How to Use Overripe Vegetables

Summer can be a wonderful time to experiment with vegetables, whether it be veges from your garden or from the local farmer’s market. However, sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs (and our time), and we end up with a bunch of mushrooms or carrots on the brink of rotting. What can you do with the vegetables so they don’t go to waste? Here are some ideas.

1. Pickle them.

Pickling can be a really simple process. Cut up vegetables, such as onions or carrots, and throw them into a can or tupperware. Boil some water, vinegar, sweetener (such as honey or syrup), and salt. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. These pickled vegetables taste great on sandwiches, burgers, salads, and so many other foods!

2. Make some soup.

You may not crave soup on hot days, but there are tons of bright, summery soups. You could try a creamy tomato soup with grilled cheese after a day at the pool. Or be more adventurous with some cold soup, such as gazpacho. These soups are great homes for overripe tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, avocados, and even potatoes. Plus, you can freeze some for nights when you don’t feel like cooking!

3. Make some dip

Many of us have used overripe avocados to make guacamole (and if you haven’t, definitely give it a shot)! For other dips, this blog has a great single recipe that you can use with pretty much any roasted vegetable. Simply roast 1 or 2 vegetables. After the vegetables have cooled, blend with some Greek yogurt, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and seasonings.  At the end, you will have a delicious, smooth, and healthy vegetable dip.

4. Start a mini-garden.

When vegetables like onions or potatoes begin to sprout, you can plant them in your garden! To plant onions, cut open the onion and carefully remove the center sprout. Place the onion sprout in water until roots begin to grow. You can then transfer the onion to a pot or your garden. If a potato is small and has a single sprout, you can plant as is. If you have a larger potato with multiple sprouts, cut into smaller pieces, such that there is just one sprout per piece. Let the pieces dry before planting. If your kids or grandkids are home for the summer, you can use this as an opportunity to teach them about the plant’s life cycle!

5. Try composting 

Composting is the process by which organic scraps (including some food waste) can be used to build richer soil. A lot of people don’t compost because they think it will be an involved, expensive, or stinky process. However, it doesn’t have to be that way! If you don’t want to deal with the stink, you can employ Compost Now. They will deliver a composting bin to your doorstep and pick it up weekly. They take the compost to the farm, where it becomes rich soil that is returned to you. If you want to learn more, tons of local Georgia organizations have helpful information about composting, including Food Well Alliance, Georgia Organics, and Terra Nova Compost (which also offers composting workshops). You can sometimes find a composting information table at your local farmer’s market, so keep your eyes, and your vegetables, pealed!