I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before today but we have an abundance of cucumbers from our garden. They have been our biggest producers so far and we are thrilled...except that there's only so many things you can do with a cucumber. I have the big kind, not the small ones for pickling. I didn't think about that before planting them and I certainly had no idea that three cucumber plants would produce so much! I certainly don't want to waste them and I have found a few recipes for dip or gyro sauce. However, I fear that I have too many and will not be able to use them all before they start to get mushy. As I sat around thinking about that today, something else struck me. Am I being a good steward of God's gifts? Am I thinking things through before doing them? Or, am I doing things without considering the consequences?
Obviously, this can apply to several areas in ones life. The thing I've been thinking about today is our waste. Generally speaking, we are not terrible when it comes to this but we do waste things. The biggest thing right now is food. As I looked at those cucumbers today, I was thinking that I'd have to throw out three or four of them if we don't eat them tonight. Then I considered that we are eating Mexican food tonight and that doesn't really go with a regular salad. The point is, those cucumbers will sit in the refrigerator for another day at least. Untouched....getting mushier by the minute. It bothers me that I'm letting that happen.
This morning I decided I'd clean out the refrigerator and get rid of the things that had been in there for a week. Let's see, I think I threw out some leftover mashed potatoes, some sauteed onions and green peppers, some pasta and sauce, some freezer burned veggies (because I failed to cook them soon enough), and some freezer burned sherbet. I'm irritated at this. It's totally unacceptable. As I threw out those things, I thought about this post I read over at AfricanKeli's recently. She talked about her recent trip to Africa and a lady she met in a village there with a malnourished daughter. All Keli had with her was a protein bar and she gave it to the child to eat. When I think about that child dying a little more every day because she doesn't have any food, it makes me really dislike myself for having wasted so much of it this week. So the answer to my question, am I being a good steward, is a big fat NO!
I don't know if any of you have this problem but I do and I refuse to let it continue. I know there are things that go on all over the world that I have no control over. I can't create world peace or feed all of the starving people in third world countries. However, I can live in peace and I can stop wasting. I can't make people believe the Gospel but I can still tell them about it. I can't make someone else be a better steward of God's gifts but I can be a better one. Are there other areas I need to work on? You bet ya! My second biggest failure is my time management. That warrants another whole post though!
How about you? Do you or did you have a problem with waste? Particularly food? If so, I'd love to hear about it and what you did to remedy the situation.
Have a great Thursday!
4 comments:
You can make relish of some kind with the larger cucumbers - I do it all the time. Sweet relish is very easy to make - I use the Ball Blue Book for recipes. I canned several jars of sweet relish this year since it is my favorite!
You're not alone, Sonya. I go through my days when I feel so guilty for having to toss out any food. I try my hardest to use leftovers for lunches before fixinf a sandwich. Sometimes it just doesn't go as planned.
Maybe the next time you get an over-abundance of produce, take it to a local soup kitchen and donate it for their meals. :o)
You struck a nerve! We have alot of cucumbers, too! Not so many this year, but in previous years. And tomatoes. So, about 3 years ago, we decided the kids need money, they can sell veggies. My son made over 150.00 the first year. He's grown tired of doing that, because it takes effort, but it's a way not to waste our tomatoes. And people call and ask for them!! I have about 10 sitting in the window sill right now, and I just found out how to freeze them last night. I'm excited that I'll get to freeze our very first tomato batch today!
Back to the question at hand....we waste too, and the hubs and I have discussed what kind of stewards we are being with our harvest. We need to do better.
Uh...you do realize that there are people out in the world who actually are unable to grow a cuke..as in they kill the plant before it even has a chance to produce anything...that would be me! lol!! Pass the cuke love on to others(me), sister! lol!!
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