Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Glad in conjunction with their #SAVEITSUNDAY program. With #SAVEITSUNDAY, Glad hopes to educate the public about the consequences of food waste, and I am proud they’ve asked me to be a part of the program. I am being compensated to share my #SAVEITSUNDAY experiences; all opinions are 100% my own.
Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs. I grow my own when the weather is cooperative, but this time of year, I rely on the supermarket for my cilantro stash. Cilantro often comes in such big bunches that I am always disappointed when it tends to wilt long before I get around to using it all. I frequently look for new ways to incorporate cilantro into my meals, but I’ve also long wondered if there was a better way I could be storing it to keep it fresh for longer.
I found a recipe for an Olive, Pomegranate, and Walnut Relish featuring parsley in Alice Water’s new book: The Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor, and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden
. I mentioned this book in a previous post…it’s truly fabulous. Anyway, I swapped out the parsley for cilantro in this recipe and it’s so good!
I like to eat it on snappy rice crackers with sharp cheddar cheese. It’s also great as an accompaniment to roasted meats…I plan to serve it along with this cranberry sauce on my Thanksgiving table this year.
(How cool is the upcycled bottle holding the crackers?! My friend Jocelyn is an eco-artist and she sells them in her etsy shop!)
[cft format=0]
In addition to the recipe, today I want to share with you what I recently learned from Glad about storing herbs in order to keep them fresh. Let’s start with cilantro: the best way to keep your cilantro fresh for as long as possible is to trim off the ends of the herb stems as soon as you pick it or get it home from the farmer’s market/grocery store, and then place the cilantro upright in a glass jar containing an inch or two of water.
Then, cover loosely with an open large plastic bag (such as a Glad zipper bag) and place in the refrigerator. Parsley can be stored this way, as well, and so can basil (but don’t put basil in the refrigerator because the leaves will darken).
Herbs that are not so leafy, such as oregano, thyme, and rosemary, can be rolled in a damp towel, and placed in a unsealed zipper bag. Place in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator and use as needed.
As I mentioned in my first #SAVEITSUNDAY post last month, I will continue to write about how we can all waste less food in the months to come. I am glad that Glad is shining a light on this issue (no pun intended!)…be sure to check out this sweet video they put together.
See what my fellow #SAVEITSUNDAY bloggers are up to:
Visit Kristin/The Frugal Girl
Visit Mavis/100 Dollars a Month
To learn more about Glad and #SAVEITSUNDAY, follow Glad on Social Media:
Glad on Facebook
Glad on Twitter
Glad on Instagram
Related Reading:
American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It)
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal
*This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links. When you make a purchase via one of my links, I earn a small commission. I appreciate your support.
Pomegranate, Green Olive, and Cilantro Relish
Ingredients
- *1/2 cup walnuts lightly toasted in a 350 degree F. oven for 5 to 10 minutes (until they are fragrant and starting to brown), then cooled and coarsely chopped
- *1/2 cup green olives coarsely chopped
- *1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
- *1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- *1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
- *2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- *1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- *sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes (for the flavors to develop) before serving. Serve with meats, fish, cheeses, or add to a salad.
