what once was trash is now dinner

Interesting article

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dinin ... &ref=style

I can't say I love carrot greens. But after reading this Betsy noticed how nice the greens on some radishes she bought at farmer's market were, and made radish leaf pesto Sunday. Very nice, a peppery edge, unusual and good.

So I'm curious what you guys use that others throw away?

[Robin Garr]

So I'm curious what you guys use that others throw away?

Define "throw away." Mary is an Extreme Composter and has been at it for (whoa!) 17 years in this location, so most of our "wet garbage" has gone into rich, friable garden soil rather than the public landfill.

As for the point of this article, though, we generally do save and cook beet greens; and things like the woody end of mushroom stems and onion skins go into vegetable stock. (Onion skins are especially good, as they add both flavor and a good rich color to veggie stock.)

We eat beet greens, the light green leaves left on the cauliflower, leaves on the broccoli. A grower at our local Farmer's Market, Wolfgang Rougle, studied agriculture at UC Davis, and is owner of Twinning Tree Farms. The food she grows is amazing. She advises eating carrot tops for not only taste but nutritional value. She has also written a book on eating wild plants from our valley floor and forests. One week she had a huge amount of purslane, with recipes for using it. I just cannot get past the idea that some of the plants are weeds to us, that we have actually pulled from our yard. Everything she grows is just a bit different, and amazing. Your post sparked my interest. I am going to take a much closer look at what she has to offer and give something new a try.
Since Robin has been posting about Mary and her garden, I have started saving my kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps for the garden compost.

I can't say I love carrot greens. But after reading this Betsy noticed how nice the greens on some radishes she bought at farmer's market were, and made radish leaf pesto Sunday. Very nice, a peppery edge, unusual and good.

When the vegetables are good and the greens/tops are tender, I always use them. But usually more like herbs than greens. I use carrot tops much like I would parsley.

[Jenise]

Radish green pesto? Clever, sounds wonderful. By the same token I made two batches of turnip green pesto in the last week myself.

And I'm staring at my day lilies with renewed interest, having read of a chef who cuts and sautees the flower stems. I've heard of, and used myself, the flowers and buds, but never the stalks. And I now harvest chickweed for salads instead of pulling it out with the other weeds.

I wonder if crab grass has a purpose in this life?

I wonder if crab grass has a purpose in this life?

Only one way to find out!

I use fresh coriander roots when making Thai curry pastes.

-Paul W.

A friend's mother always uses parsley root in her soups.

[Robin Garr]

A friend's mother always uses parsley root in her soups.

Parsley root, like celery root/celeriac, frequently turns up in produce shops around here.

I use parsley stems, just like cilantro stems. Never tried the root.

Many years ago during a hot very dry summer in Uruguay the local woman who made ravioli used carrot tops as the "green" portion of the filling due to the lack of other usable greens. With the richness of the bovine brains also used it went over well.

Roots and their attendant vegetables are super-easily accessible throughout Europe and the Middle-East. Among the most highly valued are parsley root and celery root/celeriac, both of which make their way into just about every meat or vegetarian based stock. Best of all, inexpensive as hell, in fact absolutely free when you purchase the whole parsley plant or the whole celery.

Imagine if you will a Jewish or Italian cook preparing a chicken soup without parsley root? A difficult stretch of the imagination at best.

Best
Rogov

I could say the same thing about fish.

A friend's mother always uses parsley root in her soups.

Parsley root, like celery root/celeriac, frequently turns up in produce shops around here.

Interesting, Robin. Since parsley is in the same family with fennel and carrots it makes some sense that its root would be edible. Extending this thought, I'll note that dill is also in the same family

Mark Lipton

Robin,
I was using trash only in a culinary sense, I've been head wrangler at a multi-level worm ranch for several years (compost rules)

Thanks for all the comments. I've generally composted broccoli and cauliflower leaves, but will try next time. I do make broccoli stem pickles (or just steam a bit longer than florets). I do use mushroom stems in stock, never tried onion skin.

Celeriac/celery root is a slightly different story, as it's a cultivar grown FOR the root. The question then would be do you use the leaves/stalks.

I do make broccoli stem pickles (or just steam a bit longer than florets).

Dale,
Jacques Pepin has opined that the stems are the most tasty part of the broccoli plant and recommends peeling them, slicing and cooking as you would the rest of the plant.

Mark Lipton

I do make broccoli stem pickles (or just steam a bit longer than florets).

Dale,
Jacques Pepin has opined that the stems are the most tasty part of the broccoli plant and recommends peeling them, slicing and cooking as you would the rest of the plant.

Mark Lipton

Why wouldn't you use the broccoli stems? It never occurred to me not to use them.

Rahsaan,
I've never thrown away broccoli stems, though sometimes those farmers market ones that look like a mace have higher proportion stalk to florets than I want, those I make pickles out of. But I was referring to article (and obviously if you shop at supermarkets the predominance of broccoli "crowns" indicates many people probably do throw away).

Dale,
Jacques Pepin has opined that the stems are the most tasty part of the broccoli plant and recommends peeling them, slicing and cooking as you would the rest of the plant.

Mark Lipton

Mark, I actually prefer the stalk and prepare it just as you described. It's much better IMO than the florets.