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Zero-Waste Chef

  • ZWC Book

It’s a Book!

Posted on September 30, 2020August 30, 2023by Anne-Marie Bonneau

I’ve been working on this for a while! My book is now available.

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  • Zero-Waste Basics

How to Sew Produce Bags with Simple Tie Closures

Posted on November 14, 2024November 14, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
A filled white cloth produce bag is closed at the top with a blue tie. It sits on a dark wooden background.

These produce bags with simple tie closures are easy to sew, put a dent in your scrap fabric pile and keep plastic out of landfill.

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  • All Recipes

How to Make Concentrated Vegetable Base for Broth

Posted on September 11, 2024December 17, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
A stainless steel bowl of vegetable broth made from concentrated vegetables base. In the background are tablespoons of vegetable base on a silver cookie sheet.

Transform vegetables, especially those past their prime, into a concentrated base to use in place of store-bought broth or bouillon cubes.

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  • Garden

Out With the Concrete Pavers, In With the Plants

Posted on September 5, 2024September 5, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau

Even a small planting of natives can provide habitat for wildlife in crisis. Where concrete pavers once sat in our yard, flowers now bloom.

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  • Wasted Food

How to Revive Sad Vegetables Through Braising

Posted on August 27, 2024August 27, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
Braised cabbage cooking in a large, deep-sided, stainless steel skillet

Braising vegetables past their prime prevents not only vegetables from going to waste but also cooking liquids and whatever fat you have.

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  • Making

Easy Reusable Cloth Lunch Bag with a Flap Closure

Posted on August 15, 2024August 15, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
A homemade flat bottom lunch bag is packed for lunch

When you pack a lunch, you eat more food from home and waste less of it. Sew this reusable lunch bag from fabric scraps and rescue those too.

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  • Making

How to Organize a Sewing Bee to Reduce Plastic Produce Bags

Posted on August 6, 2024August 6, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau

Would you like to reduce plastic pollution in your community? Are you crafty? Consider organizing a sewing bee to sew cloth produce bags.

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  • All Recipes

How to Make Three-Ingredient Lemonade

Posted on July 16, 2024July 16, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
A large glass jar of lemonade with ice, lemon slices and mint. The jar sits on a wooden tabletop next to two fresh lemons..

Lemonade takes less time to make than schlepping to the store to buy it and tastes better than anything you’ll find there on the shelves.

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  • Zero-Waste Basics

A Recycling Professional Answers Your Trashy Questions

Posted on June 27, 2024June 27, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
baled cardboard at the recycling center

I asked my social media audience if they had questions for my daughter MK who works as a recycling coordinator. They had many!

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  • Zero-Waste Basics

7 Everyday Inexpensive Items That Simplify Your Life

Posted on June 20, 2024June 20, 2024by Anne-Marie Bonneau
four silver clothing hooks on a white wooden mount attached to the back of a white door

These 7 modest items will simplify your life, saving you time and money. You may own several already but have not put them to use.

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More bans please. Thailand is one of the top coun More bans please.

Thailand is one of the top countries to which Western countries export (read: dump) their plastic pollution. Some cities call this dumping "recycling." According to the Guardian article, between 2018 and 2021, Thailand imported plastic scraps weighing more than 1.1 million tonnes (British tonnes weigh 2240 pounds compared to the American ton of 2000 pounds...maybe the only thing that is smaller here...).

While campaigners say we need countries to agree on the global treaty to cut plastic pollution, this is a step in the right direction. 

#wastecolonialism #plasticpollution #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreelifestyle #consumerism #climatecrisis
This year, I plan to read more and to scroll less. This year, I plan to read more and to scroll less. I've almost finished Beaverland by @theleilaphilip. Beavers are amazing conservationists. 

From the back cover: "An intimate and revelatory dive into the world of the beaver—the wonderfully weird rodent that has surprisingly shaped American history and may save its ecological future. From award-winning writer Leila Philip, Beaverland is a masterful work of narrative science writing, a book that highlights, though history and contemporary storytelling, how this weird rodent plays an oversized role in American history and its future. She follows fur trappers who lead her through waist high water, fur traders and fur auctioneers, as well as wildlife managers, PETA activists, Native American environmental vigilantes, scientists, engineers, and the colorful group of activists known as 'beaver believers.'"

Five stars! (For the book and the beavers.) 🦫🦫🦫

If you made any, how are your 2025 resolutions going?

#rewilding #beaver #beavers #bookstagram #climateemergency #lookforthehelpers
RIP Jimmy Carter The quote comes from Carter's Cr RIP Jimmy Carter

The quote comes from Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech, July 15, 1979.

#jimmycarter #consumerism #materialism #buynothing #buynothingnew #buyless #buylessbuybetter
My student daughter Charlotte has no money for pre My student daughter Charlotte has no money for presents so she made each of us a journal out of (mostly) scrap paper and scrap cardboard. She covered the large one for her dad with fabric from one of his worn out old shirts. The pink fabric scrap sat on my pile for years. For the one without a spine (the yellow journal), Charlotte used the coptic bookbinding method.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

#bookbinding #upcycledclothing #reused #zerowastelife #zerowastejourney #zerowastelifestyle #reducewaste
Our sewing bee is in The Guardian this morning as Our sewing bee is in The Guardian this morning as part of its "My DIY Climate Hack" series, which features everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisis.

Every month or so, my friends and I get together to make reusable cloth produce bags out of donated fabric that may otherwise end up in a landfill. Later, we give the bags away at the farmers' market for shoppers to use instead of polluting plastic. We have so much fun doing this!

See my stories for the full article.

#upcycled #sewists #sewistsofinstagram #zerowastelifestyle #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreeoceans #reusable
Limoncello makes a great gift and you still have t Limoncello makes a great gift and you still have time to make it if you start now.

7 lemons, medium size
500 ml vodka or Everclear
1 cup granulated sugar or to taste
1 cup water or to taste

Scrub the lemons well. With a vegetable peeler, being careful not to remove the bitter white pith, remove strips of lemon peel. Place in a clean quart (4-cup) jar.

Pour vodka or Everclear into the jar, ensuring the alcohol covers the peels. Seal the jar. Let the mixture sit for at least 4 days.

Line a sieve with a thin cloth and place the sieve over a medium bowl. Pour the contents of the jar into the cloth-lined sieve to strain the alcohol. Compost the lemon peels.

In a pot, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool and combine with the alcohol. Bottle and chill. (Add as much or as little simple syrup as you like.) Store in the refrigerator for about a month or in the freezer for a year.

Are you giving any homemade gifts this year?

#limoncello #lemons #lowwaste #plasticfreegifts #plasticfreelife #plasticfreeliving #homemadegifts
More adventures in socca/farinata making. For thi More adventures in socca/farinata making.

For this one, I ground up some green lentils and made my socca as usual. I do prefer chickpea flour but this also tasted really good. Scroll back a couple of posts for the swappable recipe with chickpeas. The lentil flour needed a bit more water. Oh and you don’t need to grind your own flour to make these—or anything. I just like to grind up all the things. 

#lentils #glutenfreerecipes #socca #farinata #foodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste #plantbasedmeals
Sourdough discard naan! With the leftovers, I mad Sourdough discard naan!

With the leftovers, I made mini pizzas. I carefully took pictures of them arranged on a baking sheet but when they came out of the oven, they looked so good that we descended upon them and devoured them immediately. It wasn't until I took that last bite that I remembered I was supposed to take a picture. So just take my word for it that they looked (and tasted) absolutely delicious!

Swirl leftover naan (or pitas) with whatever sauce you find in the refrigerator—pizza sauce, pesto or hummus. Then top with whatever needs to be used up—chopped tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, onions or olives, bell pepper strips, arugula, shredded cheese, feta cheese... Cook at 400°F for about 10 minutes until the toppings begin to brown. Broil for 1 minute to brown any cheese. 

Oh, by the way! I'm teaching a sourdough starter workshop on January 4th, 10am PT/1pm ET, only $9 per person. Makes a great zero-waste gift! Register in my profile.

#zerowastehome #zerowastelifestyle #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughlove #sourdoughpizza #sourdoughdiscard #foodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste
When I'm tired and hungry and need to make dinner When I'm tired and hungry and need to make dinner quickly, I'll often make socca (farinata), a savory, rich chickpea pancake. It contains chickpea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. I added a thinly sliced shallot to this one. 

This, with roasted vegetables on the side makes a delicious, filling and economical meal. Bonus satisfaction points if you roast vegetables that have seen better days and may otherwise go uneaten.
 
This is how I make it:
1 cup (140g) chickpea flour
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup warmish water
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided (2-2-1)
1 shallot, thinly sliced

Combine chickpea flour, salt and pepper in a medium-size bowl. Combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and warm water. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and whisk until smooth. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

When ready to bake, place a 12-inch cast-iron pan in the oven and preheat it to 450F. Once the oven is heated, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and the shallots. Return the pan to the oven. Stir the shallots after 4 minutes. Cook another 2 to 4 minutes until browned. Pour over the batter, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until crispy around the edges and set in the middle. Brush the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and broil for 1 minute. 

Cut into wedges and enjoy while hot.

Have you made socca/farinata?

#chickpeaflour #socca #farinata #foodwaste #foodwastewarriors #lovefoodhatewaste #plantbasedmeals
Pastry prevents all kinds of food from going to wa Pastry prevents all kinds of food from going to waste! Fill a pie with the fruit you have on hand or make a savory pot pie with random vegetables. This pie contains pears. It was delicious! My daughter MK gets bonus points for buying this small, six-inch pie plate at the thrift shop. I usually see lots of these at the thrift shop.

#pastrygram #pearpie #foodwaste #foodwastewarriors #lovefoodhatewaste #zerowastelife #zerowastetips
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Recent Posts

  • How to Sew Produce Bags with Simple Tie Closures
  • How to Make Concentrated Vegetable Base for Broth
  • Out With the Concrete Pavers, In With the Plants
  • How to Revive Sad Vegetables Through Braising
  • Easy Reusable Cloth Lunch Bag with a Flap Closure
  • How to Organize a Sewing Bee to Reduce Plastic Produce Bags
  • How to Make Three-Ingredient Lemonade
  • A Recycling Professional Answers Your Trashy Questions
  • 7 Everyday Inexpensive Items That Simplify Your Life
  • Zoom Meetup: How to Start a Produce Bag Sewing Bee

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