Three Desserts and Zero Waste

I am obsessed with getting new life out of old things. The goal is zero waste: Get as close as you possibly can to wasting nothing!

Bear with me for a moment; the desserts will be your reward.

One way to minimize your waste is buy repairing things rather than buying replacements. My community hosts occasional "Repair Cafes" where you can bring your busted items and volunteer experts will try to fix them, for free. 

It is exhilarating to show up with something that has been sitting broken on a shelf for months, and leave with a functioning item again.

At the last Repair Cafe, I got a couple items of jewelry fixed, and a bike repair guy fixed the brake on the stroller we used long ago for my backup dancer. 

That stroller has seen more action than your usual stroller. It used to commute daily between our apartment in Jersey City and a daycare in New York. It also travelled - it has been packed into planes, trains, and automobiles, and buses too. 

Nine years ago, almost to the day!

I am going to give an unsolicited shout-out to the Baby Jogger brand, because they produced an item that could endure all that beating and still be almost like new after a simple cleaning and a tune-up, nine years later. It is an engineering marvel, actually. It wheels like a dream, and folds up and unfolds with the greatest of ease. 

Having restored the stroller to perfection, I'm looking for a local place to donate it: zero waste. 

Another item that I brought to the Repair Cafe was an old iron with a dodgy cord, and unfortunately, it required a special tool to open up that the electrical expert didn't have. So I contacted the manufacturer (Black+Decker) to ask where I could have it repaired. They asked a few questions by email, which I was helpless to answer:

• Date of Purchase: I do not know - I think it is likely that it was purchased at least 10 years ago 
• Place of Purchase: Unknown 
• Amount of Purchase: Unknown 
• Please indicate if proof of purchase (sales/gift receipt) is available for this unit? Y/N: No 

Imagine my surprise when I got this response from them: "We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. It has been determined that your unit is under warranty and a replacement order has been entered for you." What?! That is fantastic, over-the-top customer service, but it does not represent zero waste. It would be such an environmental win if manufacturers made it easier to repair items. There's actually a whole movement in support of this, called "Right to Repair" (read a story about a cool kid who advocates for it). Still, it will be nice to be wrinkle-free again.

My final repair story is about my darned food processor. After Breville made me white-hot mad when I was trying to get a replacement part, they sent me one for free. 

I tore open the box as soon as it arrived and loaded up the machine with the ingredients for bread dough. I turned it on and it whizzed delightfully for a bit, and then it stopped and a light started flashing and DAMN IT SOMETHING ELSE IS BROKEN NOW. I'm gearing up for another Breville Battle. Stay tuned.

A cobbler is someone who can fix your shoes so you don't have to replace them, but a cobbler is also a dessert, and that's my awkward segue into the food portion of today's post.

I freaking love rhubarb, and I freaking loved "Roasted Rhubarb Cobbler" (NYT Cooking; subscription required). I didn't have as much rhubarb as I needed, so I substituted some strawberries, and I have no regrets about that. 

I am a little sorry I forgot to brush the biscuits with cream and sprinkle them with sugar before baking them, but they were marvelous anyway.

My "Salted Pretzel Brownies" (NYT Cooking; subscription required) turned out perfectly, but they weren't actually what I wanted from a brownie. 

For the crust

I didn't have enough baking chocolate, so I supplemented with semi-sweet chocolate chips

I also baked bread! Where's my medal?

They're intentionally gooey on the inside; note the instruction to bake only until the top is set. I'm not saying I won't keep overeating them until they're all gone, but you shouldn't expect them to epitomize brownies.

For a superior brownie, try "Salted Caramel Chip Brownies" (Sweet and Savory Pursuits). I skipped the drizzle on top. They were righteous. I froze some and they were also wonderful straight from the freezer - a superb treat for summer's hot days. Take them on a picnic!

Backyard picnic