Jump to Recipe This chocolaty granola tastes not-too-sweet, has a nutty flavor and helps you use up ingredients you have on hand. No granola will go to waste—you’ll probably wish you’d made more—and those bits and pieces in the cupboard that found a home no longer risk going uneaten. Win-win! Homemade granola: Ultra-processed food (UPF) replacement Read this if you eat In his best-selling book, Ultra-Processed People, scientist, doctor and award-winning BBC broadcaster Chris van Tulleken explores the science and health impacts of UPFs, which make up as much as 60 percent of diets in the U ..read more

Jump to Recipe Early this year, while prepping for one of my use-it-up, stir fry workshops, I realized I had run out of toasted sesame oil. A small amount of this oil drizzled in a stir fry—and many other savory dishes—adds an inversely proportional wallop of nutty, savory, umami flavor. I didn’t want to go without it in the demo. But I also didn’t want to go to the store. So I quickly “made” delicious toasted sesame oil. Ingredients and tools You need only two ingredients—sesame seeds and oil. I almost always have both on hand—unless I’ve run out of these too! Buy raw white hulled sesame seed ..read more

Jump to Recipe Aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas, yields foolproof, egg-free mayonnaise and meringues and macaroons and lots of other stuff. But I cook dry chickpeas myself and so never have store-bought aquafaba on my hands. I prefer to cook dry beans to save money, to bypass the BPA (or BPS or BPF) in the plastic lining of cans—and to eat tastier beans. Making aquafaba from dried chickpeas does work but you have to play around with the chickpea-to-water ratio and cooking times to render a consistency similar to the gel in canned chickpeas. As with fermentation, be prepared for some ..read more

Make this garlic paste and you’ll conveniently have prepped garlic on hand at all times. Be your own sous chef! Plus you’ll benefit from a dose of good bacteria with every delectable spoonful. I’m very excited to post this recipe here. It comes from the 10th anniversary edition of the best-selling book, Fermented Vegetables, by Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey, two of the fermentation movement’s most respected teachers. This completely revised edition includes 65 creative new recipes, new techniques, profiles of producers from around the world, updated information in the exciting rea ..read more

All you need to start and nurture a lively sourdough starter culture are flour, water, time and a bit of know-how. In this Zoom class, I’ll show you how to start a starter culture—and how to keep it alive. Bring your questions and I’ll answer them after the demo. Class takes place on Thursday, April 25th, 4pm PT/7pm ET REGISTER Sourdough Starter Workshop Materials Tools Kitchen scale OR measuring cups and spoons A large jar for storing flour (4-cup size or larger) Small glass jar that holds 1 ½ to 2 cups or another container to store your starter in, preferably something wide-mouth and shallo ..read more

After heroically decluttering my fabric stash, I transformed abandoned jeans into a denim bag. I’m obsessed with making these—so fun and so quick! Sew one in the morning and fill it at the grocery store in the afternoon. The fairly self-explanatory (and numerous) pictures below outline the process, kind of like IKEA instructions for assembling a desk but less confusing (I hope). Step 1: Choose a suitable pair of old jeans for your denim bag Look for sturdy denim that isn’t one gust of wind away from disintegration. If the zipper has broken, remove that and sew the fly flap shut. (Or leave the ..read more

Jump to Recipe Make this banana coconut sourdough quick bread with either active sourdough starter or the discard left over from feedings. This recipe calls for both coconut oil and shredded coconut for double the coconutty goodness. Notes on ingredients Bananas Very ripe bananas with brown spots or almost completely brown skin taste very sweet and their soft flesh mashes up quickly and easily with a fork. You can sometimes pick up brown bananas at the grocery store for a discount—and reduce wasted food while saving money! If you end up buying an entire crate of discount ripe bananas—and real ..read more

Jump to Recipe This week, I made tasty nasturtium leaf pesto from plants that, during severe storms, grew almost completely across a heavily trafficked walkway. Before our feet could stomp the plants into mush, I wanted to bring the leaves into the kitchen to cook. I thought about prepping infused oil but have run low on olive oil. Infused vinegar would also be nice but generally, that calls for nasturtium flowers, which won’t appear until next month. And besides, I wanted instant gratification—oils and vinegars need time to infuse. Then, while reading The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One ..read more

Jump to Recipe If you keep oats in the pantry, with a decent blender or a food processor, you can also have oat flour on hand in less than five minutes. Buy one fewer staple at the store! Save money! Oat flour (left) and rolled oats (right) An oat-piphany Usually when I make nutloaf, I add breadcrumbs for a bit of filler. But the last time I made this dish, not until I had started cooking did I realize I had run out of breadcrumbs. I also didn’t have bread on hand to make breadcrumbs. As someone who avoids running to the store for one ingredient—especially when I need a mere cup of it—I looked ..read more

Jump to Recipe I’m loving my updated reading glasses prescription, am diverting my old frames from landfill and cleaning the new glasses with a homemade cleaner that costs almost nothing and works better than anything. Some medical necessities can be lower waste. How to keep used glasses (and swag) out of landfill 1. Donate the glasses I’m so grateful for my new glasses. I didn’t realize how badly I needed them. Life changing! When you donate your old glasses, you facilitate a similar change in someone’s life. Donated glasses must be in good condition—no missing parts, no loose, scratched or c ..read more