Markets and gardens are overflowing with beautiful, fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s official—the season of abundance is in full swing! Did you go all out, and now your fridge is dangerously full? Has your garden spoiled you more than usual, leaving you with tomatoes coming out of your ears? Be careful—abundance, if mismanaged, can lead to waste!

To avoid throwing away these treasures, I suggest calling on your community so that the task feels less overwhelming. Choose your cooking teammates and ask them to bring their surplus vegetables and some kitchen equipment if your ambitions are big: cutting boards, knives, induction stoves, and large pots.

Here are my best zero-waste recipes:

1. Zero-Waste Tomato Sauce

Every family has their tomato sauce recipe, and it’s very hard to mess up! For a smooth sauce, blanch the tomatoes before peeling them (and dehydrate the peels to minimize waste!). You can also leave the peels on and embrace the small chunks. It’s quicker and uses the whole vegetable!

• For an anti-waste version, ask everyone participating to bring the vegetables lingering in their fridge and add them to the cooking pot. Zucchinis, eggplants, and peppers add great flavor to sauces. This is also the time to add your favorite herbs.

• To avoid making tomato sauce every week during the season, freeze your tomatoes whole and take them out a few minutes before cooking. When they thaw, the peel will come off easily without even needing to blanch them!

• To store your sauce, the simplest option is to freeze it. If you use only tomatoes, you can also can your sauce using the water bath technique, as long as you add a little lemon juice (see recipe here). If you add other vegetables or meat, you’ll need to use a pressure canner, as in this recipe. However, it’s very important to respect the proportions of the different ingredients, as the recipe has been tested and is safe only in that way. When in doubt, the freezer is your best friend.

2. Confit Tomatoes for Your Small Tomatoes

This is THE recipe I make and remake every week these days. Arm yourself with several knives and cutting boards for this simple recipe, which only requires time and patience to cut cherry tomatoes in half. After long oven roasting, freeze these treasures in muffin molds, then transfer them to freezer bags or containers. Use them in pasta, on pizzas, or to flavor any dish.

3. Soups and Purees

The unbeatable zero-waste classic! The beauty of it is that you don’t need a recipe to make a delicious soup or puree. Just use what you and your cooking team already have in your fridge (and even your freezer—it’s time to make space!). Freeze everything in small portions. What a comfort it will be in winter to have homemade soups ready to go.

4. Fruit Compote

This is the time to use seasonal fruits, but also those that have been sitting in your freezer for too long. Wash and prepare your fruits, then let them simmer for about fifteen minutes before pureeing them. If your freezer is full, water bath canning is perfect since fruits are sufficiently acidic (except bananas!). Follow these instructions for canning compotes.

It’s time well-invested this fall, and it will definitely be worth it when you can taste a little bit of summer in the colder months. Plus, processing your harvest can be a great group activity and even become a tradition over the years!

And why not schedule a date in your calendar right now? It’s perfect timing because October 13th is Food Preservation Day! So, I invite you to join me live at 11:00 a.m. on the Earth Day Facebook page (in French only), where I’ll share my best tips for enjoying the seasonal abundance without wasting a thing!

Event Details (in French only): https://www.facebook.com/events/2200014197030556/?rdid=o3foRRLth6bPz397&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2FXb9P2xDxioHSUErK%2F

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Experte de la lutte contre le gaspillage alimentaire

Elisabeth Paradis

Passionnée de bouffe, Elisabeth aime utiliser l'alimentation comme façon de connecter avec les gens. Pour elle, manger est lié au plaisir et au partage, mais aussi à ses valeurs environnementales. Si elle n'est pas dans sa cuisine, vous la retrouverez dans son jardin, sur son vélo, ou en train d'être la fan numéro 1 de ses chats Dumpling et Kimchi.

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