Cooking Scrappy: 100 Recipes to Help You Stop Wasting Food, Save Money, and Love What You Eat

From the food-stoked star of the A&E series Scraps and the National Chef of Sur La Table, a ground-breaking cookbook that reshapes the way you look at ingredients and makes the most out of every resource in the kitchen, featuring 150 color photographs and 100 ingenious recipes that expand your mind, the way you cook, and how you live.

Have you ever felt guilty throwing out food? Of course, you have, but that’s all about to change. The stuff you always thought of as trash just became the main course. Look into the fridge. At first glance it might not look like there’s much to eat, just a mishmash of ingredients that don’t go together. But carrot tops can be pesto and brown bananas are the start of an incredible cake. Suddenly you have uncovered an undiscovered treasure chest for making the most out of "nothing."

Joel Gamoran dives into the kitchen, changing expectations, not just about how to use all ingredients to their max, but how to make the most of every resource in your kitchen. Flip over that cast-iron skillet for a stellar pizza stone. Don’t throw away those apple cores, shrimp shells, or leftover pickle juice. Transform them into gorgeous meals, such as Apple Core Butter Roasted Duck, Shrimp Shell Chowder, or Pickle Juice Brined Pork Chops.

Think outside of the recipe box—learn to be creative when it comes to making food. Resourcefulness is an essential part of cooking; Gamoran’s experiences in culinary schools and as a professional chef have taught him that everything in the kitchen can, and should, be used. His relaxed laid-back tone tackles a serious subject. It embraces a lifestyle that eliminates waste, helps the environment, and enables home cooks to stretch their food budgets.

Cooking Scrappy saves you money, helps to save the planet, and ups your cooking game. Joel stands for the bruised, the forgotten, and the back of the fridge. Will you stand with him?!

“In Cooking Scrappy, many recipes are startlingly familiar to me. They remind me of my mother and aunts’ cooking when I was a child. Joel’s cooking is not a peculiar way to cook, it is the proper way to cook. Joel teaches you how to save money and respect ingredients while creating wonderful dishes!” - Jacques Pépin

“Cooking Scrappy is original and smart, chockfull of recipes you’ll turn to often and packed with practical tips and techniques you’ll use every day.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this book makes you feel as though Joel, a talented chef and a gifted teacher, is in the kitchen with you, cheering you on to success and great meals.  It’s just the way I felt.”

“Cooking Scrappy is one of the best cookbooks I’ve read in years. Gamoran is an ingenious chef with an exuberant voice who draws you into the kitchen. This book’s recipes and underlying message couldn’t be more timely.” - Michael Ruhlman

“Invigorating and timely, Cooking Scrappy is a superb book that extolls the delicious virtues of foods too often thrown away. Food waste is not only immoral, it’s straight out stupid…especially when you have recipes like these!”   - Nancy Silverton