Tuesday 7 February 2012

Waste not, want not










I love grocery shopping. Inspiration floods through me as I pace store aisles and market stands. Visions of elaborate meals fill my head. I walk out with full bags and big plans...and inevitably at the end of the week I trash a lot of produce. It is a disgrace!

So, in additon to solving world hunger, ending the crisis in Syria, and no longer eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag, one of my current commitments is to use what is in my fridge before buying more food.

Do not waste food.
Do not waste food.
Do not waste food.

This evening I started with a box of baby arugula, and ended up serving 'make your own salad'. Toppings included a hodge podge of items from my fridge:

Baby arugula
Quinoa
Slivered NY striploin steak - one was plenty for the two of us
Grilled mushrooms, asparagus, and zuccini
Golden beets (I thinly sliced them with the mandolin, hoping I could serve them raw, but they really needed to be cooked, so I just pan fried them for a bit)
Cucumber
Strawberries
Goat cheese
Dressing of balsamic and olive oil

This is a really beautiful spread with all the gorgeous colours. Do you agree that beets are among the most beautiful!? They are stunning!

There is no magic to the combination of toppings, other than that I try to have some contrast (some cold, some hot, some sweet, some savory). Other items I've included before include dried fruit (craisins, raisins, and dried apricots all work), berries, nuts (candied pecans are particularly delicious), seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower) wild rice, edemame, ......anything goes, really.

This dinner was a winner. I feel energized for an evening of laundry, dishes, taxes, and the Rick Mercer Report.


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