My mother used to tell me, “waste not, want not.” I don’t know about you, but I get a little disgusted at having to throw away or compost what was once really good and delicious food! Food that we worked hard to make money to buy or to grow in our garden. Have you ever gotten to the end of the week or the end of batch cooking for the week and wondered what to do with the vegetables that are left over? You don’t want them to go to waste, but you don’t quite know what to do with them either.
Part of being a good steward of your home and finances is to not waste money on food that starts to decay and rot in the refrigerator or on the shelf. I always feel remorse, if not a little guilty, when that happens. You spend money to just throw it away? That doesn’t make good sense, right?
This is a recipe that I have been using for a couple years that prevents some of that food waste from ever happening in the first place. Bonus: it is a way to get more vegetables in while also flavoring your food. Like most children, my child would prefer to have something more exciting than vegetables to eat, so this allows me to sneak vegetables in when she doesn’t expect it and in a way that she will eat it and like it.
I named this Mom’s Seasoning Blend, well……because I created it, and it is a blend that is ever changing, every week. I used to call it “dehydrated veggie broth,” but that is not very imaginative, huh? It is technically correct for the original. You can keep this seasoning mix raw if you dehydrate the vegetables at a low enough temperature, or you can swing in the opposite direction and use these vegetable to make a vegetable stock and then dehydrate the left over vegetable pulp. That is how this recipe originated, because I hate waste. For the purpose of this recipe though, I am using roughly chopped raw vegetables, just know that there is some wiggle room for your own creativity.
The flavors of this seasoning blend will change each time you add to it, because you use different combinations and quantities of vegetables which has the benefit of keeping your taste buds from getting too accustomed to a particular flavor. If you like a specific flavor and want it to be consistent, then just measure out and use the same amount of ingredients each time. For me, the whole purpose of this recipe is to use up the extra vegetables I have so they don’t go to waste. If you don’t have one ingredient that you particularly like or too much of another, it’s okay. It is still good stuff!
Gather up all the vegetables that you have left over at the end of the week or at the end of your batch cooking. You will want to choose vegetables that will taste good in a vegetable broth. I would suggest for vegetables such as beets, lettuces, kale, etc to dehydrate those separately and filter them into their own Mason Jars (Don’t forget to label) to use as you like in other ways. For instance, I love using dehydrated kale in my savory oatmeal. So good! You could also add them to smoothies if that is your thing. The point is that there are multiple uses for excess vegetables that may not be a good fit for this particular seasoning blend. Sprinkle this over salads, rice, potatoes, savory oats, pastas, etc….
You can tell when the vegetables are completely dry because they become brittle, crisp, and not the least bit rubbery or wet. If it’s not completely dehydrated, you could grow a nice lab experiment in your jar, and we don’t want that. Just make sure everything is thoroughly dehydrated. Just as a side note, I use this seasoning blend on zucchini slices, then dehydrate them into chips, and they never last longer than a day.
Let me know how you use this and what changes you made to suit your creativity and your family’s tastes and lifestyle!
Mom’s Seasoning Blend
Ingredients
Any vegetable that would work good in a vegetable broth in any quantity that you have. The following are all good choices.
- Garlic Scapes
- Garlic
- Onions and their green tops
- Celery
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Herbs
- Lemon or zest
- Salt optional
Instructions
- Roughly chop vegetables. They don’t have to be small, but they do have to fit into a blender or coffee/herb grinder once dehydrated.
- Dehydrate.
- Pulverize into a powder.
- Strain powder into a Mason Jar for storage. Re-pulverize any larger pieces.
Chef Tips
*You may want to use some type of non-stick silpat or parchment paper for wet vegetables like tomatoes.
*You do not have to have a dehydrator for this recipe. You can use your oven on the lowest setting. Watch to prevent burning. Or you can use the old-fashioned method of dehydrating: screens and the power of the sun.
*Dehydration time will vary depending on the type of vegetable drying, the size and thickness of the pieces being dehydrated, and temperature used to dehydrate vegetables.
*In my experience, broccoli and cauliflower are not good choices, but by all means, experiment!
* Finished product will turn out slightly different each time unless you precisely measure ingredients which defeats the purpose of using vegetables before they go bad.
