[i.e. the years I lived as a dumpster diver in NYC]
A couple months ago I collected many books from the dumpsters at Columbia and NYU. The other day I finally got around to posting a couple on Amazon, not really expecting them to sell given a presumed summertime lull in textbook sales. Lo and and behold, I am now $140 wealthier! And two more people can gain knowledge (or not, based on how pristine these books were) from the pages of those trees.
Aren't trees and trash generous!!
Quaker instant oatmeal, Irish steel cut oatmeal, Fruit Loops cereal straws, cream of wheat, grits, toasted cream of wheat, Bran Flakes, Curves cereal, All Bran, Pop Tarts, and Kern's apricot juice.
Every market in the city seemed to have these out that night. Dumplings, soba, quinoa, lentils, and so much more.
To make cauliflower whisk together olive oil, salt, pepper, curry powder, coriander....and guava paste. Spread florets on baking sheet, coat them in the dressing, and roast at 400º for 25 minutes.
I also came across 8 bananas. So I used 6 of them along with 6 of the now 51 eggs and mixed them with flour, sugar, and pecans from NYU, butter from Columbia, salt, baking soda and powder. Three loaves into the freezer for craft services!
I found 5 dozen eggs, 3 red peppers, 1 zucchini, 4 tomatoes, and a head of broccoli. Sophia had previously found a box of pie crust and put them in her freezer. Combined with some spices and milk (and only 9 of the 60 eggs), I made three delicious quiches and froze them to serve to our cast and crew on set next week.
Gleaned from only a small portion of EC and River (and pictured is less than half of my bounty alone): fully functional printer/scanner, iron, fan, heater, flat screen television, bluetooth mouse, detergent, fabric softener, pots and pans, sealed cereal, pasta, sauces, popcorn, granola, oil, sugar, grains, tea, coffee, canned goods....canned goods! I'm amazed that despite years of indoctrination through canned food drives, students can still throw out canned goods. Furthermore, although book drive boxes were conveniently placed in the lobby of each building, hundreds of books remained trashed. If even these kids can't get it right even under these circumstances...eeesh. Nevertheless I'll begrudgingly reap the benefits!
artichokes (!), heirloom tomatoes, corn, eggplants, limes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, spinach, yellow squash, cucumbers, ginger, vegetable stir fry, croissant, muffins, scones, artisan bread.
I coralled some friends and whipped up many of the veggies from our rainy day treasures into a hearty ratatouille. Then we roasted the beets, broccoli, and yam for soup. We pureed them along with some turkey broth that I had made from a carcass and frozen. We also made risotto with the scallions, some leftover wine, and arborrio rice I had lying around. Peppered with giggles and cheer, we had quite the repast.
Fancy people enjoy wine and hors d'ouevres, so that's what they serve at fancy clan gatherings. Feign interest in 19th c. scagliola tabletops, and get yourself to that gallery opening. Plus it never hurts to brush up on the parlance of the intelligentsia.
grapefruits, carrots, scallions, apples, parsley, mushrooms, cucumbers, thyme, pears.
In preparation for my picnic this weekend, I went on a food run at Gristedes. Freegan findings: 4 cartons of spinach, 3 boxes meatless buffalo wings, 2 boxes meatless chicken wings, 4 red bell peppers, 2 green bell peppers, 2 apples, 1 pear, 3 bananas, 2 carrots, 1 cucumber, 1 head of lettuce, 2 bags chips, 1 bag of pretzels, and 2 cylinders of biscuit dough. And with the generous aid of some condiments, I had a picnic.
Ever had an open bottle of wine that's just a couple days past its prime? It makes pleasant yumminess in pasta sauce or soup. I found a masive sack of onions in the trash after I purchased some stuff at Gristedes today, so I decided to make French onion soup. I sauteed a whole pile of sliced onions in olive oil and butter for 20 min, deglazed the pan with a little vermouth, cooked 5 min more, added the rest of the bottle of wine along with some parmesan rind my friend had saved for such an occasion, simmered 15 min more, added 8 cups water and some bouillon, then salt, pepper, and rosemary, and simmered another 10 min or so.
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/4107887] I'd like to introduce to you what was probably my best mid-study internet procrastination discovery of 2005. It is called Hospitality Club (there is also a similar organization called Couchsurfing). It's an online network for travelers who want free accomodation (and great experiences) while traveling, and when not abroad, want to offer free accomodation (and great experiences) to travelers. You just sign up for free and make a profile sprinkled with all of your most intriguing hobbies, languages proficiency, location, and whether or not you're willing or able to provide accommodation, meet up for coffee, answer questions, or show people around. Once you've been approved as a member, you can browse the other members from whichever country you plan to travel to. It's a really great way to save money, meet people, and engage in cultural exchange. Hosting is a great way to pay it forward for your future travels. It's mostly young backpackers on round-the-world tickets or finishing study abroad, but one time I had an entire family from Poland stay with me. They wanted their children to see the world, and that was the way they could afford to do it. One guy even traveled for an entire year straight, couchsurfing every night. Being a guest has the obvious financial incentive of not having to pay for a hotel (in addition to a bed you often also get internet, access to a kitchen, sometimes laundry, and so on), but it also offers a way to get to know expats who know the lay of the land or locals who wold otherwise be more difficult to meet if you're staying in a hotel. My most remarkable traveling moments have arisen from simple circumstances turned extradinary through human interaction in magical and mysterious new settings, not from touring musems or landmarks. Join!
Dumpster treasure from last night: 2 gallons of milk, a container of trail mix, almonds, kale, 13 apples, 11 tomotoes, 2 packages of tofu, and 3 green peppers. Again, this was from 3 trash bags outside of one Gristedes. The milk doesn't expire until April 21, but the neck of the bottle had been slightly bent so it was thrown out. I made the milk and tomatoes into tomato bisque. I also used the milk along with freegan bread that I had frozen a few months ago and eggs and cheese to make my delicious Easter egg puff. Then I made an applie pie out of the apples.
After a weekend of chip dipping, cheek squeezing, potato peeling, and picture taking in a place where no one in your party lives (say, this rented house in Napa), a lot of food will have been devoured. In expectation of gluttony, the organizers that be are likely to have over-purchased, and in a hurry to vacate much of that surplus will be tossed. Don't let it happen! Fill ziplocs with ice (yet another gift as long as you reuse the bags) and pack it all up for safe transport.
I picked up this produce from the trash bags outside Gristedes. During a friend's dinner party, I popped down to the store around 9:30pm and picked up the veggies shown above, in addition to a bag of potatoes, another zucchini, more sweet potatoes, a spaghetti squash, apples, carrots, and of course the requisite bagels and bread. It took about 5 minutes and I only looked through 2 bags, and even left much of what was in those bags behind because I couldn't carry it all. Multiply that by every other bag there, and then by every supermarket in the city, and then by every day of the year, and you're talking about a ton of food going to waste.
For the top dish, my friend and I mixed in some coconut milk, shellfish sauce that I had frozen from Momofuku leftovers, spices, and made some rice. We mixed the beets with crumbled feta and leftover salad. Note: I dove for these vegetables and then threw them in the crisper. These pictures were taken 10 days later when I got around to cooking them. So not only is the produce from the trash good enough to eat that day, it's still in fine form long after.
