A friend recently told me that the city in which she lives recently cracked down on trash collection. Now the only bin that gets collected weekly is their food waste. She said her new bin is small—barely bigger than a home printer.

Not surprisingly, this change created a major uproar in the community, but Carol says since things have calmed down, most everyone seems to have embraced the weekly challenge of paring food waste down to the tiniest amount. Carol, for example, is now freezing any blackening for use in smoothies. She’s making pesto from super-wilty herbs or are chopped and frozen in an ice cube tray with olive oil. Her leftover rice gets used in egg fried rice. Extra pasta is repurposed into crispy frittatas. Overly soft fruit is made into pies, cobblers, and jams. And her coffee grounds are worked into flower beds.

She says there’s been lots of positive community feedback lately about how only having a small bin has forced the issue to cook more conscientiously and live more frugally. “Some days this feels like a burden. Others, a victory,” Carol added.

I asked her if she has a favorite frugal-food tip I could pass on to our readers. Making lemonade with surplus fruit and veggies was her immediate answer. One lemonade flavor in particular makes everyone happy: cucumber seed.

So, to the point (according to Carol): When life gives you cucumbers, make cucumber seed lemonade. Here’s her process for making about 4 glasses of what she says is a remarkably refreshing summer drink:

• Halve 1 English cucumber lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the jug of your blender (you can also make this in a jar with an immersion blender).


• Add sugar to taste (maybe 5 tablespoons).


• Mix in the juice of 3 large lemons (discarding the pips).


• Add the leaves from a bushy sprig of mint.


• Blitz all the ingredients together until supersmooth. Taste and add more lemon or sugar depending on your preference. Transfer to a serving jug.

When you are ready to serve, add 2–2½ cups (depending on how sweet/strong you like your lemonade) water (or sparkling water if you want it fizzy). Stir well and pour over ice.

Carol said this “adventure” has reminded her of that famous book, ACRES OF DIAMONDS. “Who knew we were living with such wealth, right under our noses? Lots of great things are coming from food we used to just throw away!”