Don't waste it!

I've been really into NOT THROWING ANY FOOD AWAY EVER. And two really great things have come of this: homemade broth, and (TMI) I'm really regular. More on that in a minute.

So all that stuff you usually throw away -- broccoli stalks; the thick ends of asparagus; the stems and edges of bell peppers, onions, carrots; the stems and stalks from kale and cilantro and dill and parsley; the outside leaves of lettuce and cabbage; the slimy spinach at the bottom of the bag -- all that is good stuff!! To assuage my guilt at throwing away perfectly edible food that I had paid good money for, I used to made pickled broccoli medallions (ehhh), but I've recently realized two greater ends for these means. 

1. Homemade broth! 

Seen below is my homemade broth. It's reddish because I usually cheat a little with bouillon cube and Sazon Goya, but it's made of all the ends of stuff that I put in a bag and freeze until there's enough to make a pot of broth. You can of course make this vegetarian, but if you're good with your timing and you've got, say, the picked over leftover bones from an emergency grocery-store rotisserie chicken -- that there would be dee-licious too. 

2. Green ice cubes!

(This is the TMI part) -- If you're a shake person like me, green ice cubes are the perfect use for all those extra bits -- EXCEPT ONIONS, believe me. Leave out the onion bits for green ice cubes. But talk about a serious way to get extra nutrients and stay regular, especially if you're into Brassica oleracea -- that is broccoli, kale, califlower. They're all the same species, and they all make you gassy. The good spin on it is that if you're ever not regular and you wanna fix that, juice away and take a fresh shot. Guaranteed that by morning you'll be feeling right as rain and totally empty. 

So because I usually store up a bunch of ends and bits until I have enough that makes it worth my time to get out the juicer, I bought a couple of extra ice cube trays so I can make green ice cubes with all the juice. They're not always green -- one time we just had too many carrots by accident so I juiced the ones that were on their way out, so the cubes were actually orange. 

I also have one more spare ice cube tray that I use for all little bit of coffee at the bottom of the pot every morning. Those coffee ice cubes are great in coffee, Bailey's, ice cream, and morning shakes depending on the flavor (peanut butter banana chocolate coffee shake, anyone?). 


With all this beautiful smashed up vegetable pulp, one of my goals for this summer is to get on board with composting. 


Ps, will someone please buy me this Cooking With Calphalon 9-Pc. Utensil Set?? kthx. Also this: