Friday Funding Fun

Peels are appeeling [dreadful pun I know and yes, I am completely and utterly unapologetic] here at GBT. That parsimonious feeling that you're getting both your wonga's and health's worth of your weekly outlay on shopping gives me a little warm glow.

A few ideas- hopefully a new idea or two so that your saved pennies can go on the fun things in life!

I've brushed potato and carrot peelings lightly with oil and baked them in the oven so they've turned out like crisps. On a recent trip to a restaurant they'd done the same with parsnip peelings but I think that they'd probably deep fried them this time. Lip smackingly good anyway!

Melon rind can be used to make pickle- not tried as yet.

Cooking apple peel. I've heard of people making jelly. I bunged mine in soup to add extra flavour then fished them out before eating. According to an article in the Daily Wail this week you can do the same with the outer onion skins- note these are not edible so need to be removed.

I cook the outer cauliflower leaves like cabbage.

A contribution from my lovely SIL- use the skins from tangerines, satsumas, clementines to make marmalade. I am guessing that you could also use them to make candied peel [along with other citrus peel]. If you pare them and dry them in a low oven they can be added to flavour sauces and stews. Mushrooms cooked in orange juice is lovely so you might be able to experiment further.

A recipe from dear Delia using the outer skin of a pineapple to make a Pineapple Cooler drink http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/pineapple-cooler.html

And finally this article has even more ideas including non culinary ones. http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/stories/20-uses-for-leftover-fruit-and-vegetable-peels

This only scratches the surface but is my little contribution to the waste not want not mantra.

Arilx