Compost Gold!

COMPOST ... the GOLD of the Garden!

I was skeptical at first.  But I went ahead and tried it.  Yay!  When I first started I needed a way to use up the pulp from juicing.Perfect!  Layered it daily with pulp and brown leaves (of which I have an endless supply).Then I started adding coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, vegetable peels and scraps from the kitchen, and shredded newspaper (no colored print), layering with brown leaves and/or dried grass clippings.

No fancy or elaborate bins or unsightly piles.Nope!  I picked up two scratch and dent trash cans and began my layers.After the first one was topped off, I began the second.  Now, I have a full can for the spring season and by the time the fall season comes around, I have another can ready to top dress or work into the soil.  Spreading the love throughout the garden!  I'm no longer skeptical!  This stuff is amazing! 

Read more about sources for your compost bin, 

pile or can at Old World Gardens!

Making Stock!

Another great tip!!

Do you make your own stock?

Veggie Stock?  Beef Stock?  Chicken Stock?

They are all super easy to do ... only a few tried and true rules!

Karma Free Cooking photo

I've always tossed leftovers into a freezer container .... saved for that first soup of the season!  I've always tossed veggie peels, bits and pieces into the compost.  But wait!  Instead of using fresh veggies to make stock (and then discarding?  not in this house!), toss those peelings, nubs and wilted carrots into the freezer til you have a gallon bag full.  I also toss my veggie pulp from my juicer into the bag!  Make a few quarts of vegetable stock (can or freeze), and THEN toss the remains in the compost.  Waste not!  Want not!  You know it's healthier than store bought stock!    Pssssst!  You can even use your crock pot to do this!!


Read more at The Garden of Eating!  Great article on this subject!  Oh so easy!  Next time you clean out the produce drawer in the fridge, ask yourself if you can use the item in stock instead of tossing it!  Recycling at it's best!


There's another post over at Poor Girl Eats Well about making veggie stock!  And another at Hillbilly Housewife!  And still another at Karma Free Cooking!

Recycle! Reduce! Re-use!

Recycle!  Reduce!  Re-use! 
I'm Talkin' FOOD here!!

Did y'all watch The Big Waste on the Food Network Sunday evening?  OMG!  I'll never look at a food blemish the same way again!  I try not to throw food out.  I try to use it before it spoils.  Or, at least freeze it for later use if I'm not gonna use it right away.   I also compost peelings from vegs and fruit, eggshells, coffee and tea grounds and their filters, shredded newspaper, etc.  Black Gold is the result!

Being from the "use everything" school, I've learned a lot about using as much of the item as possible before tossing it.  For example, canning apples:  after peeling (or not!) place the peelings, cores and seeds into a separate pot to cook for awhile = natural pectin for thickening  jellies, pie fillings, etc.  Chicken carcass or beef bones?  Slow cook with water = stock!   Cold Coffee?  Iced Coffee!  Any leftover vegs, pasta or meat - toss into a freezer bag or container and make soup!  Leftover or stale bread = freeze it until there is enough for bread pudding!  And more recently, I was making garlic potatoes (any leftovers will become potato soup for our next chilly evening!).  I usually use a potato peeler so there is as little waste as possible.  This time I peeled with a paring knife, leaving some of the potato intact with the skin.  I then micro-steamed them tender and deep fried them.  Amazing potato skins! 

And!  Who doesn't love roasted garlic?  I love fresh garlic, but I took a shortcut and bought a large jar of garlic cloves to a larger amount of roasted garlic.  Normally, you would just cut off the top portion of the whole garlic exposing the cloves, drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast in foil til tender.  I just dumped the entire quart of already peeled cloves onto foil and drizzled them with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt (tightly enclosed in foil) and roasted them for an hour at 300 degrees.  Amazing results!  Tender, smooth, yummy!  I mashed a dozen with a fork and incorporated them into the mashed potatoes!  Da Bomb!  Just store in fridge or freezer til ready to use!  Add to hummus!!  Mix with buttah and spread on bread!  Add to ANYTHING!!!

On another note, I'm starting another round of juicing tomorrow.  My husband returned home with loads of produce for me!  Gotta get all this scrubbed and bagged today!  I'm shooting for a week at a time.  I may go a full 30 days again.  We'll see!

Tune in tomorrow for Semi-Wordless Wednesday!  Who knows what the topic will be?!!!

FYI:

After pleading with my husband to build me a compost bin

so I could spread some "liquid gold" in my garden, I gave up!

I learned I could bury my kitchen refuse under a shovel-full of soil

right in my garden, amongst and between my plants. 

Scoop out a hole at least ten inches deep so the dogs,

cats or other vermin don't sniff it out and dig it up!

Really!  I'm already seeing earthworms!  A good sign!

With all the juicing I'm doing, there is no shortage of veggie or

fruit peelings or pulp!  Tossing in eggshells and coffee or tea grounds

and shredded newspaper too (not the colorful ad section!)!

Looking forward to seeing how much better things grow next spring!