Cooking with Scraps

This is absolutely awesome! I was so excited to be granted access to the eARC that I sat down and read it immediately! I grew up with the "waste-not want-not" philosophy (my parents were children of the Great Depression), and I've always actively chosen root vegetables with tops at the farmers' market , as "two-for" vegetables, but had never thought about cooking the leek greens in anything except stock, or using pumpkin or cantaloupe "guts" (although I do roast most squash seeds). Many of these ideas are very easily incorporated in daily cooking. Some recipes are for "leftovers" we never have, like jam jar scrapings (could obviously use spoonfuls of the item in question) or cheese nubbins (we eat the entire thing, rind and all, if the rind is indeed edible; in the case of parmigiano, the rinds have always been saved for soup) but otherwise a very instructive cookbook. Beautifully illustrated as well! Many thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for access in return for an honest review.

Either you grew up cooking with the mantra of "waste not want not" and it's now simply a part of what you do. Or you didn't. Food waste in general and in home kitchens specifically has gained awareness in recent years. I love _Cooking with Scraps_ as it's the antithesis to the many didactic cookbooks begging for shelf space. I'm human and I'm imperfect. Yes, I want to reduce my waste for many reasons and I'm always looking for novel approaches to overcoming the inevitable cooking ruts. I like Hard's approach -- based on a range of experiences toward _mottainai_ [Japanese expression conveying a sense of regret over waste]. While zero waste is an ideal, _Cooking with Scraps_ is practical and understands that we're doing our best. Being empathetic toward reality helps makes it an enjoyable cookbook to read. Combined with the enticing and gorgeous photos, I find I want to make most everything!

What caught my eye? Two recipes definitely caught my eye in the "why didn't I think of that" category. It never dawned on me to create dried apple peel chips! I rarely peel apples because while they're nice for my compost bin I couldn't think of something to do with them. They will be a nice afternoon snack. While I often roast winter squash seeds, it never crossed my mind to do the same for cantaloupe. In addition to the expected ingredients, this cookbook shows how you can cook with more from your pantry. There are recipes for meats, cheeses, breads, stone fruits, infused liquors, and more found within the beautiful pages of _Cooking with Scraps_.