Zero-Waste Cooking and Tamar Adler’s new “An Everlasting Meal Cookbook”

[blue_dolphin]

I just ordered a copy of Tamar Adler's new book, An Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Recipes for Leftovers A-Z (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) from local cookbook shop Nowserving LA.  

I knew the book was coming out and have been resisting ordering it until I could get it from the library.  Then I saw the lovely illustrations that Nowserving shared in this Instagram post.  

And that post also pointed me to Tejal Rao's NYT article, The Joy of Zero-Waste Cooking (gift link) that talks about this book and others, all the way back to M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf. 

 

I always try to repurpose leftovers in different ways so this sounds right up my alley.  I'll report back on the book when I receive it. 

 

[Anna N]

I downloaded the Kindle sample and I am sold. I have her An Everlasting Meal and enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to what you come up with which I already know will be creative. 

[blue_dolphin]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I downloaded the Kindle sample and I am sold. I have her An Everlasting Meal and enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to what you come up with which I already know will be creative. 

 

That's good to hear!  Going back through comments, I know that you liked An Everlasting Meal but were less than thrilled with her other book. 

My copy won't be here for a few days but I've got my fingers crossed that it will be good!

[blue_dolphin]

I received my copy of the book but haven't delved into it yet.  I did listen to this Book Larder author interview with Tamar Adler and Sara Dickerman (author of Secrets of Great Second Meals) and made me even more enthusiastic: 

 

 

[Anna N]

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I received my copy of the book but haven't delved into it yet.

I can tell you now that the editing leaves something to be desired if you are picky. 

 

And this phrase which occurs over and over:

 

"...neutral oil (peanut, grapeseed, or olive)  [and sometimes] or ghee"

 

drives me bonkers. I don't consider olive oil nor ghee to be neutral. 

 

Some things seem like a bridge too far - garlic skin broth?

 

But there are no deal breakers here. I have a number of bookmarked ideas I intend to revisit. And once you start cooking from this book I will know how much I missed.

 

Thank you for the video. Too bad it had to be in a format that seemed so artificial. Face-to-face would have been much more inviting for the participants as well as the viewers. Neither Tamara nor Sara seemed comfortable in their skins. 

 

There was a brief but interesting exchange about the way we approach leftovers. 

[blue_dolphin]

8 minutes ago, Anna N said:

There was a brief but interesting exchange about the way we approach leftovers. 

 

Yes, I liked that.  Reminded me of my dad, sitting at the table as my mom cleared and put things away.  He would often comment something like, "Good bye, little pork chop but only for now, as I know I'll be seeing you again soon!"

[Anna N]

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Yes, I liked that.  Reminded me of my dad, sitting at the table as my mom cleared and put things away.  He would often comment something like, "Good bye, little pork chop but only for now, as I know I'll be seeing you again soon!"

There are so many things that I prefer the second time around but I know of the spouse of one eG member who considered that he had earned the right never to eat another leftover. Poverty and leftovers were inextricably linked in his mind. 
 

 

[Katie Meadow]

38 minutes ago, Anna N said:

"...neutral oil (peanut, grapeseed, or olive)  [and sometimes] or ghee"

 

drives me bonkers. I don't consider olive oil nor ghee to be neutral. 

 

 

I don't consider peanut oil neutral, either. It has a distinct peanut flavor and I use it for my Chinese food, so at this point it tastes like Chinese food to me. The definition of neutral seems a bit fuzzy. I know canola is typically suggested as neutral, but I think it has a fishy unpleasant taste. Sunflower and Safflower are neutral to my tastebuds. So are grapeseed and rice bran oils. Grapeseed is my preference in baking.

[liuzhou]

18 hours ago, Anna N said:

"...neutral oil (peanut, grapeseed, or olive)  [and sometimes] or ghee"

 

drives me bonkers. I don't consider olive oil nor ghee to be neutral. 

 

nor peanut oil. I can always taste it. Never used grapeseed, so can't comment.

Edited April 2, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

nor peanut oil. I can always taste it. Never used grapeseed, so can't comment.

I keep reading and wondering if I am misinterpreting something. I expect in the whole scheme of things it is not really going to matter much. This is not subtle gourmet type food we are dealing with. Nor for the most part are prodigous amounts of oil used. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

19 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Yes, I liked that.  Reminded me of my dad, sitting at the table as my mom cleared and put things away.  He would often comment something like, "Good bye, little pork chop but only for now, as I know I'll be seeing you again soon!"

And one of my favorite ads in which a brown and white border collie is sitting up in front of the refrigerator, caption, "You and I both know there is one leftover pork chop in there."

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Our household really creates very little food waste.    Leftovers become tomorrow's lunch, and quantities too small to make a meal become refrigerator-prowl snacks.    Those few dishes that fail to hit the mark usually can be foisted off on son's family, i.e., into the freezer and sent on to a better place.   

I am guilty of some degree of produce waste when my shopping eye is bigger than our appetite or my energy to create a dish from stuffs that require "work".

[SLB]

I too am looking forward to @blue_dolphin's reports from the field.  I enjoyed her opinion pieces that preceded the book's publication.

 

But I have "Scraps, Wilt & Weeds", by Mads Refslund, which is a similar concept.  I have cracked it exactly once.