Waste Not, Want Not - Bacon Vegetable Cream Soup

"Waste Not, Want Not" (meaning if we don't waste our resources we'll be kept from poverty) is an old proverb first published in 1772.  However, it had an older more alliterative corollary published in 1576, "Willful Waste Makes Woeful Want".   The idea is to use all your resources and waste nothing.  We Americans are notorious wasters (e.g. gas-guzzling SUVs with only one passenger, palatial houses for a family of four, a preference for disposable products, large portions of animal carcasses that get thrown away leaving polluted ground water etc.).  We use more resources per capita than most any other nation on earth.  Why?  Because we can.  We have historically been collectively wealthy enough to be wasteful, seemingly without consequence, but excesses are ultimately their own undoing.  Wastefulness inexorably erodes our efficiency and productivity as a society.  Over time more  efficient/productive societies will win out economically over less efficient/productive ones.  Our prosperity is the product of provident living.

You could live in this country, virtually for free, by using the cast-offs from the wasteful among us.  For example, there are a group of people who call themselves "Freegans" who, even though they could afford to buy their own food and clothing, are sufficiently appalled by the our rampant consumerism, that (in protest) have become dumpster-divers who rescue and reuse furniture, clothes, household items and even food cast off by others.  That life-style choice may seem extreme, but the principle is sound.  When we practice "willful waste" we become poor stewards or the abundance with which God has blessed us.  He put us in charge of this earth--and it's our responsibility to take good care of it.  We don't all need to become Freegans in order to be provident and frugal, but we should all refocus on being good stewards of the resources we have.  Our grandparents had a saying "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without".  We would do well to return to the wisdom of our ancestors.

We've recently made some changes in our lifestyles regarding wastefulness such as walking more / driving less, eliminating disposable cups & plates, maximizing our recycling, buying and using second-hand clothing & equipment, and being vigilant about using the leftovers in our fridge before they go bad.  These small changes have become a big part of our ability to  go from living on $100 per day to living on $100 per week. 

Often frugality offers you unexpected bounty.  For example, I had two recent experiences that led me to creatively find a use for food that I would normally have thrown away.  This resulted in one of the best meals I've ever had.   The first experience was with some celery that ended up in a cold spot in the fridge and got frozen.  Frozen celery turns soft, translucent, and a bit brown when it thaws out.   I was mad at myself for not putting it in the the veggie drawer and was about to throw it out but then I thought "waste not...want not", so I chopped it up and put it in a bag in the fridge to deal with later.  The second experience was that I bought a head of cauliflower on sale, used all the flowerets, and was about to throw away the base stems and leaves but something made me pause.  The outer leaves and stems of vegetables often get thrown away, and yet they can be useful and delicious and they frequently contain the highest nutrients on the plant. Instead of throwing it in the trash I chopped it up and added it to the bag of frozen celery.  

Yesterday, as I looked through the fridge for inspiration on what to make for dinner (my inspiration for dinner always begins with "what do I have on hand that needs to be used" rather than "what do I feel like eating") I spotted the bag of chopped cast-off vegetables and decided to try making soup.  The resulting soup was so good that when our resident 16-year-old-foodie (I used to call her the "gourmet baby" because, starting as an infant, she gravitated toward savory--and even spicy--delicious food) took her first bite she stopped and said "this is amazing--what is that combination of flavors?". 

How to make Bacon Vegetable Cream Soup - zesty, rich, and yet low in fat:

 

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Large Onion - diced
• 5 cups Cauliflower & Celery Stems and Leaves - chopped
• 4 tsp Chicken"Better Than Bouillon" (you can use chicken bouillon if you must but this tastes better and is lower in fat and sodium)
• 4 cups water
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 2 strips Bacon - cooked, pressed in a napkin to absorb excess fat, and broken in pieces
• 1 cup Kefir Cheese (or you could substitute yogurt cheese or plain Greek Yogurt, but don't you think it's time you tried this ancient "miracle elixir"?)

Fry the chopped vegetables in the olive oil in a pot until they are tender and the onions are translucent.  Add the water, the chicken "better-than-bouillon", the salt, and the black pepper.  Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.  Add the flour and blend this into a puree.  Return to the stove and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add the bacon bits and kefir cheese and stir until smooth.  Don't boil this again.  If you're not ready to eat it cover the pot and put it on the lowest setting to stay warm.  Let the flavors steep together for a few minutes and then serve it warm with fresh bread and a salad.

Remember to "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" and, while you're at it, make this soup.  It's one of the best we've ever had in our home!  Try it and let me know how it turns out.