Just as weeds are plants, most parts of vegetables are food. Include daikon radish greens when making kimchi. Save those beet greens and sauté them, including the thick ribs. Mince the ribs up so they cook evenly along with the leafy greens. Save the stems of kale and chard and cook them the same way. No one will know!
The outer leaves of cauliflower taste delicious when roasted. Simply toss them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast. Some cauliflower leaves have very thick white ribs. You can remove these, cut them up and cook them just like the cauliflower itself. Depending on your farmers’ market, you might be able to get cauliflower leaves for free! Some vendors remove the leaves and place them in a bin for customers to help themselves.
The green parts of leeks can easily constitute more than a third of the leek! Instead of tossing them, chop them into bite-size pieces and cook to render them tender. Toss them in stir fry. You can also add them to soups, stews, sauces, frittata, quiche, and many other dishes. Or simply use them instead of onions in your favorite recipe.
So think of every part of the vegetable as a tasty resource. You’ll have fun finding uses for everything, you’ll eat delicious food, you’ll save money and you’ll reduce food waste.
For more ideas on cooking with scraps, go here, here, and here.
