CULTURE
How to Waste Less Food in the Kitchen (and Eat Better, Too) Saving money by using the whole plant, from Bend’s Garden Betty By Linda Ly
butchery. It embraces the idea of using up all the edible parts of plants in your meals, including (and especially) the parts that we typically don’t think to eat. It’s about discovering a whole new range of flavors and textures from the same vegetables you’ve always brought home, and it goes beyond simply putting the scraps in vegetable stock. Here are four “new” vegetables to try in your cooking, and if you want to know what else you’ve been inadvertently discarding, my new book, “The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook,” has 80 plant-friendly recipes that help you see your produce in new and delicious ways. Will Taylor
In her new book, Bend's "Garden Betty" discusses how to use the whole vegetable plant.
Will Taylor
1. Leek greens. How many times have you run across a recipe calling for leeks, but instructing you to discard the dark green ends? It’s a shame how many leek tops have been thrown out because of this. The dark green parts taste exactly like the white and light green parts, and they’re actually more versatile because they hold their shape and texture well when braised or sauteed. Thinly sliced into half moons, leek greens can be used in place of regular onions or green onions in most recipes, and they have a delicate onion flavor that enhances (but doesn’t overpower) the other ingredients they’re cooked with. Onions (which belong to the same family as leeks) also have edible leaves. That means if you buy them from the farmers’ mar- The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook by Bend-based Linda Ly, ket or grow them at home, you aka Garden Betty. can use the leaves from immature onions (also called spring onions) to draw moisture from the roots even and Mexican green onions. What do they after harvest), and treat them as a taste like? You guessed it: onions! (Just leafy herb. not as assertive as the bulbs, and without What kind of leafy herb, you might the tears when you chop them up.) ask? Carrot greens are a good substitute for parsley with their earthy flavor. 2. Radish greens. Out of habit, many You can garnish soups, stews, and othof us cut the tops off radishes before er dishes with minced carrot greens, or we use them (and I get it, the leaves on use them 1:1 for parsley in homemade most conventionally grown radishes chimichurri (a tangy Argentine condifrom the supermarket are pretty ratty). ment, which you’ll find the recipe for in But radish greens are not only edible; “The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook”). they contain a variety of phytonutrients not found in the roots (which is the case 4. Everything but the squash. This for almost every root vegetable). one’s for the gardeners, as squash is a This is because the leaves grow truly prolific plant that keeps on givabove ground, where they photosyn- ing. (Those of you who try to unload thesize and produce antioxidants (a foot-long zucchini on your neighbors form of botanical sunscreen, if you all summer know what I’m talkin’ will) to protect against the sun. So you about.) You can eat almost every part get more nutrition and more food out of the squash plant: the leaves, flowof the same bundle of radishes just by ers, fruit, and even the seeds. But my using the leaves! favorite are the tender shoots of sumSpring radish leaves have only a hint mer squash and winter squash, which of the peppery spice that salad radish- are mild and velvety. es are known for, and they’re tender Squash shoots are common in enough to eat raw in a salad. On the Southeast Asian cuisine, where they’re other hand, winter radish leaves (from harvested from opo squash and used in daikon, watermelon radishes and oth- curries, stir-fries, and soups. But as long er winter radishes) are very mild and as you pick them while they’re young make a good substitute for swiss chard. and tender, and remove all the stiff tendrils, you can eat the green shoots from 3. Carrot greens. A lot of grocery any squash variety you grow. checkout clerks ask if you want them to cut off those carrot tops when you Order “The No-Waste Vegetable buy them, but wait! That’s like throw- Cookbook” by Linda Ly from Dudley’s ing away half your money. Bring them Bookshop Cafe (signed copies available) home, cut them off yourself (to keep or from major retailers and booksellers the roots crisp; carrot greens continue nationwide.
VOLUME 24 ISSUE 14 / MAY 21, 2020 / THE SOURCE WEEKLY
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hen people think about zerowaste living or eating more sustainably, the following usually come to mind: buying food in bulk and bringing your own containers, supporting local farms or composting at home. But what if I told you to compost less as a way to waste less food? It sounds counterintuitive, but the best way to save some money and offer your family food security — besides growing your own food — is learning how to use more of your food more effectively in the kitchen. “Top-to-tail cooking,” as I call it, is the vegetable equivalent of nose-to-tail
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