...like eggplants, romaine lettuce, bananas, tomato, carrots, cucumbers, whole grain flat bread, naan, cinnamon Buns, rye, white, and Italian semolina bread.
Stoploss puree
Slice eggplant and squash, coat with olive oil and gifted fancy balsamic mustard, roast.
Discover flavor remains bland. Carmelize onions. Add garlic, vegetable stock, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend with roasted vegetables. Add cream. Lesson: when a concoction fails to charm, make it SOUP(er)!
Betty Crock-Pot
As previously stated, I have great affection for my hand-me-down crock pot. What an invention! I tossed in a bunch of the veggies from the other night along with a smorgasbord of Asian sauces (black bean, hoisin, soy, black pepper, ponzu, fish, spicy/sour, Sriracha) largely left over from the Singaporean girls I used to live with. Turned on machine, let be for some hours.
I'm a picky apple eater. I like them sweet tart crispy. Freegan apples are often red delicious mealy--but perfect for cooking. Jane cored the apples with our freegan apple corer, then down the hatch plunked some brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, pecans, freegan raisins, a bit o butter, and for good luck: a marshmallow on top.
Grocery shopping
Mushrooms, parsley, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, corn, eggplant, red and yellow bell pepper, parsnips, carrots, yellow squash, apples, salad dressing, whole wheat bread, baguettes, cheesy enchilada Cheetos, Fritos. Vegetables are par for the course, but what a treat to find stuff I'd never buy. Every so often, I take one for the team and clog my arteries instead of our landfills. Can't wait to get my Frito cook on!
Meatloaf cupcakes, key lime pie, and Cranium
I had a lot of freegan potatoes to use up, as well as some beef chuck in the freezer. So naturally, I made meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting.
We combined freegan eggplant with an indulgent purchase of asparagus and roasted them with olive oil and and lemon.
I had a dozen nearly-expired limes that I had been meaning to use the last couple weeks. So I decided to make key lime pie. Except I only had mini pie tins that my old roommates had left behind, so I decided to make 5 mini pies rather than one large. We had a half a bag of really old graham crackers left from a work party, but that wasn't enough for all the crust, so I also used a handful of pretzel Ritz crackers that I had found in the trash. I thought the salty pretzelness would be a nice balance with the sweet tart of the pie, but didn't want it to be too savory so I also mixed in some fresh (also nearly too old) ginger and shredded coconut I found in the fridge. I threw everything for the crust in the food processor along with a stick of butter, then patted it out inside the tins. Then I made the filling and meringue more or less as dictated by the Joy of Cooking. It turned out seriously delicious. The crust was perfectly gooey and crumbly and sweet and salty. And because I put in 1/4 c extra lime juice and zest (and an extra egg yolk to balance it out), the filling was nigh exploding with flavor--it mattered not that the lime juice had come from limes that, on account of their browning exterior, often would have been tossed. And although I didn't beat the eggs as much as suggested for the meringue because my beater ran out of batteries, the topping was just puffy enough for such little pies.
Then we all dined on the roof, on a found table, with found cutlery and wine glasses, old jam jar water glasses, a box of Black Box poured into an old wine bottle, a beautiful view, and with dessert, a game of Cranium. Almost nothing matched or was even picked out or purchased, but the setting, the food, and the people were comfortable and wonderful and charming and that's what makes an evening memorable.
Scavenger's Pie
A shepherd's pie of sorts (or cottage pie if you must) concocted from the potatoes and tomatoes, and the kale and corn.
I left the cookie and took the jar(s)
Four giant cookie jars, tank top, t-shirt, cardigan, bushes of kale, bell peppers, purple and white eggplants, dark chocolate covered orange peel, zucchini, corn, banana, bellini mix, English muffins, burger buns, raisin bread, and a neti pot! The jars were a bit grungy, but nothing a little scrub-a-dub couldn't take care of. And with my household storage capacity reaching its limit, I gifted much of the top layer to friends.
Restock
My fridge was quite barren when I returned from a recent trip, so I went gathering. I came upon: mushrooms, hummus, alfredo sauce, bananas, tomatoes, a peach, a yellow pepper, romaine lettuce, baking potatoes, fingerling potatoes, country bread, focaccia, ciabatta, bran and blueberry muffins, broccoli, limes. And I neglected to include in the photo a perfectly plump Listada De Gandia eggplant!
Lot 3195
From dumpster to belly this week: fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, pizza dough, Ritz pretzel chips, eggplant, red and orange bell pepper, three types of squash, plum, nectarine, bananas, hot chilies, cucumber, corn, vine ripe tomatoes, watermelon, three types of mushroom.
I sauteed the three types of mushrooms with different stuff (chilies, onions, wine...) and rolled out the pizza dough (although there were so many packets I put most in the freezer), laid on top some spinach in red wine tomato sauce that I had made and frozen after a previous dive, then put on top various amounts mushrooms, then some grated quattro formaggio, olive oil and sea salt. Into the oven for 20 min or so, then sliced with my freegan pizza cutter. I also made gazpacho with the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and flat bread from another dive. Then I roasted the squash and dunked them in peanut coconut sauce from the Thai grocery. After, I turned the potatoes and celery into potato salad. And lo and behold, with the addition of the juice and a box of Black Box, I had a picnic for for 6 in Central Park and dinner for 3 the following night.
Slow cooker fast friends
After fancying one for some time, I recently found myself the grateful recipient of a Crock Pot in the wake of a friend's move out. Now I invite buddies to join, we make tasty dishes, sit down to a romantic dinner, and salute of our fortune of friendship.
Oh look! I spy freegan items: folding wooden table, place mats, bowls, glasses, wooden chair, piano bench, futon couch, television, DVD player, speakers, fan, chess board, potted plant, pillows, vase, Hot Tamales, assorted books, candles, candle holders. The film theory books are just about the only items I purchased, and even most of those were used. Every item has a previous owner who no longer had use for it, but for the moment, I do, and when I don't, I'll take it upon myself to find someone that does.
Honk if you love donuts
We gleaned these freshly-ish baked donuts, brioches, bagels, and pizzas from the swanky supermarket dumpster.
And then couldn't help but lick the fingers after devouring the creamiest most scrumptious true custard sugar donuts.
Barbecue fixins and grass
My apologies for the absence in service, dear readers. I've been caught up for the last month doing the still photography for the film East Fifth Bliss. But getting back to matters at hand: some time in recent history I was having a barbecue, so I set out for some supplies. I unearthed lots of hamburger buns and kaiser rolls, mushrooms, scallions, an onion, cilantro, parsley, green beans, arugula, and dill that I used to make my mom's famous marinated broccoli. I also found a candle, raisin bread, english muffins, and lots of little grow pots of grass for cats that I transferred into my window box. Now my 6th floor window opens up to a lawn, as it should.
Breakfast / Lunch
Fallen fruit
Determined to find a use for them, I collected a couple dozen lemons from
the lemon graveyard underneath my aunt's Meyer lemon tree in Ojai.
I zested them all. And froze what I wouldn't use that day.
I squeezed them all. I set aside a couple cups, then poured
the remainder into three empty ice cube trays and froze them.
Once frozen, I popped them out of the trays and into baggies.
I composted the rinds.
And then using the ample amounts of zest and juice I had set aside,
I made the most delicious Meyer lemon bars.
From fennel and brussels sprouts the scrumptious
This was another fortunate chance to try something new. I am much obliged, Mr. Trash. I've never cooked fennel before, and I don't really like brussel sprouts, so I can't remember a time I purchased them to cook on my own accord. This was my chance to make something agreeable! I also have a lot of dried spearmint that I've been waiting to find a savory use for. I chopped the fennel and coated it thinly in olive oil, then rubbed spearmint all round with a little brown sugar. I halved the brussel sprouts and chopped up some tomatoes and drizzled them all in olive oil, then dusted them with salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. Then I laid everything out on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Baked them at 400º or so until they were roasted brown and cooked through. The two preparations were a welcome blend of savory and sweet. I mashed the potatoes with a few healthy splashes of milk as always, but then sprinkled them with celery salt for something less usual, but as it turned out, still very very yum. Then I pan-cooked a fillet of Chimichurri salmon from Trader Joe's--and that's the only element of the meal that wasn't from the trash.
Sweet potato pecan pie
I found myself with a can of sweet potato puree from one trash pile and a can of evaporated milk from another, neither of which I've ever really used before. I had a frozen pie crust also from the garbage some weeks prior, so as it turns out, a pie was in order. The pecans were leftover from a trip to Trader Joe's when my mom was in town and I mixed them with melted brown sugar and butter for a crunchy caramelized topping. It's lovely when various ingredients from different origins just come together peachy keen like that. Pantries are a great thing indeed.
Triangles of food and cushion
The other night while mucking about in a garbage bag, I unearthed some tasty elements from the all-important Fruits and Vegetables sector of the food pyramid: grapefruit, fennel, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, yellow potatoes, new potatoes, baking potatoes, tomatoes, limes, a banana, and a lemon.
The Thai triangle cushions upon which these fruits and veggies are arranged were also found curbside (some time back). It was a moderate struggle lugging such dense pillows down from the upper west side on the subway with my camera gear in tow, but the comfort they have brought my fanny (both in the living room and as my go-to rooftop furniture) has proven well worth the effort.
With that, today's take-away is future benefit--a minute squishing my gut, a lifetime padding my butt.
This week's fodder
6 tomatoes, 2 containers of mushrooms, 2 bags of spinach, 6 sweet potatoes, 1 butternut squash, 1 pack of blueberries, 3 baking potatoes, 3 limes, 2 bags of hamburger buns, 10 bagels, 2 bialys, 8 bags of Smart Food popcorn, and 9 bags of Pirate's Booty--not bad for just a quick jaunt on a hungry tummy after yoga. And as ever, from the trash, with loads left behind.
Popcorn refills
Before we left the movie theater, I refilled all three of our popcorn bags once last time. The next day I heated up some crystallized honey that my aunt was getting rid of (crystals didn't matter since I was melting it), freegan brown sugar, butter, cinnamon left from a subletter, cardamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a makeshift double boiler. I let it get good and gooey. Then I tossed in some pecans left from when my mom was here and pepitas left from a dinner party, plopped the concoction over the popcorn, and stirred. Once the popcorn was evenly coated, I laid it out on two cookie sheets. I had some white chocolate that my brother had discarded, so I melted it in the double boiler and drizzled it over the top. Then I let it all get crunchy in the oven at 275º for about an hour. The salty movie popcorn, nuts, and seeds lend themselves nicely to the cinnamon sweet coating. A perfect Oscar-night accompaniment!
A morning without coffee is like sleep.
The spoon, the trivet, the spice jar, the sugar cubes, the mug, the jar, the soy milk, the coffee beans, the French press.....every single element hails from another person's reject bin. Value is a subjective thing, but sometimes that falls by the wayside in a society steeped in the dynamics of individual ownership. For me it even still takes a conscious moment of pause to keep from mentally writing-off an object as value-less once the value I had originally assigned to it in relation to my existence has dissipated. In short, culturally-familiar terms: one man's trash is another man's treasure.