As a child there were always words and phrases that annoyed me and “waste not want not” was one of them. It is possibly because I didn’t understand what it meant or it could have been the tale-tale tone that was used when those words were spoken to me.
Now that I am an adult I more than understand this phrase each time I scrape food into the garbage. Each week I see more and more waste due to simple forgetfulness or lack of creativity.
I scold myself, “I should have put those the lemons in my water for added vitamin C and that delicious pork tenderloin could be transformed into a taco for my husband’s lunch. This wastefulness has to stop!”
Last week I attempted my first dessert from scratch and it turned out to be easy and delicious! I made a tiramisu to accompany a four-course meal. The recipe called for me to separate my eggs leaving six leftover egg whites. I also have half a tub of mascarpone cheese and about ten ladyfingers.
The eggs I dealt with first. I remember Alton Brown saying you could freeze them in ice cubes and drop them into a zip-top bag to use for anything from meringue to chocolate mousse. If you do not have ice cube trays, you can still freeze your egg whites in a container, just be sure to add a label for the number of egg whites in the container. If you want to use your eggs immediately, just keep them in the fridge and make a delicious egg white omelet or frittata for breakfast.
Using only leftovers here is what I created.
I started by drizzling chocolate sauce on the plate, adding ladyfingers to absorb the decadent chocolate. I added a layer of whipped cream so the berries would have something to adhere to. I sliced up the strawberries and dropped them on blueberries wherever they fell. Finally, I topped the berries with a bit of chocolate and more whipped cream.
It took less than five minutes to assemble this dessert and not only did it use leftovers, but it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!
I am sure you have other ideas for berries, even eating them on their own is divine. However, if you notice your berries are about to spoil, wash and freeze them. You can use them frozen for smoothies or if you gather enough berries save them for a pie or cobbler. The ladyfingers can be frozen, but when thawed they do not taste quite as good. You can also freeze the whipped cream.
I still have my mascarpone cheese. If I figure out what to do with that and will let you know.