Would you believe that the pea pods, which we often discard, make for excellent soup, crispy fritters and delicious stir fry? That carrot and potato peels work wonders as chips, flavored salts and creamy pesto and orange peels can be used to make a syrup that adds a refreshing twist to a whiskey sour? Hello Bookworms, I'm Siddhi, your very own book cobbler, and welcome to my swellcast
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:52
With over a decade of experience in food and beverage industry, Irina has conducted many cooking and mixology workshops for corporates and private groups. A warm welcome, Arena. Congratulations on the book and welcome to my swellcast. To begin with, the no Waste Kitchen Cookbook is an incredible book. How did the idea for such an innovative cookbook strike you? And how long did it take for you to finish it?
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 1:53
We had a long conversation, and she was the one who kind of encouraged me and gave me the nudge to use all of that research and all the recipes that I was already sitting on to kind of channel all of that into a book. So this was, I think, around 2021. And honestly, I don't have a fixed timeline of how long it took for me to finish the book because I had to do it in breaks due to some personal issues
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:11
True that things that are bound to happen and also at the right time. So what are some incredible recipes that we get to read in this book? Can you share a few with our listeners?
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 3:45
You? Yeah. I think some of the recipes are a little traditional that I think our generation has kind of forgotten. People have been making those things in our grandmom's generations and in smaller towns and cities and even villages
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:24
Well, it's not always that I get to talk to a chef and that to talk about recipes that are literally out of the box. So coming to my next question, people are tad hesitant while trying out regular dishes. Even I am when I go in the kitchen. But yours goes a step beyond hesitation. So were there any accidents, hits and misses while coming up with these recipes?
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 3:45
Siddhi, to be honest, I don't think there were too many accidents or mishaps while I was trying out these recipes, because they're actually not very different from cooking regular recipes. And, like, you know, the hesitation. Yes. Even I'm usually hesitant if I'm trying a very complicated or elaborate recipe or using an ingredient that is new to me
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:20
It might take a little bit of time getting used to the new ingredients, but I think we all will get there, thankfully, because of your book no waste kitchen cookbook. So, coming to my next question, you are a mixologist. So are there any mocktail cocktail recipes too in this book that are no waste recipes?
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 1:15
And coming to your main question about the drink recipes, yes, there are a few cocktail recipes in the book that kind of use different parts of fruits and veggies. Like I also said in one of my previous answers that there's a tail recipe that uses fresh pea pods. There is a recipe that uses orange peel, another one with banana peels. So there are also a few recipes that make use of different fruits for syrups or different sort of infusions and teas
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:12
Hello. So you've already spoken about your research process, but I would like to know at length how much research has gone into writing this book. And how was your research process like?
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 5:00
I also did a few international level programs that kind of spoke and taught about sustainability at a global level, about food systems, about the amount of food waste and food loss that occurs throughout the supply chain, starting all the way from the farm to our plates and our trash cans. Right
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 2:10
I started looking at conventional recipes and thinking of how the whole fruit or vegetable can be used in that recipe. Say, for example, if you're making an aluki subsi, it does not have to be peeled every time. You can still use the skin and just make sure it's washed and cleaned really well. And make aluki subsea with the skin on. You don't always have to peel the potatoes. Same thing with carrots and radish and a few other root veggies like that
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:32
Hello. So, now that you mention it, I remember growing up, I would tell my mother that if you're making potato curry, then make sure that it's unpeeled and you put the potato like that only. So, yeah, over the years, we forget all of these things. But with your book, I hope we are able to revive and reutilize certain ingredients which we otherwise think are trash
Arina Suchde
@ArinaSuchde · 3:37
When you have your ingredients in front of you as to how you can use it up in that same meal or for your next meal, even if it's something as simple as grating the zest off of lemons and oranges or other citrus fruit before you cut them up to juice them, and the zest stays in the freezer for a long, long time to make flavored salts, seasoning mixes, add to your salad dressings to add to dessert soup, the possibilities are endless
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:07
That's a sage thought there. Thank you so much, Arina. It was wonderful talking to you and my best wishes for the book