alisarae's review
5.0
This speaks to the soul that I inherited from my great grandmother’s depression era habits. This book has suggestions for how to use up literally any kind of leftover food you can think of. No promises on how useful some of these ideas actually are (make dye out of avocado pits), but awfully handy for if it pains you to throw out that last bite or two.
The recipes here rely on you having leftovers from other recipes that are not in this book. Eg you made ceviche and now you have leftovers that are not quite enough for a second meal / you don’t want to eat leftover ceviche (brine can be used in a marinade, fish can be used to make fried fish cakes). But wait there is more! Recipes for if your fruit is hard and green or you waited a few days too long, what to do with the peels, etc etc.
I think my favorite chapter was sauces to make with empty containers (making honey mustard vinaigrette with an empty mustard jar is fairly common knowledge but what can you do with an empty bbq sauce bottle?).
I loved the author’s voice - a touch poetic, a bit of sass (“Bananas, overripe: You know what to do with overripe bananas. This recipe is here in case you discover that you have misplaced the banana bread recipe you usually use.”).
Such a great reference, and definitely something I will use in my weekly quest to defeat the vegetables.
The recipes here rely on you having leftovers from other recipes that are not in this book. Eg you made ceviche and now you have leftovers that are not quite enough for a second meal / you don’t want to eat leftover ceviche (brine can be used in a marinade, fish can be used to make fried fish cakes). But wait there is more! Recipes for if your fruit is hard and green or you waited a few days too long, what to do with the peels, etc etc.
I think my favorite chapter was sauces to make with empty containers (making honey mustard vinaigrette with an empty mustard jar is fairly common knowledge but what can you do with an empty bbq sauce bottle?).
I loved the author’s voice - a touch poetic, a bit of sass (“Bananas, overripe: You know what to do with overripe bananas. This recipe is here in case you discover that you have misplaced the banana bread recipe you usually use.”).
Such a great reference, and definitely something I will use in my weekly quest to defeat the vegetables.
lgmelcher's review
informative
What a great, foundational resource for cooking and household food management! I wish I’d had this book when I was learning to cook. I plan to order a copy and keep it in my kitchen — I was impressed by the breadth of ingredients covered and the ideas for using all pieces of a food item or leftovers.
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