Social Distancing 101: Making Your Celery Work Harder

I’m going to start posting a daily tip on making the most of your food, since going to the grocery store right now has turned into the worst kind of contact sport. Today’s tip – celery leaves! Pull them off your fresh celery and toss them in the toaster oven on 200 degrees, with the toaster door cracked open. WATCH THEM, they dry and toast much faster than you think they will. When they are dry, crumble them, pull out any still-juicy bits that might remain (throw those in your soup stock scraps container) and store it in a jar. Now you have celery seasoning, and it was free. I do this all the time, and just keep topping off my jar. It’s great seasoning for soups and chili, and even cream-soup based casseroles. Here’s more info about making full use of your celery. She recommends dehydrating your celery, but not everyone has a dehydrator, and I happen to like the slightly toasty taste the toaster oven gives the leaves.