Whole Fennel, Whole Lemons, Whole Lotta Taste

Several years ago, I became interested in fennel at a restaurant when I tried the the most flavorful salad with razor-thin-sliced fennel, oranges, and olives. While I don't eat it often, those types of amazing recipes occasionally flood my memory and I'm reminded I should experiment with more veggies. So, I added a fennel (a whole fennel - bulb, stems, fronds) in my Imperfect Produce box, and knew I had a lot of interesting possibilities ahead of me. After a few minutes of looking for ideas, I decided on this one pot roasted chicken recipe.

Sadly, I was so into cooking, I forgot to take pictures until halfway through! Fortunately, the recipe link has multiple photos and even short videos to illustrate each step. 

First, let's look at our fennel stems and fronds. The fine leaves may look like dill, but sniff the stems, and you'll realize there's an entirely unique smell and flavor here, almost like anise. (Remember, fennel seeds are what's used to flavor Italian sausage, if you're trying to identify it.)

We're going to finely chop the fronds to make a simple sauce. (The fennel bulb is used in the main recipe, which means we'll use almost the entire thing.)

And add the juice from half a lemon. The rest of the lemon is used elsewhere in the recipe. And if you want to maximize your use, zest the lemon before juicing. Pro tip: I zest all my citrus before juicing and keep the zest in a small container in the freezer. It's always available then if I want to sprinkle some lemon zest on my avocado toast, lime zest into cilantro lime rice, or orange zest into cream cheese frosting.

You stir the fennel fronds, lemon, juice, some olive oil, salt, and pepper to create a simple herb lemon sauce, which is a great finish to add some "oomph" to the already flavorful roast chicken. Note: most root veggie tops (think carrot greens) can make a great addition to your salad greens or become the herb in your pestos and sauces.

For the main dish, we roasted chicken thighs over a bed of fennel bulb, shallot, thin lemon slices, and tomato slices. This is a super flavorful veggie combo which also makes this one pot a complete meal.

A closeup of the caramelized fennel and roasted lemon slices. Note: the lemon doesn't just add flavor to the dish. When they are roasted like this, you can eat the whole lemon. The skins become soft and the pith loses most of its bitterness.

Verdict: While this dish is pretty enough to serve to guests, it is easy enough to make on a weeknight. Total cook time was about 40 minutes, with 20 minutes active and 20 in the oven. And you can feel good knowing you used the whole fennel and whole lemon, with minimal waste. 

What are your favorite recipes using produce scraps or whole foods?

Sustainably Stylish, Head to Toe

I'm pretty stoked about this outfit. Not only because I continue to aspire to Noel Fielding's quirky fashion greatness, and lucked out with this bird print kimono, but also, this outfit exhibits 4 different ways to make great, sustainable choices. 

First, a close up so you can see the great bird print on this Noel-inspired purchase. The classic black and white makes this easy to wear day to night, and pair with color or keep a monochrome look. I'll show more detail below, but this is a Wet Seal kimono-style cardigan, purchased for $10 on Poshmark (compare at $25 new).

Starting at the bottom, the shoes I'm wearing are Rothy's. I've written about them before, but essentially, Rothy's are made out of recycled water bottles. You would never know - they feel like pretty standard fabric. This pair is about 5 years old, and they've still held up because you can throw them in the wash! Buh-bye sockless shoe funk.

Next, I'm getting plenty of wear out of the Mugsy jeans I wrote about in April. The skinny jeans style pairs well with the oversized kimono.

Moving to the top, there's something you can't see, and that's ultimately the point... the black tee I'm wearing has been mended more than once, to fix tiny holes. The mend is impossible to see unless you're specifically looking for it. For a tutorial, check out Brightly, and you'll also see how easy it is and how well-hidden it can be. 

Here, you can also see the full kimono, with the fun wide sleeves, which are both unique and super comfy. Pardon the restroom selfie - sometimes you have to take advantage of that full length mirror!

In total, this outfit demonstrates 4 ways to dress more sustainably: 

• kimono - thrifting saved us $15 and keeps fast fashion in circulation longer
• jeans - gifted through Buy Nothing (previously saved $108 when I received these)
• shoes - constructed from upcycled materials, these are an investment, but have maintained their value by being washable and durable
• shirt - purchased new, but mending extends the life
  

Ridding Plastic From Your Laundry Routine With Ridwell

T surprised me. He's a creature of habit, and what he likes is what he likes, and for laundry, that's the same Tide detergent he's used for years, with the same scent he's familiar with. And I get it, scent can be a comforting thing. So when he saw an ad for Dropps and asked, "Do you want to try this? It's more eco-friendly", I was pleasantly surprised and jumped at the chance. After all, we still had some Tide left, so if we hated the new detergent, it would be easy to swap back.

The first thing I saw when we got our box was this label, a list of all the yuck that's not in their detergent. Per their website, there's no B.S. (bad stuff).

Dropps are super-convenient pods - you just toss one in the drum. No more measuring liquid. They're super concentrated, so you dramatically reduce the weight you are shipping.

Pods, you say? Aren't those wrapped in plastic? Nope, they are: 

"made from a water soluble casing called Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which dissolves upon contact with water"

And further, you elimate the big plastic jug in favor of a slender cardboard box. A large jug of Tide is equivant to just under 2 boxes of Dropps.

Then, not only do you save on the reduced weight and packaging, but Dropps boasts 100% carbon neutral shipping. Beyond the efforts they do to minimize their impact, they make up for the rest by partnering with Clearloop to fund solar projects. 

On our first purchase, since we wanted to try them out and not commit, we added some more items to our cart to qualify for free shipping. But moving forward, you can qualify for discounts with a subscription. They sell several other earth-friendly products - we got these reusable, compostable Swedish dishcloths, which are both super cute, and in partnership with Oceana.

Now the true test was, besides feeling better about the packaging and company mission and partnerships... was the detergent actually effective? After half a dozen loads, I can confidently say, the clothes are coming out equally clean or even better than the Tide. No compromises, just clean clothes.

Cost wise: Dropps are slightly more expensive at $19.50 per 60 pods vs $21 for Tide pictured... that is, if you use the Tide as directed. If you make the mistake that I was making of filling the detergent to the max line, I'm now saving money with the pre-measured pods. 

Eating Scrappy: Broccoli Stems

If you're like me, you likely eat just the florets from broccoli, using this most desirable part in your stir fries, veggie trays, and pasta primaveras. This leaves behind a good percentage of the broccoli, the stem. 

I've tried chopping up the stems to add to dishes, but without luck so far, as the stems can be quite woody, sort of like the ends of asparagus. 

When I came across a recipe literally called Broccoli Stalk Soup, I decided to give it one more try.

The first step is to prepare your stems, chopping off the very end, and peeling off the outer layer. A regular veggie peeler will do. Note: I wasn't aggressive enough with my peeling and still ended up with some woodiness. Go a little further than you think you need to, cutting off at least the outer 1/8".

Next, follow the recipe, sauteeing some onion and garlic in butter or oil (this whole recipe can be vegan if you prefer), then adding the broccoli, some potato, and broth to simmer.

Finally, use an immersion blender to puree all the ingredients. My soup was quite hearty (more of a porridge), so I added 25% more broth. 

This soup has great flavor and an unexpected creaminess (with no actual cream), which comes from the potato. And it's quite light,  so feel free to add to it as you like. Add in some broccoli florets if you have whole broccoli, and some medium or sharp cheddar for a rich, cheesy soup. 

Now, I noted above that I wasn't aggressive enough with my peeling. If this happens to you and you taste your soup and get little woody bits (no one wants to chew on pine needles), never fear. Strain your soup through a mesh strainer.

Woody bits successfully strained, and silky smooth soup rescued!

What are ways you've found to maximize you use of veggies?

Healthy Feet, Healthy Planet

Buy Nothing delivers yet again! With many companies having 30 day return policies, if you aren't on top of it, you may be stuck with an item that doesn't work out for you. In my case, one shopper's loss was definitely my gain. They had purchased these awesome Taos sandals (for $125), and while labeled a size 10, they ran a full size small. Never worn, except to try them on, these premium support sandals are now mine for free! Taos are known for their support and comfort - just check out that molded footbed and arch support.

I love the fuller coverage of these sandals too, which give much more structure than a flip flop, and these just may be my go-to shoe heading into summer. Of course, now that we're heading into summer, you should pair those new sandals with a fresh pedicure (this polish is called "Sangria").

 

While working on that pedicure, consider incorporating Ella+Mila products. Ella+Mila prides themselves on being eco-friendly, vegan, cruelty free, and 17 chemical free (chemicals dangerous to humans). The first item I've purchased from them is their Soy Polish Remover, which I've found is just as effective as acetone and is both conditioning to my nails and has a soft pleasant scent.

Overall savings: $125, and I'm thrilled my feet are ready for summer!

Mini-post: Return to Reusables

One of the things that's made me sad during the pandemic (besides all the... pandemic) has been the increase in disposables and single use items. I was originally optimistic about the potential eco silver linings with people staying at home, not commuting to work. Remember those early pictures of smog reduction in the cities? But then, just a couple months into it, we all started going out a bit, and the gains in smog returned to normal, and we swung far into the other direction. We could drive through and takeout from restaurants, which meant tons of disposable packaging, and so many people wore (and littered) single use masks. 

Now that we are able to go back inside restaurants, and with new laws like Washington state's single use serviceware law (to not automatically include plastic utensils, straws, etc), now is a great time to double down on reusables. 

Consider bringing your own durable straws and utensils to casual restaurants, and your reusable mugs to coffee houses. Consider bringing a small takeout container in your purse or backpack for your leftovers. 

As an incentive, many coffee houses who had to pause allowing customers to bring their own mugs during the height of COVID, have now resumed their programs, many times including a small discount. Starbucks, who previously offered a $0.10 discount, is now doubling their rewards. You get both the $0.10 discount, as well as 25 stars if you're a rewards member. 

They just announced this on Earth Day. It's currently only available in-store, but they taken goals to make bringing your own cup an option for drive through and mobile by 2023. 

Not a Starbucks fan? Check out incentives programs from your favorite coffee shop or restaurant for bringing your own reusables.

From Scraps to Soup

If you haven't spent a lot of time in the seafood aisle of the grocery store, there are a few ways to buy shrimp: whole (you may need to remove head and vein), EZ Peel (head and vein removed), or fully peeled and tail removed. The less prepared they are, the cheaper they are, but the more work for you. I love the EZ Peel as a good middle ground. In order to remove the vein, they slice the shell the whole length of the shrimp, giving you a super easy place to start peeling (hence, EZ Peel). This leaves minimal effort to prep the shrimp and can save you $1-2/pound.

Not only do you save a few bucks, but now you have this resource which is rich in minerals and vitamins as well as flavor. Take the shells (legs, tails, and all) and put them in a container in your freezer to accumulate and not have your fridge smell fishy until you are ready to use.

 

Now it's time to use up those shells. (Note: you're about to stink up your kitchen, so open a window!) I'm combining a few recipes for corn broth and shrimp stock, including one that used both for a chowder base. In addition to shrimp shells (from 1lb shrimp), I saved 6 half corn cobs and shells from 2 leg sections of snow crabs. 

 

Dump those, and enough water to cover, in a large soup pot. I love these large Pyrex measuring cups for if you want more precision. One of the recipes called for 9 cups of water, and since I was using a lot of base ingredients, I upped that to 12.

Next add, some veggies, onion and celery for depth of flavor. You can use scraps for these too. Most veggie broth recipes call for using onion skins and the tops you would generally cut off. Your celery can 100% be a wilted stalk, a great way to clean out the fridge. (Side note: wilted celery can also be revived but storing in cold water. The wilting is due to water loss, and it will perk back up.)

Add all of this to the soup pot, along with a couple bay leaves and some whole peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

It's that easy! Strain out all the solids (now you can compost those), and once it's cooled, portion and freeze what you won't use within a few days. I was super pleased after a taste test that this broth had a rich flavor with none of the bitterness I experienced with my first attempts at veggie broth.

Now what to do with this super flavorful broth? Keep in mind that both seafood and corn are a bit sweet, so while you can use this anywhere you would normally use broth, it will work better for things that can tolerate some sweetness. 

For both corn broth, shrimp broth, or combo like I made, it was recommended to use a base for soups or chowders.

 

For straight corn broth, it was suggested to make grits. 

I'm foreseeing some decadent risotto in my near future!