This creative cookbook is great for general collections. It will find use as a standard cookbook, but also as a resource for reducing food waste and making better use of one's resources.

Cooking with Scraps gives ideas for using the "leftovers" of foods that would otherwise be thrown away. I really, really like the concept but will admit that I'm not so great at doing it in practice. I love that the book gives inspiration for different ideas so I'm not just doing my normal, which was throwing everything into a ziplock bag in the freezer until I had enough (both parts and time) to make a stock.

I liked the idea of this more than I actually liked reading it I think. I'm not sure what I expected, but there weren't many recipes I would make and actually want to eat unfortunately.

"Cooking with Scraps" ties into both sustainability and creativity in the kitchen. It could not be more timely. Although I tend to be an "armchair cookbook enthusiast,: rather than an actual frequent recipe adopter, I think there was much to learn and enjoy here. The economy and flexibility of the area of cooking is a wonderful topic and I will enjoy dipping into this book again and again for ideas. Recommended to all who enjoy cooking or cooking challenges.

My only complaint about this cookbook is that I don't really consider a lot of the materials scraps. I already would use broccoli stems and cauliflower stems when I'm cutting up the whole head. But I recognize that a lot of people probably dont!

My favorite recipes were by far the really out there ones, using up apple cores, or banana peels or coffee grounds. I have some ideas now to try to stretch my fruits and vegetables just a bit further.

This is a gorgeous book. So many different recipes and in no way did it feel like scraps. Using things that you may not have thought of using (beet tops, cilantro stems for instance), and making sumptuous food. Beautiful photographs along with the recipes, a gorgeous addition to any cooking library. My only complaint, wish there was more!

I was intrigued enough with this book that when the digital ARC was deleted from my reader before I finished it, I ordered it through inter-library loan so that I could finish it.

There were things I really liked about the book (color photos, lots of unique suggestions for lots of food scraps, a philosophy I agree with...) but it also fell short a bit for me. Each ingredient has a 2 or 3 recipes to use it, like apple peel syrup (one that I do plan on trying). Some of the ingredients weren't ones that I'd necessarily use or use in the ways the author suggested. For instance, she has recipes for aquafaba (the water poured off of garbanzo beans). Aquafaba is famous as a vegan egg or whipped cream substitute, but she features a brownie recipe for it and doesn't go into how to use it in vegan applications. This seemed like an odd missed opportunity, as I think most of us who aren't vegan or have egg or dairy allergies would probably just pour out the liquid as it's got no real nutrition and may contain BHA (cans are usually lined with this toxin), salt and the phytates (anti-nutrients) from the bean soaking liquid. I would have liked a lot more focus on a general how-to for each thing instead of just a couple of specific recipes.

I do cook with scraps all of the time, but the author uses them in different ways than I do. I was surprised that she doesn't use scraps for a lot of the things that are common sense to me. I also don't think she mentioned that you should not use peels of non-organic produce for cooking as you're basically just eating pesticides. I save organic peels and scraps to make vegetable broth in a stock bag in the freezer, for instance, but if I have non-organic potato peels those just go in the compost. Otherwise you're kind of making pesticide broth, you know?

Also, many of the recipes just didn't strike me as particularly appealing (no pun intended).

This is a cool book and I do recommend it. It just wasn't a perfect fit for me.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, before I found the opportunity to review it, this book was archived Obviously, I can't rate it.

Fun book. It was a pleasure to read. .

It's very refreshing seeing someone thinking outside the box. Wonderful book with very useful lessons and delicious recipes. A must read for young cooks!

This cook book has such a great concept. I find most cookbooks are similar these days. This one gave my family new ways to use our leftovers etc that made them an exciting new meal vs. the always dreaded leftovers. This cook book goes beyond casseroles.

This book is absolutely wonderful and so so important in this day and age. The author is extremely knowledgeable, and her ideas are great. My favorite parts are the "clean out the crisper" sections. This book is perfect for those who are environmentally conscious and concerned about food waste, but also those who are trying to save money on food (like me) and don't want any of it to go to waste.

Before I start the review, I just wanted to mention that I received a digital copy of this book before it's publication day for the purpose of reviewing it. 
Because of that I did not receive the final draft and is rather a copy to serve as a tool for reviewers.

Since I didn't have the final draft of this book, I am not aware if any formatting problems are still in the book. The copy I received had a poor layout and was hard to read. I'm aware that this could have been resolved before the final publication of this book, but I still wanted to mention that I had encountered that problem with my copy.

As far as the content, the book is great! With 80 recipes to choose from, there is so much variety that it makes this book a nice resource to have at home.

Description by the Publisher:
"Here’s how to put those seeds, stems, tops, rinds to good use for more delicious (and more frugal) cooking: Carrot greens—bright, fresh, and packed with flavor—make a zesty pesto. Water from canned beans behaves just like egg whites, perfect for vegan mayonnaise that even non-vegans will love. And serve broccoli stems olive-oil poached on lemony ricotta toast. It’s pure food genius, all the while critically reducing waste one dish at a time.

“I love this book because the recipes matter...show[ing] us how to utilize the whole plant, to the betterment of our palate, our pocketbook, and our place.” —Eugenia Bone, author of The Kitchen Ecosystem 

“Packed with smart, approachable recipes for beautiful food made with ingredients that you used to throw in the compost bin!” —Cara Mangini, author of The Vegetable Butcher "



Personally, I love that idea of no-waste. Or at least as little as possible, so I was very excited to read this book. 
In all honesty, the content book did not disappoint me, it even has a recipe for banana peel cake. BANANA PEEL!! That was definitely something I have always thrown away without even thinking twice. And now I have learned that they can be used to make a cake, I was completely surprised.

I am not new to the concept of using fruit peels, but I have to admit that banana peels where never under my radar as an ingredient for anything. I have used lemon and orange peels to give flavor to many recipes, but this is something completely new to me.

Another nice recipe is the "Pumpkin gut scones". Previously I would have roasted the pumpkin seeds, but now I have another way to reuse the inside of the pumpkin. And I just love to have a variety of options to choose from.

This book contains so many creative ways to reuse food scraps, that even if you don't like all of them, I'm sure you will find something that will be to your taste and will fill your needs based on the ingredients you already use. 

I'm surprised that the author didn't rounded up the recipe count to 100, as it is so close already, and that would have made for a great number. Can you imagine? 100 ways to cook with scraps.
But 80 ways is still plenty, so I'm not complaining at all, just sharing my thoughts. 

With these many possibilities to choose from, this will be a very useful reference and guide to help you use your ingredients to their maximum potential. So many ideas to try, and so many experiments that are born of those recipes, which already gave me the inspiration to try my own approach to this wonderful concept of utilizing the scraps. 

I would even go beyond and utilize it with other cooking books, and my weekly meal planning for best results. Think of recipes that use the ingredients that are mentioned in this one, and have a rounded plan to use scraps and not scraps.

In conclusion, I believe this book is a great addition to anyone's recipe book collection. I would definitely recommend it to friends and family.

If you wish to get yourself a copy you can find it here:

I requested and was granted an advance copy of this book ages before the publication date but unfortunately I did not get around to paying specific attention till I saw that my time was almost over and my last download of the copy was expiring! 

I wish I had had more time with it but I did get sufficient time to read through it once. It is a pretty inspiring title. It is not just for those experimental chefs but also those who are environmentally conscious. There are so many suggestions right now on what we can do with our waste in the news, on popular media as well as in many discussion forums. This books gives detailed information on how to tackle the leftover parts of the fruit,veg and even meat (for those who eat it) and combine it with a few normal ingredients to make interesting food. I did not try any of them, but they looked easy enough and there is just the right amount of background information to make reading the book interesting. 

For those inclined in trying out something different this holidays, this is a book that might give you food for thought as well as the stomach (now that cannot be an original statement but it sounds about right).

Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard teaches cooks to take the normally discarded parts of foods and turn them into delicious meals. Many of the items will be familiar to extra thrifty cooks. I commonly use my homemade bread ends or bread that did not turn out just right to make bread crumbs or croutons. Apple peel/core jelly is a favorite at my house, and no good southerner would consider turnip greens to be scraps. Even I learned some new things. I never would have imagined making a cake with banana peels. It is an interesting cookbook for those wishing to make the most of what they have.

Timely!

Ok so this is a Who's Who of leftover scraps alphabetically arranged.
If you're like me there's always leftovers. Particularly as I'm now mainly cooking for two as all others have well and truly flown the nest (except for the grandies). I hate waste!
Also my answer to everything is making soup.
Hard gives some interesting alternatives. Unfortunately I'd have to add ingredients to my stores that I don't keep, and that is wasteful for me.
I must say though that colors and layout for this cookbook are capital 'V' Vibrant!
This will make a very relevant and timely addition to any cookbook collection for those who really want to follow through to the nth degree of conserving all foodstuffs.

A NetGalley ARC

I am always looking for more uses for my scraps these days. I have a compost at my inlaws house, but I can't always get to it on a regular basis. I also make all of my own vegetable broth with veggie scraps, but I wanted more ideas. So I was pretty excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. 

And I definitely got some ideas from this book! One thing I took away was the idea of infusing alcohol with different scraps, which can then be used for cocktails or cooking. I also liked the authors ideas for using banana peels for cakes and other sweet dishes.

There were plenty of other ideas in the book that I'm excited to try. Some of them include "Kale Stem Hummus" and the "Charred Asparagus end Pesto". 

I am definitely going to be buying this book someday, and I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

So happy i found this book on the shelves at my library! I really wanted to take a look at it! It did not disappoint. Lindsay-Jean Hard is indeed a thrifty cook. I loved her ideas and will be incorporating many of her ideas into my cooking. Excellent book!

A great cookbook for those looking to create less food waste. Suggested for any library with a cookbook collection or even gardening, for those looking to use what they grow in the kitchen more successfully.

If you're like me and wondering how to be more eco friendly and less wasteful in life, then this book is for both of us. When I saw it, I thought, wow what an interesting recipe book. Inside, however, is so much more. Between the colourful and crystal clear pictures, and the imaginative recipes, are heartwarming family stories. This book is an absolute joy to read, and I really felt good when I was finished. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.



This book just seems like such a good idea, I couldn't pass it up. It teaches you not only what ingredients are important for each of the recipes, but also how to store your food longer, and how to compost, which let's admit, I had no clue about starting. It has some really interesting tips in it that I'd love to try out for myself, for instance, did you know that celery stays fresh longer when stored in aluminum foil, and while the foil itself isn't eco friendly, you can get many uses out of it before recycling it? Also, that onions are best stored tied up in the legs of pantyhose hanging in a dark closet?



Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, and the recipes while a little strange are really interesting and look delicious in the pictures. I'm excited to try some of them out, some that really seemed to jump out to me were banana peel cake with peanut butter frosting, bacon tomato jam, and tomato skin salt, which is crazy to me because I didn't know making your own flavoured salt was a thing people do. It sounds awesome. This book really got me hooked from the moment I saw it, and the cover, like the book, is really simplistic and beautiful. I hope that the author writes more books like this.

Thanks for reading!
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