Leek, Chard, Goat Cheese, Corn Flatbread

The store had no leeks, and since I’m not a huge chard fan (but a huge leek fan), I decided not to use chard. I used red onions, red pepper, corn and goat cheese. It was pretty good, but as the recipe says, the stuff falls off the flatbread easily because there’s nothing to bind it to the crust. Just FYI.

I’d love to try the real recipe sometime when I find leeks!



Avoid Food Waste

I’m trying to avoid wasting so much food (also saves money). The Kitchen Counter Cooking School has a chapter on leftovers (“Waste Not, Want Not”). Here are my favorite tips:

1. Flatbreads

Throw unused extra veggies and toppings onto a premade flatbread. Crack an egg on top, stick in the toaster oven. Make sure to use a spatula to get it off, the egg can seep through to the pan.

You can also do this with tortillas and add salsa for a slightly different twist.

Topping Ideas: Caramelized onions, olive oil, leftover greens, avocado, pear, fresh herbs (or pesto), cheese, etc.

2. Fresh Herbs

Make a pesto with leftovers. That way I don’t have to feel guilty about buying them, because I never use them up in time. Then, freeze the pesto if you don’t use it up quickly.

3. Soups

Caramelized Onions (note that you can make a big batch at freeze these!) and leftover veggies, throw in a pot with some broth, let it simmer for at least an hour. Could add a cooked grain at the end for complete the meal.

4. End of Condiment Jars

Using the last drops of mustard, olive oil, vinegar jars, make a salad dressing in the jar using the leftovers (1 part acid to three parts oil).

5. Weekly Grocery Trips

Only buy what you’ll eat in a week. If buying for one, don’t buy that giant bag of oranges, you won’t eat them all! For me, cooking a 3-4 portion meal twice a week gives me dinner plus a couple of lunches per recipe. Then, I can use leftovers for the remaining dinners.

6. Write Down What You Throw Out

Do this for a week and see what happens. This does double duty. You know what you tend to waste the most, and it makes you think twice about doing it. Then, adjust your shopping accordingly.

7. Make a Triage Box

In the fridge, throw everything in a box that you need to use up (sauces, veggies, fruit, etc), then do it!

8. Extra Prep

Not using all of those veggies for your current recipe? Prep them all and save the prepped veggies in the triage box. You’re more likely to use them if they’re visible and ready to use.

9. Freeze Broth Ingredients

Extra celery, a few slices of onion, herbs, etc? PLace them in a box in the freezer to make broth with laer.

Food I’ve wasted, past two weeks:

Some basil leaves that went bad before I made pesto

Remnants of soup from lunch

Chives that went bad (they were kind of duds to begin with, not much flavor)

Remnants of polenta from lunch


This week (Feb 2-8)

Slice of week old pizza (I was sent home with all of the leftovers from a dinner one night, couldn’t quite finish them all)

Failed pound cake cupcakes