What's in your crisper drawer? Let's talk celery...

How many times have you reached into the crisper drawer only to find that the stalk of celery has become unusable? I shudder to think of how many times that happened to me, and after way too much waste, I decided it was time to take celery seriously, serious enough to use it up...

Let's talk celery, shall we? 

When asked if they like celery, most folks either love it or they hate it. I get it. If all you know is the tired celery sticks on a veggie tray, that get left behind, there is not much to get excited about. And honestly I used to be that person. As a cook cooking for my family, it was a different story. Often I would reach into the refrigerator to get a rib of celery for a recipe only to find the whole stalk lost to softness and mold. I knew something had to give, and I knew it was me. I had to change my ways. 

We now routinely purchase a stalk of organic celery when we visit the market. And we eat most of it fresh. in a variety of ways. Stuffed with nut butter, filled with a piece of cheddar. or dunked into something tangy like our Onion Island Salad Dressing. This by the way, is my current favorite way to eat celery! There have been other favorite ways in the past, in particular a cream cheese, black olive and walnut concoction we enjoyed for holiday and or Sunday dinners. And I will have to shar that recipe...but right now, let's get back to the star of the show, Celery.  

How I store celery to keep it fresh and delicious.

Just so you know there is no one way to store celery. But I can tell you what I have tried, which methods failed and how I now store celery. Yep I had one of those monster sized celery storage boxes from Tupperware. And yes it took up a lot of room in my fridge. But the problem was, celery was not being used (won't it keep forever?) and it still went bad. 

So I gave up the box and went to aluminum foil. However that did not work for me, either. I know many use these methods and if they work for you, that is wonderful. What finally did work for me besides eating and using the celery while it was fresh and delicious, was a little bag in bag method I accidently discovered, when I had not other options that busy day!

We eat a lot more celery now that it is fresh and crisp! When I purchase more celery, I put all the celery in one bag. Then I put the bag of celery in the empty bag, with the open end going in to the bottom of the second bag. I do not close off the open end, because this bag in bag method allows the celery to breath and not gather excess moisture. It is always that excess moisture that will destroy your produce. 

Celery is also a wonderful seasoning vegetable!

One of the most common uses for celery is in a mirepoix, consisting of diced celery, onion and carrots, in roughly equal measure. It is often the starting point for stew or braised meat of all kinds, and when cooking beans. And let's not forget a classic stir-fry, where celery is cut on the diagonal and a part of every bite! But how about a few recipes that call for celery as the main ingredients or at least a co-starring role in the recipe? Turns out, I have a few to share with you, and from here on out, there is absolutely no reason to let celery go to waste, ever again! 

Root and Stem Salad Celery root and ribs of celery are combined with a lively lemon horseradish dressing. Delicious and what a lovely crunchy salad to offer family and friends. 

Creamy Potato and Celery Soup. This soup has roughly a 50/50 mix of celery and potatoes, making for a lighter soup, but also a delicious way to serve celery. 

Crunchy Tangy Jicama Waldorf Salad. No apples in this version, a lively mix of jicama and celery with pecans for crunch, in a standard Waldorf dressing. 

I like to keep a container of this Vegetable Bouillon Concentrate in my freezer, it is so easy to spoon out into what ever I am cooking, to add flavor!

Other preserving ideas:

So many uses for dried celery, and perfect for those times, when you just ran out of fresh! How to Dry Celery with a quick blanching method. 

And if time is short:

How to Freeze Ready to use Celery.  

Rest assured, as more wonderful ways to use celery are enjoyed around our table, they will be shared here!

You may also enjoy: 

Apples! 15 favorites, plus Grandmother's Apple Pie. 

#wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily

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