I'm watching masterchef. Tonight is the team challenge where the participants take Oz Harvest refigerated vans, drive them around Sydney to various hotels and restaurants, take food that would otherwise be wasted and turn their findings into a meal that they can present to 25 very serious chefs, restaurant critics and food editors.
Oz Harvest is a charity that takes food that's still good from hotels, shops and restaurants that would otherwise be thrown out and turns it into meals for the homeless. What a wonderful charity! So, tonight they're taking premium food off the homeless and serving it to Australia's finest. Ok. Oh! a wild development appears, They are donating to the charity based on what they think of the meals. Good stuff!
Seriously though, food waste is a really major issue. Up to 60% of the food that comes to westernised nations is just wasted. It never makes it to the stomachs of people. In a world where literally billions of people are starving. You know that pizza crust you left behind? There's someone on this world who would be grateful to have that as a meal. Yes, I know you can hear me; I sound just like your mum. I'm telling you "Finish what's on your plate! there's starving kids in Africa!" Your mum is right. There are people, in many countries around the world, literally starving.
I could go on, but to do so would break one of the rules of my blog; I don't discuss the 'why's' of being vegan on here. So, if it's a topic that interests you (the connection between a carnivore diet and world hunger) feel free to email me to discuss, have a chat to your local vegan society or do your own research on the issue.
I decided tonight that in the spirit of the Masterchef challenge, I'd go through my own fridge and cupboard to use up some veggies that have been kicking around there since last weekend's shopping trip. Here's what I found.
-1 punnet of (slightly wrinkly) cherry tomatoes.
-4 mushrooms (looking good vern)
-1/2 a package mixed salad leaves.
-left-over fresh pasta (from my megan makes fresh pasta vegan challenge)
-1/4 jar of discount olives (whole with the pit in)
-2 cloves of garlic
-whole-grain mustard
In my cupboard I keep a few basics. These include:
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
-salt
-pepper
By the ingredient list, it all looks a bit italian... So I start by.
Putting on a pot of water to cook that pasta.
I think about a pasta salad, reject the idea because the tomatoes are a bit marginal and really need to be cooked, then realise that there is now law that says I can't do beautiful balsamic roasted tomatoes and put them in my salad. So:
I pre-heat my oven
I get a oven-tray, pour a reasonably generous amount of olive oil into it.
Then, I cut my cherry tomatoes in half, tossing the halves into the oven tray with the oil.
Sprinkle it with a little bit of salt and pepper, adjusting the amount to your personal tastes.
Finally I splash it with a bit of balsamic vinegar. (you don't need much, maybe 6-7 drops or splodges as it comes out of the bottle)
I put that in the oven with the timer set on 20 minutes.
I wash my salad leaves and dice my mushrooms.
By now my water is boiling for the pasta, I decide to turn my left over fresh pasta into "Stracchi" which is Italian for "Scraps" having stracchi pasta is a traditional peasant food, because it involves using your left over pasta to cook the final meal for the week. You can use your broken pasta bits, broken up lasagne sheets or whatever is on hand. Stracchi really captures the spirit of not wasting any food.
I cut my fresh rolled pasta into random sized bits and toss it into the water. Fresh pasta cooks really quickly, so I now have 2 minutes to do a quick salad dressing.
I get a glass jar (an old coffee jar to be exact)
I don't use exact measurements when I make salad dressing, I use ratios, then guestimate the seasonings, taste it and adjust as needed.
-3 parts olive oil
-1 part balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic (very very finely diced)
approx 1tsp whole-grain mustard.
Chuck all of these into the jar, put the lid on very tightly and shake the living daylights out of it.
I assemble my salad very quickly by tossing the pasta, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives through the salad leaves. I dress it with the prepared balsamic dressing.
You'll have to trust me it looked good. I took a photo but "ate" all of my internet already so it's uploading slower than a wet week.
As an added bonus, I've got a lovely tangy balsamic vinagrette to store in my fridge for later. It will keep really well for at least a couple of weeks.
Not wasting food just makes perfect sense. You save money, you reduce waste and the impacts that throwing things out to landfill has on the environment and you know that weather near or far, your mum is proud of you for being so thrifty and clever.
Also, if you are reading this blog and are a producer of food, anything from fine-dining to convenience stores and you'd like to
A)help out people who really need it
B)get that feel-good sensation that only comes with doing some good
C)save on your garbage disposal costs
D)possibly get a mad sweet tax deduction (check with your accountant/financial adviser to be totally sure on that)
Then check out Oz Harvest, or even a few other charities who do similar worthwhile work, such as One Umbrella and Food Not Bombs.
Now... getting this world from a place where we feel good by helping the homeless, to where we feel good because we've stamped out all poverty and everyone has a home, a job, and the opportunity to shine is a bit more of a journey. Starting with not wasting things is good though. Do you know someone who'd appreciate a surprise meal they didn't have to cook for themselves? Turn your thrifty-cleverness into a semi-random act of kindness. You'll literally be making this world a better place.
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