September 29, 2021 -- International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

United Nations / Food and Agriculture Organization announce:

 

29 September 2021

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

 

 

FAO's Nine Tips for Reducing Food Waste

1. Start Small – Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.

2. Leave Nothing Behind – Keep your leftovers for another meal or use them in a different dish.

3. Buy Only What You Need – Make a list of what you need and stick to it. Don’t buy more than you can use.

4. Don’t Be Prejudiced -- Buy “ugly” or irregularly shaped fruits and vegetables. They are just as good but look a little different.

5. Check Your Fridge – Store food between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius (33.8 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit) for maximum freshness and shelf-life.

6. First in, First Out – Try using produce you bought previously (freeze or pickle). Stack up your fridge and cupboards moving older products to the front and newer ones in the back.

 

7. Understand Dates -- “Use by” indicates a date by which the food is safe to be eaten, while “best before” means the food’s quality is best prior to that date, but is still safe to eat after it. The "Sell by" date is helpful for stock rotation by manufacturers and retailers.
 

8. Compost – Some food waste might be unavoidable, so why not set up a compost bin.

 

9. Donate the Surplus – Sharing is caring.

 

Source: http://www.fao.org/zhc/detail-events/en/c/889172/

#ZeroHungerHero #NotWasting #KitchenMemories

Quick Meals

Busy people often don't have time to make healthy meals.

 

This is a quick list of some meals I grab when I am focused on a project and want to spend my time on the project and not on cooking and cleaning up.

 

Overnight Oats - add a layer of oats in a dish with a lid. Cover oats with milk, add some cinnamon and stir, add lid, store in fridge overnight. When ready to eat, add a bit more milk and eat plain or top with fruit, fresh, dry, or canned.

Mug O’Scrambled Egg with Salsa - crack an egg into a mug, add a dollop of milk, some black pepper and a bit of salsa. Whip and stir egg mixture. Microwave on high for two minutes. Eat straight from the mug or use as a toast topping.

Pasta Salad - Bring a pot of water to boil, add package of pasta (macaroni, ribbons or shells, for example), Stir and simmer for 8-10 minutes until pasta is cooked. Drain and store pasta in covered container. Take a portion of the pasta and stir in black pepper and mayo or pesto.

 

Salmon Salad - Drain a can of salmon, place salmon in a covered container. Add mayo and stir.

 

A Dish of Fresh or Canned Fruit

 

Tip: Add a dollop or two of canned fruit juice to a glass of milk and yogurt to make a fruit lassi. Add cinnamon and cumin and stir, if desired.

 

Cream Cheese and Fruit Toast Topping - Spread cream cheese onto a piece of toast. Top with pieces of fresh, dry, or canned fruit.

Baked Potato Salad - Pierce potato with a fork. Microwave one or two potatoes for 4-6 minutes or until cooked. Let the potatoes cool. Dice potato into cubes. Add mayo and black pepper, and stir.

Beans on Toast - On toast, spread a layer of canned or cooked beans. Top with Parmesan Cheese.

 

PB&J - There are dozens of ways to make a PB&J but the simplest is to spread a thin layer of Peanut Butter on one slice of bread and jelly or jam on the other slice.

 

 

September 17 -- Talking Health But Doing Sickness

Talking health but doing sickness

—Patricia Kinloch, Health Services Researcher in Samoa

The quote above is the title of a book on Samoan health. I find it to be a very profound epigraph.

How often do we talk health and do sickness. We talk about ridding our people of disease and we support industries that release carcinogens into the air. We talk about healing, and we use drugs that have side effects that are later found to be lethal. We talk about raising healthy children and we isolate our young mothers with little or no support.

The Samoans see sickness as a disruption in the social order. Illness, in Samoan culture, is much bigger than germs and biology. They recognize that illness is not just an individual issue. It affects the community and the group to which the person belongs.

It is important to see that even our ideas about illness are culturally based.

From: Native Wisdom for White Minds by Anne Wilson Schaef

Hotplate: Tindade

One of the things I love about @bootstrapcook, is Jack Monroe believes even people on a tight budget should be able to eat well.

When I read Jack’s Tindade recipe in Cooking on a Bootstrap, I guess I did not really understand what it was. For me, it turned out to be a tasty spread for bread chunks or crackers.

 

 

Hotplate: Tindade

(Adapted from: Cooking on a Bootstrap by Jack Monroe)
 

 

Jack’s recipe ingredients were in metric, I converted the measurements to ounces.

300ml milk = 10.14oz
500 grams fish = 17.6oz
330 grams potatoes = 10oz
400g Beans = 14oz

I looked for canned mackerel in 3 different stores but could not find any, so I used 2 cans of salmon. I think I could have added one more can.

Also, I made a lot of changes based on what I had.


Ingredients:

4oz milk
Salt /pepper to taste
1 Tspn Thyme, dry
1 Tspn Parsley
2 Cans Salmon, drained
1 Can potatoes, diced, drained and rinsed
10oz Peruano Refried Beans (white beans)
A Dab Vegetable oil
Lime juice


Process:

In a medium pot, add milk.
Set hot plate on medium low.
Let milk warm up.
Add spices.
Stir well.
Add salmon.
Add potatoes.
Stir mixture well.
Use a spoon to scoop out the beans from the packet and add to pot.
Add oil.
Stir mixture thoroughly.
Let mixture cook on medium-high for 5-10 minutes.
Stir frequently to keep mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Mash the mixture, if you want it creamier.
Pull pot off hot plate.
Add lime juice.
Stir.
Let it cool a bit.
Taste mixture, stir in more s/p and/or herbs, if you’d like.

 

 

Use as a dip or spread with crackers or chunks of bread, or as side dish.

See Jack’s original recipe for recipe tips and his suggestions for how to use the empty leftover cans.

Refrigerator: Carrot Relish

I was surprised, this simple recipe is quite tasty and a great addition to many recipes.

 

I, first, saw Chef Susanne Duplantis on the short-lived Netflix Cooking Show Leftovers. A search found her website, Makeover My Leftover.

I will never be a real cook, so I depend on the advice and ideas of real cooks and chefs.

This is my first Chef Duplantis's recipe to try. Of course, I had to adapt the recipe based on the tools and ingredients I had.


Ingredients:

3-4 TBspns grated carrot, peeled
1/2 Tspn Lime Juice

Lime Zest*
1/2 TBspn sugar


Process:

Peel carrot with grater.

Grate carrot into a bowl.

Add the lime juice and zest.

Add sugar.

Stir ingredients thoroughly.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

 

Made a turkey lunchmeat quasidilla with one slice turkey lunchmeat, shredded cabbage and 1/2 TBspn carrot salsa. It was great.

 

Lime zest is grated lime peel.

Microwave: Mug O'Rice & Pineapple

Microwave: Mug O'Rice & Pineapple

(Adapted from: Baked Pineapple Rice by A Cookbook by Ted)

I mugified the original recipe because I am cooking for one.

 
Pre-preparation:

Sauce

3 TBspns Butter

3 TBspns Honey

In a small dessert bowl, add butter.

Cover.

Microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt butter.

Add honey.

Stir ingredients to mix well.

 

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

Cooked rice

Canned Pineapple chunks

Butter and honey sauce

 

Process:

Add a dollop of vegetable oil to mug.

Add a small layer of rice.

Add a small layer of pineapple  hunks.

Dribble a little of the butter & honey sauce over layer.

Continue to make layers until mug is almost full.

Top with a bit of the butter & honey sauce.

Put mug on a plate before putting it into the microwave to catch any overflow.

Cover with a saucer.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Leftover idea:

 

Skillet: Fried Rice and Pineapple with Shrimp and an Egg

 

Pre-Preparation:

 

In a baggie, add about 4 TBspns of small, thawed shrimp. Add a bit of lime juice and ground black pepper.

Close bag, shake a bit to coat all the shrimp. Let it sit in the frig for about 1 hour.

Remove shrimp.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

A Dollop of Vegetable Oil

3-4 TBspns Leftover rice and pineapple mixture.

3-4 Seasoned Shrimp

1 Egg

Ground Black Pepper (Optional)

Process:

Add a dollop of vegetable oil to a small skillet.

Add about 3-TBspns of rice and pineapple mixture.

Spread rice mixture over bottom of skillet.

Add 2-3 TBspns of small seasoned shelled thawed shrimp.

Add Ground Black Pepper to taste.

Stir ingredients thoroughly.

Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Uncover, stir mixture.

Crack an egg into the mixture.

Gently, and slowly stir the egg into the mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, gently push and pull small portions of the rice and egg mixture around on the bottom of the skillet. The goal is to scramble and cook the egg.

Cover skillet and let mixture cook for about 1 minute.

Uncover, stir mixture.

The egg mixture should be cooked.

 

OR

 

Make a:

 

Microwave: Mug O'Rice, Pineapple, Shrimp and Egg

Using the same ingredients as above, plus a dollop of Coconut Creme and consider Cilantro dressing as a topping.

Add a dollop of oil to a mug.

Add about 3-4 TBspns of Rice and Pineapple mixture.

Add Shrimp.

Add a dollop of coconut creme.

Add an egg.

Stir and whip the mixture vigorously.

Add Ground Black Pepper to taste.

Stir thoroughly.

Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

Tip contents into a bowl or onto a plate.

Top with some Cilantro dressing.

Microwave: Mug O'Faux Treacle Bread Pudding

Hot from the microwave. Hmmm, it's tasty but I'd call it Honey Bread Pudding.

Of course, because I watch a lot of British TV shows, Treacle Pudding or Treacle something is often mentioned, so I had to try some version of it.

The recipe called for Black Molasses. I could not find any molasses, so I tried some heavy Sugar Syrup.

Microwave: Mug O'Faux Treacle Bread Pudding
(Adapted from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-treacle-tart-recipe-435039)


Ingredients:

1-2 Slice Bread, various, torn
2-3 TBspns Sugar Syrup or honey
1 TBspn Dark Thick Syrup or Black Molasses
1/4 Tspn Lime zest
1/4 Tspn Lime juice
1 Capful Vanilla flavoring

1 Egg
A Dollop of Coconut Creme
1 Tspn Bread crumbs

Topping: Plain yogurt

 

 

Process:

Essentially, mix all ingredients thoroughly for a minute or more.

Cover mug with a saucer.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Serve with yogurt, or crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream.

 

Obviously, very high in sugar and calories.