Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but on April 20, 2016, I wrote “A Simple Way to Feed The World.” Based on a National Geographic magazine cover story of March 2016 (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/03/global-food-waste-statistics/ ), “Too Good To Waste: How Ugly Food Can Help Feed the Planet,” it discussed the challenges of having two billion more mouths to feed by 2050 when we have almost 800 million people underfed now.
If that concerns you, or if you feel up to a culinary adventure, you may be interested in a new cookbook, Scraps, Wilt and Weeds: Turning Wasted Food Into Plenty by
“SCRAPS, WILT & WEEDS features 100 recipes by Mads Refslund, one of the initial partners at Noma, the world-renowned Danish restaurant, using local ingredients in a sustainable, no-waste fashion. Using scraps from vegetables, fruits and animal proteins–food that would normally go to waste–Refslund creates beautiful and accessible recipes for the home cook without sacrificing anything to flavor. He uses 100% of the ingredient or as close as possible, including potato peels, cauliflower stems, or fish skins, but also ingredients that are passed over as too young, like green strawberries, or too old, like stale bread, wrinkly potatoes or bolted herbs.
“Refslund shares easy-to-follow recipes like: Carrot Tops Pesto, Roasted Cauliflower Stalks with Mushrooms and Brie, Pork Ribs Glazed with Overripe Pear Sauce, Crispy Salmon Skin Puffs with Horseradish-Buttermilk Dip, and Beer and Bread porridge with Salted Caramel Ice Cream. In addition to delicious ingredient-focused recipes, the book contains informational sidebars and stories, insight into the parts of food we often waste, and a section on how to use leftovers, plus 100 beautiful photographs that express Refslund’ passion and respect for ingredients, nature and the land.”
Saving the world, one cauliflower stem at a time. I wish them well.
The book is available at