The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z

"Yes. Similar to Pulp , it’s a great reference book. She has ideas for what to do with everything you have hanging around in your kitchen. She calls the book “a compendium of what to do with what you have.” That’s exactly what it is. You can page through and find ideas for every part of the potato or every variation on the potato—whether you have mash, whether you have this or that—and it makes you think twice before you toss the last bit of anything left in a jar. Finish a jar of pickles? There’s the brine. What do you do with the brine? It’s easy enough to just pour it down the drain, right? The juice from a can of tomatoes is great for soups; it’s great for braises. Food waste is a big topic right now, and it can feel, on a large scale, very daunting. To know that there are things you can do in your own kitchen to tackle this yourself and make a meaningful impact in your own way is really empowering. “There is so much to learn from people who learn from their parents or their grandparents, who make the most of what they have at home” I think it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole and drive yourself crazy trying to use everything. I don’t think Adler wants you to do that; I think she wants you to take even just small steps to rethink leftovers. So much cuisine around the world is based on scraps or random odds and ends, and we’ve lost that way of thinking, in some ways. We ran a recipe called Any Vegetable Minestra from this book. It is a very adaptable soup recipe: you use any liquid you have, any vegetables, any beans or starch. It’s all these disparate things that come together. You can flavor it however you want, and it’s just so smart. People need to be flexible with what they use, and I think this helps a lot. Adler has a lyrical way of writing that is also very practical. It’s a very engaging read. This is one that my colleague Ann Maloney recommended. I read her copy of the book, and it’s full of bookmarks, which is a really good sign. I think this is one you’ll keep on the shelf and pull out all the time."