Adeline Olmer
- Jan 11, 2023
- 3 min read

MAKING DIRT ON MY KITCHEN COUNTER

Updated: Jan 19, 2023

I was staggered when I discovered that my kitchen waste actually has an enormous impact on climate change.

“Wasting food has irreversible environmental consequences: it wastes the water and energy it took to produce it, and generates greenhouse gases—11 percent of the world’s emissions like methane, carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons, which contribute to global warming. Food that sits decaying in landfills also produces nitrogen pollution, which causes algae blooms and dead zones. According to the World Wildlife Federation, the production of wasted food in the United States is equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of 37 million cars.“1

Americans waste 30 to 40% of their food supply; that equals 219 pounds of food per person each year.

That thought made me think about what I throw away. And I wondered about what else I could do with all those scraps.

My friend Tulis told me that she makes her own vegetable broth out of her vegetable scraps.

“It’s simple,” she said. “I just save all my vegetable scraps, freeze them, and when my freezer no longer has room, I make broth.”

I’d never thought of doing anything but throwing those scraps out; after all, they’re garbage, but maybe not.

So I started making my own vegetable broth. I filled a large stock pot with all my frozen scraps. I covered my rubbish with cold water, brought it to a boil, turned the heat down to a simmer, and left it on the stove for 4 hours waiting for the magic to happen. I drained the pot and poured the broth into containers ready to use in my next vegetable soup.

What was left over was a kind of vegetable mush that I dumped into my recycling bin and waited for it to transform into compost gold to fertilize my garden.

Christmas morning, I opened a gift from my children that I didn’t even know existed and had no idea I really wanted. I opened a dirt maker; at least that’s what I call it. What it actually is, is a Lomi composter that sits on my kitchen counter. How cool is that?

I made dirt for the first time over the weekend. I placed all my kitchen scraps into the bucket: banana skins, potato peels, coffee filter and grinds, orange rinds, and lots more scraps. I turned the machine on, and 24 hours later I had dirt.

The result is ready to add to my garden in the spring. It's actually fine enough to add it to my indoor plants—I find that amazing. I’m thrilled to have this new option.

#1 https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/#:~:text=Wasting%20food%20has%20irreversible%20environmental,which%20contribute%20to%20global%20warming.

Here Is What's Happening

This weekend was the chili video class. It was lots of fun and resulted in pots of really great chili.

Here are some of the comments:

Adeline - Thank you for an instructive and fun chili cooking class last Sunday. The end result was wonderful chili, and you made it an inviting, interactive group experience! Gindy
Dear Adeline, I may not have participated in your online class, but I was certainly a fortunate third-party dinner recipient. I truly enjoyed the superb chili that was the focus of your class, in which Gindy was able to participate and learn your awesome methods and secrets. The subtlety of some of the flavors was truly a special treat and surprise. Wonderful, delicious, and a delight to share. Best, Peter
I loved your class!! My chili 🌶 came out great and the flavors were so enticing with a little spice. Thank you. It’s my new recipe. John loved it. 😘 cheers 🍷 Cathy

If you missed the class don't worry. The recording will be available in the shop shortly.

The next class is Lentil soup on January 22 at 4 pm ET. Sign up HERE