Edible Vancouver Island September/October 2023

their grocery team and just inquiring about what they have on hand. The Root Cellar also has incredible “Dirt Cheap this Week” specials and double flyer Wednesdays, where last week’s flyer and next week’s flyer are both active. It's a great way to support an independent local grocer and get quality produce for reasonable pricing. We invested in a deep freeze a few years ago, so I’ll blanch and freeze carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and corn in season to put away for the winter. Berries I turn into jam, sauce, popsicles or just freeze whole on cookie sheets and then transfer to bags. I’ll add a handful of the juiciest berries to smoothies in the winter for a taste of summer in a glass. For berry pies, four cups of berries thickened up with some cornstarch is the perfect amount for a nine-inch pie, so I’ll pre-measure the berries into freezer bags. When I have an inevitable craving for my favourite blueberry custard pie in winter, it’s easy to put together and doesn’t require a pricey trip to the store. Adding tech to the picture, there are few great apps that are popping up focused on preventing food waste by getting more good food into home fridges. It seems crazy that 2.5 billion tonnes of food is wasted each year, yet that’s the reality. Flashfood and Too Good

To Go are two apps that work to prevent food waste by sharing food at a deep discount. Too Good To Go is specifically focused on surplus food that will be going to waste. They work with restaurants as well as grocery chains and offer surprise bags of food at less than a third of the original costs. It’s simple to use: download and search for what is available in the area–everything from bread and pastries from local bakeries to ready cooked meals from restaurants is offered. Flashfood partners with large grocery chains. Search by location to see all the deeply discounted food available to purchase right in the app. Then head to the store and confirm the purchase at the customer service desk and pick up your food. Once I’ve picked up my surprise orders and looked through what’s available on Flashfood, I make a meal plan for the week using my recipe books, favourite blogs and Eat Your Books, a resource that pulls cookbook indices into one place, making them searchable. By typing in chicken and broccoli, for example, the book, recipe title and page number for all the recipes using those ingredients comes up, ensuring my cookbooks don’t collect dust. Once my meal plan is done, I use apps like Flip, which aggregate all the local flyers to search for what I need. This helps consolidate trips to the store, save on gas and ensures I’m not shopping for things I don’t need. Leftovers are loved in my house. Grilled veggies are added to sandwiches. Beans or root vegetables are mashed up and turned into veggie burgers. Milk that’s about to expire is turned into Ricotta, or Mascarpone, or frozen to use in baking later. Homemade buttermilk lives in a glass milk bottle for Saturday morning pancakes. Casseroles, stews and soups are very forgiving when it comes to what is added, and changing up the spice combinations completely changes the outcome. A cream sauce with some pasta added and breadcrumbs on top and I’ve created lovely variation of mac & cheese; tomato and stock-based sauce with mashed potatoes on top transforms it into a Shepherd’s Pie. Bones and veggie scraps are turned into stocks and frozen, or made into a delicious pho. Rice noodles and a few crisp bean sprouts to top a ginger, lemongrass and anise spiced stock, filled with leftover veggies is comfort food in a bowl. It’s one of our favourite weeknight meals when we want to keep the fridge clean, use up leftovers and ensure as little as possible is wasted . Emily Lycopolus is a creative cook and author who consistently amazes her family by looking in a fridge and concocting a delicious meal from odds and ends. @oliveoilcritic | oliveoilcritic.com

Visit our New Tasting Room and Retail Space at The Jam Factory Carefully curated preserves, cheese, charcuterie and gourmet provisions. 319 Upper Ganges Rd, Salt Spring Island saltspringkitchen.com This project is supported by the BC Government's Buy BC Partnership Program; delivered by MNP LLP with funding from the Government of British Columbia.

44 SEP/OCT 2023 EDIBLE VANCOUVER ISLAND