Make Haste Don’t Waste!

Overabundance Dilemma

Fridges overflowing with to-go boxes, hiding behind fresh produce that has already begun to fuzz over with mold. When it comes time to clean out the fridge, the old is replaced with the new. Garbage piles up from the to-go boxes, half-curdled milk, and ground beef gone bad. You think to yourself, “Well it’s out of my control”, but is it? With the overabundance of food comes the overabundance of food waste.

Historically Speaking

In the United States alone, 330 million pounds of food is thrown away daily and still, people are starving. Unfortunately, there is no universal solution to food waste, it is a modern-day problem. To solve this we must think historically. The Native American principle, “Only take what you need based” is now too often overlooked by our society, but not by Chef Becky. From her Blackfoot Cherokee roots, she has learned how to preserve produce throughout the winter, use every part of the animal, and continue to give back to the environment. Chef asks us to shift our mindset of food from “easily disposable” to “sustainable and a source of nutrition”.

We should take from the earth with the intent to give back. Sustaining the cycle of life and prosperity through nutrition. By the end of each week potato skins, rotting tomatoes, fish skins, and half-eaten pastries spill over the once white slop bucket; waiting to be shipped off to the local farm by Chef Becky to fatten up tomorrow morning’s bacon. The Bacon Quiche and breakfast sandwiches we all love are part of the underlying cycle. Produce will inevitably biodegrade within our plastic cupboards, but we must think, “How can I utilize bad produce, instead of disposing of it?”

Adapting and Preserving 

Before the mass transportation of produce, growing seasons only lasted a few months and to preserve the summer crops native peoples created different techniques. Dried meat hung on ceilings, while maize was ground into powders. Pickling became popular in the Middle East around 2400 BC. Chef Becky likes to say, “You can pickle just about anything” and she’s right: eggs, onions, cucumbers. There’s no limit to what you can drown in vinegar. These methods increase the longevity of produce but simultaneously alter its taste and purpose. Chef Becky practices these techniques constantly within her dishes to emphasize food can be sustainable and still be delicious.