Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

To me, throwing away produce feels worse than losing a $20 bill. The produce was purchased with such good intention. It sat in the fridge or on the counter staring at me until it was too sickly, wrinkly or tired to consume. I hate that. Like all of you, my days and nights are full. Full to the top and bottom with time consuming activities. So, it happens, things go bad and end up in the trash. This tale however is a tale of crisis averted. I realized all at once that the over abundance of tomatoes and peppers that I had cleverly stashed in the fridge and on the counter were in the danger zone. There were SO many. How did we get this many and why were they all going bad at the same time? This was no time to point fingers so I turned on the oven and got to work.

I covered a  sheet pan with foil and started chopping up anything and everything I could find. I chopped wrinkly peppers,  tired tomatoes and garlic that had grown appendages. I piled everything onto the pan, spritzed them with cooking spray, garlic powder and black pepper and a dash of optimism. I put them in a 350 degree oven and decided that either way, I had done my best to save this abundance of pathetic produce.

I let them cook until they were  juicy and roasted. I let everything cool on the pan then threw them in the food processor and pulsed until I had a  chunky pasta sauce. One thing I learned is that you do not need to use  oil (as I had always believed) to roast garlic. I just took a few cloves unpeeled out of the bulb and threw them on the roasting tray with everything else. After they were roasted and  cool, I cut the tip off of the clove and peeled the little husk layer off to find a perfectly roasted clove of garlic sans oil.

So here is the life benefitting aha moment part. A day or so later we were caught up in the hurry of everyday things and needed to eat on the fly.

I boiled some pasta, and heated this crazy looking (because of all the different colors of veggies in it) pasta sauce, threw in some nutritional yeast, topped with the fresh herbs we have left in the garden and had a beautiful plate of food in no time. Having the sauce from the nearly wasted veggies saved me from using a jar of sauce that someone else made with a ton of sodium and not a ton of love.

So, if you have veggies coming out of your garden, hiding in every crisper drawer and on every inch of your counter top like we usually do….fear not. Throw them in the oven and make a marinara, or a soup or chili base. You will be so glad that you did. I am going to over buy this week just so I can do it again. Just kidding. Do you have a clever way to avoid wasting food? Please share.

Local Giveaway

It is an entirely vegan Fall Harvest festivus to benefit the Dearborn Animal Shelter. Last year we ate (and drank) ourselves silly. I would love for you to join us. You don’t have to hang with us, but I would love to say hi. Dress is casual and we are going to have a ball.  There will be  prizes, take home recipes and a compassionate feast. If you know someone that would like to join us, send them Exploits way so they can enter.

No Beast Feast will be at: Park Place Caterers

23400 Park Street, Dearborn MI.

When: Friday Sept. 16th 6PM-10PM

How do I win?: Share with me why you would love to join us by

1. Commenting through the blog

2. Email me at sherry@exploitsofaveganwannabe.com

3. On Facebook at Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

4. Via Twitter

Contest will run from now until Saturday Sept. 10th. I will pool all of your comments, draw randomly and announce the winner on Meatless Monday September 12th. Your tickets will be waiting for you at the door Friday night!

Interested in attending but don’t care about winning?  You may purchase your tickets HERE. They are $45 in advance and include all food, beer, wine and vegan awesomeness.

Have a delicious day.

Tags: compassionate eating, dairy free, going veg, marinara sauce, No Beast Feast, pasta sauce, plant based diet, plant strong, trying vegan, vegan experience, vegan wannabe, vegetarian transition