no veggie gets left behind...

I really really hate throwing away food. From left overs to fruits and veggies that go bad in the fridge, it just kills me to toss things in the trash - feels like such a horrible waste. With a few new kitchen gadgets in my arsenal, I have been able to get creative with a few ideas that use up some veggies as they are on the brink.

The last two weeks I've used some herbs and canned goods that were about to reach their expiration date to make some delish hummus. I invested (it's a bit pricey) in a jar of tahini. Tahini is sesame paste - similar to a peanut butter consistency - and really makes hummus taste just right. A few ingredients later and a few minutes in the food processor and we have a tasty and healthy snack for the week! Lasts week's flavor combo was cilantro (starting to look wilted and didn't seem to fit into the menu plan), onion and jalapeno (a jar of pickled jalapenos that I used months ago in a pork recipe). I flipped through a few of my cookbooks in search of the "right combination" of ingredients for the hummus but ended up combining a few ideas into one for my hummus. What I found is really most important is the consistency- adding more olive oil to get a creamier and smoother paste instead of a dry and choppy hummus. Oh and don't forget the garlic, garlic and more garlic and a bit of lemon and sea salt. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Who needs Pita Jungle when you have a Kitchen Aid food processor?

Today Blake asked me if I would whip him up some pesto for his sandwiches during the week. I actually had some organic basil leaves waiting for me to find a meal to fit them into (and fast!) so I was able to make it happen. I also had some wilting spinach that sat in my fridge over the weekend so I threw that in for a little more body. The last of my left over toasted pine nuts, some feta, mucho garlic, salt and pepper, and a bunch of olive oil and there you go! I scrapped the bowl with a whole wheat tortilla for my 3pm snack :).

Maybe cleaning out the fridge can actually be fun?