Root and Stem

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Root and Stem
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jettejette

Joined: 01 Jun 2013
Posts: 225

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 16 8:24 pm Post subject: Root and Stem

On one of my rare trips to the supermarket, I picked up the weekend paper that Waitrose kindly provide, along with my delicious free coffee. I usually get it for the sudoku and a quick glance through before using it to light the fire.
This time there was an article about the 'new' root and stem movement, where the object is to use every part of a foodstuff .
For years I have tried to avoid waste of any kind, and with animals and three compost bins nothing 'edible' goes in our dustbin. However I am open to suggestion as I am sure are many of us and if any DSer has any ingenius ways of using every bit of a particular food I would be interested.
To start the ball rolling I use cabbage and broccoli stalks grated in coleslaw etc, I dry and crush egg shells in the hope of deterring slugs, and I freeze undrunk wine, gravy, sauces etc to add to stews, soups etc. I've even dried left over chips and used them as fire lighters - they work remarkably well.
Any other ideas?

derbyshiredowser

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 16 9:58 pm Post subject:
What on earth are " leftover chips "

Dee J

Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 342
Location: West Devon

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 16 10:37 pm Post subject:
Leftover chips are the mythical accompaniment to the equally mythical leftover wine. I've yet to witness the existence of either.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 16 10:40 pm Post subject:

as i now make ginger beer in a 25 litre barrel after the third boil to extract the flavour the pulp from the 500 gm or more of ginger is used to make paper.

separate the small chippings from the fibres in a colander by a wash and use the mostly fibre pulp. sieve onto flyscreen mesh .after a squeeze followed by a wet ironing on a tea towel it makes a reasonably strong closed surface paper about a4 size.

used chip oil makes good firelighters mixed with chainsaw sawdust.

left over tea often goes into fruit wine to drop the acidity by precipitation of tannin/acid salts.

pelts from bunnies squizzers and assorted roadkill get oak gall tanned and are useful for lining hats,making mobile phone cosies etc etc .im planning to experiment with bunny vellum when i get chance.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 16 11:50 pm Post subject:
This is long overdue, there's been a move towards people being advised to eat less meat of late, and to pay more for it. This shortsighted idiotic advice means that people who follow it do eat it less often, but when they do they buy steak, as a treat. We need more campaigns to tell people just to eat whatever is available and to make the most of it.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 12:21 am Post subject:

derbyshiredowser wrote:

What on earth are " leftover chips "

More to the point, what can you possibly mean by "undrunk wine"?

Henry

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 4:33 am Post subject:
What I don't eat the dogs do, including carrot tops, brocolli stem, apple cores & other miscellaneous F&V trimmings. If they don't want it I have a worm bin that never rejects anything organic.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 4:34 am Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

This is long overdue, there's been a move towards people being advised to eat less meat of late, and to pay more for it. This shortsighted idiotic advice means that people who follow it do eat it less often, but when they do they buy steak, as a treat.

We need more campaigns to tell people just to eat whatever is available and to make the most of it.

Calling people idiots will rarely make you friends in my humble opinion.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 7:08 am Post subject:
On a similar vein - Im trying to find uses for another of things... half a pack of Nesquick choc milk (yuk) Steradent tablets (dont even ask why I have these) Suggestions....? I have heard that steradent are good for taking stains out of things...what things?

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 7:10 am Post subject:
The trouble for producers of meat is that if everyone wants steak, chops and joints, what do they do with the other bits. I can't claim to be brilliant on that front, but at least I know how to cook some of the offal. Not sure you can really use things like roots of most things that grow above the soil, although you can use the leaves of some root crops, although not potatoes.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 8:33 am Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

On a similar vein - Im trying to find uses for another of things...

half a pack of Nesquick choc milk (yuk)
Steradent tablets (dont even ask why I have these)

Suggestions....?

I have heard that steradent are good for taking stains out of things...what things?

Tea cups and coffee cups, allegedly. (And false teeth!

)

Henry

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 9:22 am Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

Rob R wrote:

We need more campaigns to tell people just to eat whatever is available and to make the most of it.

Calling people idiots will rarely make you friends in my humble opinion.

I aren't calling anyone an idiot, please don't misquote me. Idiotic doesn't mean 'that person is an idiot' and neither is it referring to anyone, it refers to the advice which, whatever you call it (I meant thoughtless, hence the use of the word shortsighted) is having the opposite effect & creating a more wasteful culture.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 10:29 am Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

steredent are ace for cleaning the inside of brewing tubes ,odd shaped bits of crockery ,the guinea pig water bottles etc etc etc

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 10:31 am Post subject:

I'm sure most people here know about eating beetroot leaves.
I also think the best flavour of a leek is in the green tops.
Garlic leaves are equally good.
Chive bulbs as tiny spring onions.
Dry bits of bread blended and frozen for breadcrumbs later.
Rosemary stalks for kebab sticks.
You can use the whole of the coriander plant (if washed).
Dog gets all the cabbage/cauli/brocolli stalks.

I am also baffled by the concept of leftover wine.

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 16 12:22 pm Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

Tupperware containers that have discoloured as a result of hotting things up in them in the microwave.

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