Thank you Workman Publishing and Neetgalley for an ARC of this book.

This is a fantastic book on zero waste cooking. I truly appreciated the honesty and authenticity of the author, acknowledging that we are human and just do the best that we can do (some are better than others, with myself being in the latter camp unfortunately).

This book provides many recipes and enticing photographs, of food ranging from a range of sources. The author lived in Japan for a while so there are some influences dotted throughout, but also ideas for banana peel cakes, infused alcohol, zucchini stem pizza and so much more.
I am excited to have found a number of recipes I look forward to trying in the coming weeks.

A highly recommended book.

Banana peels, apple cores, and fatty bacon ends are just a few of the items that will no longer be wasted with this new cookbook/guide from Food52 writer Lindsay-Jean Hard.

In the introduction, and in the lead-ups to the various recipes, the author writes about taking lessons from other cookbooks and tweaking recipes, and making them your own.  And this applies, she is the first to tell the reader, to her own.

Written in a friendly, approachable style, the aim behind this cookbook harkens back to the "waste not, want not" philosophy of generations past.  This is a welcome approach that is sure to appeal to budding "no waste" enthusiasts, as well as the casual cook who wants to make the most of their time in the kitchen and the produce they buy.  And this does focus primarily on produce, though there are a few tempting uses of other staples (think canned chickpeas and aquafaba for, sort of, one).  And while it may trigger nostalgia for the kitchens and frugality of our grandmothers, and a desire to shop at Farmer's Markets, this is very much a modern cookbook.

Within the generous introductory section, "Everything in Moderation (Your Best is Good Enough)" is a must read for those who are not convinced of their ability to take the lessons in this book on board.  You may not become a "tip to tail" type of home cook, but these techniques and ideas will move you in the direction of lessening your food waste.

Cooking with Scraps is full of inspiration, techniques, and quite a few interesting recipes. It will be a useful reference and adjunct to other recipe sources when meal planning or looking for ways to reduce your food waste.  Already, I'm planning my next purchases of cilantro and parsley to include the use of the stems, contemplating how best to save the cores of apples to use in making syrup for Sunday morning pancake breakfasts, and considering the purchase of an immersion blender.

Highly recommended as an addition (or start) to your cookbook collection.

This review refers to a NetGalley digital galley read courtesy of the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Workman Publishing Company and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, Stems, and Other Odds and Ends into Delicious Meals. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Cooking with Scraps is a collection of 80 recipes with zero-waste in mind, a perfect cookbook for those who are environmentally conscious or who are on a tight budget. Beautiful photographs dot the pages of this cookbook, providing a very inspirational backdrop. The recipes are organized, alphabetized based on the featured ingredient, such as the cauliflower in the White Bean and Cauliflower Core Puree with Green Olive Gremolata (p. 47). Scattered throughout are sections the author calls "Clean out the Crisper", recipes designed to use every last bit of scraps that readers may have left behind in their refrigerator or pantry.

As the author's philosophy is one to which I try to use in my daily life, I was very excited to read this cookbook. Designed to use that part of the vegetable for which readers may not know how, such as carrot tops, Cooking with Scraps is a unique approach to cooking. Right off the bat, there are recipes that will open readers eyes to a new way of eating. I have often found myself eating the apple peels while I make a pie, not wanting to throw them away. The author suggests turning these scraps into Dried Apple Peel Chips, a delicious and easy-to-prepare snack. Charred Asparagus End Pesto is another gem and a great way to use that which cooks frequently throw away. One of the Clean out the Crisper offerings explains how to make pickles and will open readers minds to the possibilities. One of my favorite recipes is, coincidentally, a seasonal offering that features the pumpkin. Pumpkin Gut Butterscotch Scones (p. 122-123) is topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and uses the "webbing" of the pumpkin in the scones themselves. Another favorite recipe in the book is Black Bean and Green Tomato Salsa (p. 130), which is bright, colorful, and perfect for tacos or nachos.

With many possibilities to choose from, readers will be inspired by author Lindsay-Jean Hard's unique approach to cooking. I would definitely recommend this cookbook to others and I look forward to more by this author in the future.

I am a member of Food52’s wonderful online Cookbook Club. Each month we choose a different cookbook to collectively cook from and share our experiences. We’ve cooked from Simple by Ottolenghi; Salt Fat Acid Heat by Saimin Nosrat; Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman among many others. For a long time, the main administrator of the group was Lindsay-Jean Hard. Coincidentally, in that same group at the beginning of the year we made food-resolutions. One of my resolutions was to throw out less food. I was unaware of her column at Food52, but when I saw that Lindsay-Jean was putting out a book on just this topic, I was delighted. (Though it would have been MUCH better for my resolution if I’d found the column months ago.

The book is organized by food, so finding a recipe to use up the scrap you have on hand is easy. Hard also includes useful tips on storing different vegetables to maximize their lifespan, and tips on composting for when there’s something you really can’t fully use up.

The recipes in the book seem a little bit odd at first, if like me, you haven’t made much of an effort to use the scraps of food before. I’ve been privileged enough to grow up with plenty of food, so I’ve never had to resort to using scraps out of necessity. However, as I paged through the book, I found myself positively inspired by the clever uses for things I’d never have thought to use. Apple cores to make syrup for pancakes? Outrageous at first, but after reading further, it sounds delicious. I am also now obsessed with the broccoli stem ricotta toasts and the cheddar nub pub cheese.

Cooking With Scraps is veggie focused, but it’s not a vegetarian book, nor is it just 80 variations on vegetable soups. Many of the recipes are as inventive and exciting as you’d find in any other inspired cookbook, but they’ve got the added benefit of leaving you feeling responsible. By cooking with scraps you’re not only making an eco-friendly decision, but a wallet-friendly decision as well. You’re making the veggies you buy stretch farther. Waste less, spend less.

Cooking With Scraps hits shelves on October 30 and is absolutely worth picking up if you’re looking to reduce your food waste and enjoy tasty results.

Thank you to Workman Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Workman Publishing Group for a copy of Cooking With Scraps for review.
Such an interesting concept and very well thought out! A great way to use more of each part of the vegetable and to reduce the amount you throw out.

I really enjoyed this book! The author's attitude of 'here's a recipe, but it's totally adjustable' mirrors my own cooking style, and her encouragement that it's okay to just reduce food waste instead feeling guilt if you fail to completely eliminate all waste was very helpful.

Quite a few of the recipes were not applicable to me, either because I don't often use the ingredient in question, or because I already break the 'rules' and use the odd bits along with the main part of the ingredient (like chopping up the stems of greens and sauteing them right along with the leaves). Even a lot of those though, gave me ideas of what CAN be used from a food and what kinds of things could be done, whether I use the exact recipe or not.

I did try the Beet Peel Margarita, which was fine, and might have even been amazing if I were a bigger fan of margaritas in general. I also made the Pumpkin Guts Scones which were a huge hit and I will be making again for sure. (This recipe also inspired me to use cantaloupe guts, and found a recipe online for cantaloupe bread where I replaced the cantaloupe puree with the 'guts'.)

I'd recommend this to anyone who cooks with a lot of fresh ingredients and either is bothered by food waste or just enjoys the creativity of using unusual odds and ends.

I really like the idea of this book – finding interesting recipes to use up the bits and bobs left over when preparing a meal: the peelings, the stems and seeds of vegetables; the bones from a roast; ends of cheeses; last dribbles from jars – the list goes on. The book is intended more as a reference book than a normal cookbook – you consult it when you have some scraps you are uncertain what to do with, so the recipes are ordered by type of scrap.
Following a short introduction to the author and why she is interested in cooking with scraps, there is a quick chapter on how to store vegetables to preserve freshness, and freezing, composting and a list of equipment needed for the recipes – and then it is straight into the recipes.
I do generally try to use up leftovers, and have long kept a bag of scrap vegetable and herb bits in the fridge for use in stocks, as is suggested in the book. Since being introduced to Portuguese cuisine, I have regularly used radish and turnip leaves in my cooking, and added stale bread to soups. From childhood, I have considered chard stems to be as much a foodstuff as the leaves, and the green parts of leeks (and was amazed that anyone would think of them as scrap). So, these uses were not new to me. However, there was quite a bit that was.
The two things that stood out for me, were the recipes for carrot tops, and the recipes for aquafaba. I seldom get to buy carrot with fresh leaves intact, so had not really thought about what to do with them before. I made the ‘Carrot Top Pesto’ for use on pasta, which was nice, but not spectacular. Aquafaba I had never heard of before. It is the left-over cooking water (or tin water) from beans and chickpeas, which is whipped up into a stiff froth to use as you would egg white – a perfect ingredient for vegans. I made the ‘Fudgy Aquafaba Brownies’, using chickpea water, and was so surprised that the recipe actually worked. The resultant brownies were excellent. A warning though – it takes ages and ages of whipping. Do not even think of trying to make aquafaba if you have only a hand-beater – even with an electric cake mixer/beater it took 10 – 15 minutes. So, the bit of the planet you save by using up scraps, you then destroy by excessive electricity usage.
Some of the recipes did not appeal. I only have over ripe bananas if I am making a banana cake. So, then using the left-over skins to make another banana cake seems a bit pointless – but nice to know they can be eaten if you are desperate. Using peanut shells for flavouring cheese seemed to be taking using scraps a bit far. And I am too lazy to use squash and melon seeds for anything – I like the outer casings to have been removed first.
I did really like the ‘Kale Stem Hummus’, the ‘Charred Asparagus end Pesto’ and the ‘White Bean and Cauliflower Core Puree’, and will continue to use the recipes for cauli and broccoli stalks. Once our tomatoes have stopped ripening, I want to make the ‘Black bean and Green Tomato Salsa’.
The recipes are designed to provide ideas about the possibilities for using up scraps, and are not instructions set in stone. As such, the book works very well. The recipes are probably not going to become new favourites, but the concepts will expand your culinary knowledge, give you a greater appreciation of the whole of foodstuff, and hopefully lead to reduced waste in the kitchen.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I hate to waste food and Cooking with Scraps made me realize how much I have been wasting. I love cooking with beet greens, but who knew that carrot tops were edible, or what I could do with them? I will find this especially helpful when it comes to my garden. I will be able to double or triple the amount of foodstuffs I have been harvesting from my garden.

I have to admit--I am a big food waster. From tossing leftovers that have been forgotten in the fridge to throwing out all sorts of odds and ends when cooking, my consumption style would have Lindsay-Jean Hard shaking her head in dismay. Her approach, to let no ingredient go to waste, is admirable. It takes knowledge, ambition, and ingenuity. Lindsay-Jean Hard takes the mystery out of how to use up those beet greens and banana peels and dishes out some elegant recipes in the process.

The recipes, ranging from Danish Pancakes with Apple Core Syrup to Leek Top Cacio e Pepe are fun, gourmet, and very cook-able. She finds ways to incorporate little bits of leftover into recipes that you've probably already tried, with a twist of course. I was most impressed with a genius recipe for a banana cake that involves blending in the entire banana peel (!!). That's just one example of Ms. Hard's knack for thinking up recipes that make you say "Why didn't I think of that?" The recipes range from entrees to salads to side dishes to basics. There's even a fun little section on adding leftovers to alcohol, leading to some beautiful cocktail ideas. Each recipe is an opportunity to learn a new tip or trick that will make you view your ingredients differently next time you go to cook.

The book itself smartly reflects the theme, with simple layouts, little splashes of color, and muted tones. It's organized by ingredient, not my preferred way of organizing cookbooks. The writing is straight and to-the-point with lots of helpful tips in the blurbs before each recipe. While none of this is particularly memorable, the basic premise of the cookbook really shines on its own.

I'm already planning on purchasing this book for my mother-in-law who shares my interest in creative waste-free cooking. For anyone who has wondered if they could do anything with the ends of their asparagus or their apple peels or even the liquid you drain out of your canned beans, this is the cookbook for you.

Overall, this was a worthwhile read. I was anticipating the scraps to play more of a starring role in the recipes, but was not disappointed with the supporting role that scraps played in most of the recipes.
The instructions were simple and easy to follow. The recipes could be made with implements and small appliances typical to most homes. Photos accompanied recipes and the food looked delicious and appealing. I wouldn't hesitate to try any of these ideas for using up parts that usually get thrown away.
I voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley and I offer my honest opinion in response.

Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, Stems, and Other Odds and Ends into Delicious Meals by Lindsay-Jean Hard is currently scheduled for release on October 16 2018. Do you want to stop throwing away food scraps or composting them? Well, you can start enjoying some of them on your table! This book is a collection of 80 surprising, creative, delicious recipes for anyone who wants to cook smart, sustainable, and impressive meals out of unused bits of produce, cheese rinds, stale bread, and other oft-discarded foods.

Cooking With Scraps is a well written and forgiving cookbook. I like that it opens with the idea that no recipe or person is perfect, or unchangeable. Doing the best we can in our shopping and cooking is the goal. I found the recipes to be well organized, in alphabetical order by the type of food you are using in the process. This makes finding a recipe to deal with a specific type of scrap easier. I like that there are alternatives and further suggestions for foods that can be used recipes as applicable. There are also some hints and tricks included through the book, some of which will be helpful to new cooks, and others that will be useful to everyone. Some I found to be common sense, but I also grew up in a household that saved everything, canned, and scrimped much more than I currently do. The instructions and ingredient lists are well written and clear, letting even new cooks keep up and find success in their cooking. While many of the recipes are thing that would not be well received in my house, there were some idea that I will be using and some changed I will be making to my cooking and baking habits. I found the read to be interesting, inspiring, and important to those that will make the effort to create as little waste as possible.

Cooking With Scraps is a valuable cookbook for those looking to save money and resources, while willing to put in the necessary planning and work. I found it interesting, and it helped me plan my meals with the idea of limiting the waste I produce.

Ever since I moved to Boston, where composting does not seem to be as important as in Seattle (in Seattle, it is illegal to put food scraps in the trash), I’ve struggled with guilt about how much garbage I generate. Enter the book Cooking With Scraps! This treasure contains all sorts of ways to use those bits and bobs that will otherwise go to waste. From the expected categories like vinegar and alcohol infusions to surprises like Zucchini Stem Pizza and Herb Stem Dressing, there are many ways to cut down on your food waste. I already collect my cheese rinds in the freezer to flavor stock, but now I’ll also be collecting stone fruit pits. And I had no idea that the seeds of melons could be roasted like you do for pumpkin seeds!

I am excited and inspired by all the ideas here. I hope other folks also find ways to reduce their food waste.

I thought the idea was great but I wasn't able to download the book unfortunately. I love the idea of not wasting food and cooking with scraps. I look forward to renting it on kindle when it comes out. 4/5.

Loved every bit of this book. It reminds us that a great cook can make a fantastic meal or dinner party out of what we have on hand and not to let one bit of it go to waste.

A really interesting cookery book, and very different to anything else I have seen recently. I actually learnt something by reading it... did you know what aquafaba was before this?!
One of my favourite things about the book is that EVERY recipe has a photograph. I hate trying to make something without an idea of what I am aiming for and the photos in this book are really inspiring.
To be really honest, cooking for two people in a mediterranean climate, we don't get a lot of leftovers or 'scraps', however there were some really good ideas in the book that I will definitely try out, and I particularly liked the conversation entries to each recipe that I wanted to read even if I knew I wasn't;t ever going to make use of the recipe itself!
A couple of things I was less keen on: the measurements using cups put me off. I don't have a measuring cup... how big is a cup anyway? Some recipes sounded great but would totally defeat the aim of the book which is to use up scraps. I would have had to buy every other ingredient in the list to make it. Spain is not so forward with the Asian cookery and getting hold some of the ingredients is very difficult if not at times impossible.
I would recommend the book to the right person, but it might not be quite appropriate for our readers.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to preview this book. This is a fun cookbook for all of those scraps you have leftover and feel guilty about throwing away! Sounds delicious!

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cooking with Scraps is a cookbook written in reference to the zero waste movement. The recipes all utilize various odds and ends leftover from other cooking ventures - e.g., apple cores or peels. The book is beautifully photographed and a pleasure to look at. However, while the zero waste concept is great and worth spreading further, it seemed to me that many recipes actually call for many additional ingredients one might not have ready at hand, thus calling zero waste tenets into doubt.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book via Netgalley!

Beautiful book: gorgeous illustrations, nice and easy ideas for good and healthy meals.
Like a mother of two kids, i like to cook, and enjoy it, but i like to spend less time in the kitchen as well.

You don’t need to go to Pinterest for ideas, this book is full of very good and interesting ideas.
I recommend this one to everybody who like to cook and to eat healthy meals

I definitely wanted to read COOKING WITH SCRAPS, both for the beautiful cover but also for the concept of using all parts of food in cooking. Author Lindsay-Jean Hard, whose ideas for this book came from her Food52 column, offers 85 delicious recipes to turn peels, rinds, stems, and cores into tasty dishes. Carrot greens, for example, can make a great pesto, while broccoli stems can taste yummy when olive-oil poached on lemony ricotta toast. COOKING WITH SCRAPS turns food products you might discard into something completely delectable. Highly recommended!

Pub Date 16 Oct 2018

Thanks to Workman Publishing Company and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#CookingWithScraps #NetGalley

So, I own chickens. My food scraps have been claimed with a name marked on every peel and stem... but this cook book might be leveling the playing field. I found myself going over the pages and thinking, " A what? How can that be?!" and then being so excited to try some of the recipes. I also really, really appreciate the Japanese influence that she brings to the table. I lived in Japan for a few years and I love, love the food and culture. So, yes. I did receive this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review... but I'm going to need to really purchase this book when it comes out, BECAUSE it looks so good that I want a physical copy.

Shoot!

(In case you missed it above, I did receive a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.)