Strawberry Salsa and Blueberry Chutney; mashed sweet potato to thicken soups; salt-brined slaw: all favorites of Tricia Vevurka of North Carolina, a food naturalist who blogs about sustainable eating on Natural Farmacy. Today Food Philosopher Nancy Gershman asks Tricia to tell us more about how she enjoys her expendable edibles.
Trish Vevurka: “I come from a household where Sundays our way of getting together was going to Grandma’s’ house. Grandma Bertha on my father’s side – she came through the Depression. So she encouraged us to only take what we wanted on our plate. If you put it on your plate, and didn’t eat it, she’d get upset. I’m 38, the youngest of four children. When there was a fresh pig slaughtered in the Fall you used everything.
When I went to college I majored in anthropology: why people cook; why they use the food around them; studying the flavor profiles of foods. And I found this is true for every culture: you cook only what’s needed. The Pacific Northwest Native Indians made broth from buffalo bones, and jerky from the skin.”
Fresh mozzarella and feta cheese from nearly expiring milk
“I like to make jams and jellies, and also cheese. I work at a farmers market where there’s a seasonal produce stand and a dairy lady. I ask them to let me know when only a day is left before their milk expires– normally whole milk, pasteurized – which you can get at half price. With this milk I make mozzarella and feta. Both cheeses you can put in olive oil and salt brine and preserve for an even longer period of time.”
Thai Chili sauce from soft peaches and tomatoes
“Tomatoes on their way to expiring, I chop and make into sauces. I made a really good Thai Peach Chili Sauce from peaches and tomatoes. I peel both, cook them down for 2 hours and add ginger, garlic or chilies (e.g. Thai, Jalapeno, Serrano), plus a smorgasbord of things I have in the fridge. The longer it cooks down, the more the flavors change and the sugar in each ingredient caramelizes.
It’s better, though, to use fresh peaches (rather than canned ones) which have never been refrigerated. Tomato is also much better tasting when straight from a vine and never refrigerated.”
Strawberry Salsa from spotted strawberries
“We had passed a strawberry field that said $2 for a 5 lb. box of strawberries. Now these strawberries were very juicy, but some had spots on them. I made salsa with the same ingredients as regular salsa, but this time swapped in strawberries instead of tomatoes. I doled it out over baked brie with chips.”
Veggie casseroles with a cracker crust
“Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Chop up past peak zucchini and squash into bite size pieces. Add onions, garlic, leeks, steamed potatoes, butter and cream. Crumble cheese into this veggie mixture (your pick) and then make a crust with cracker crumbs. Add a half cup each of chicken broth and milk to make the stuffing nice and moist. Cook for 30-40 minutes. I like my vegetables to keep their crunch!”
Thanksgiving chutney from overripe blueberries
“I love thick spicy chutneys and use any fruit that has a short season, like figs, to make them. Blueberries are especially sweet and savory in a chutney. If you find any fruit is getting soft, you can let the fruit cook down for a bit, adding and adjusting spices. (With salsa, you have to be a little more cautious and build up the flavors.)
I use a lot of ingredients – but the Thanksgiving spices like pumpkin spice (allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice) are perfect for chutney. They’re not only for pumpkin pie!
Moroccan spices are also yummy in chutneys – they use a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cumin. My opinion is that if you think your recipe calls for something, it probably needs cumin.”
Curry Sauce from almost expired yogurt
“My yogurt was getting close to expired. I saw that I had a little curry powder left and some curry dressing, and thought “yogurt curry marinade”! Marinaded a chicken in this yogurt curry sauce, grilled and sliced it. I then took two taco shells, toasted them in the oven, filled it with the grilled chicken, leftover beans and rice.”
Thicken soups with mashed sweet potatoes
“I use mashed sweet potatoes to thicken soups – like roasted butternut soup. I might add a little milk to it – or even coconut milk – to keep things vegan.”
Potato Cakes from mashed potatoes
“A mashed potato one night can become a potato cake the next. I make it with chopped onions, thyme, a little cream, egg and a tiny bit of flour. I like to fry them in coconut oil which is great with high heat and gives off that coconut flavor.
Salt brine fermenting for things not pretty
I use salt brine fermenting with overripe vegetables. I created a little system for this. First I’ll cut off anything “bad;” basically anything that is not so pretty but still good. I use mason jars for the fermenting process. I’ll then chop up these past peak vegetables – cabbage, turnips, radishes, apples, onions. And in the same way that one makes sauerkraut, I’ll put in salt, beat the mixture to release the juices, salt it, add water to cover and put a weight on top. The juices combined with the whey naturally ferments and pickles the vegetables. It creates lacto-bacteria, which is good for your gut!
You can add whey to make the fermentation process go more quickly. But I prefer pickling vegetables without whey because I like the flavor to be tangy-er.
Revive wilted greens in ice cold water
The most wilted cabbage leaves or kale can be soaked in cold water, and watch: they revive!
Pizza from ill-fated pastries
“I tried to do a pastry-covered brie for a party. It had layers of pistachios and was wrapped in pastry dough. Underneath there were layers with chutney, but it ended up exploding in the oven! I was so frustrated. But my niece who is 10 years old said it was ridiculous to throw it out. She said it would still be delicious. So my guests started to cut this un-round pastry into little wedges. We had a Deconstructed Brie Pastry Pizza and it turned out she was right.”
Thanks, Expendable Edibles
“I couldn’t believe that it took me so long to find ExpendableEdibles.com. Being at the farmers market you meet so many people who are afraid to buy anything that’s not beautiful. It’s great to have that kind of inspiration going forward.”
