Pickles and Parsley

What exactly can you do with all the unworthy looking leftovers, garnishes and free condiments on your restaurant table? Here's what I do with mine:

Pickles
Chop into tiny pieces. Mix mayo and ketchup; add the chopped pickles. You've just made Thousand Island dressing. Add chopped pickles to plain mayo - that's tartar sauce. 

Parsley
Did you know parsley is considered a superfood?  It's  better than kale. Parsley ranked #8 on the Top 10 superfood list. Kale didn't make the Top 10. Fresh or wilted, it can be finely chopped and sprinkled over or into anything - salads, soups, grains, on top of your sandwich. You can also dry it in the oven at the lowest temperature and then you've got it preserved for future use. BTW, watercress is superfood #1.  I started growing it in pots. It's a lovely little green, really easy to grow and makes me feel rather British and smart. 

Peppers (jalapeños or any kind) 
For gringos like me who don't know the difference between them but I'm afraid they are too hot and I don't want to buy them and find out the hard way, I'm happy to take a few pieces home that are left on my plate. This is typically when ordering pho or at Mexican place. Someone's done all the dirty work of washing and chopping and I didn't have to get it on my hands. I can taste it at the restaurant and find out what I'm dealing with. The first and only time I diced a jalapeno, I thought I washed my hands pretty well but many hours later when I took my contact lenses out....big mistake! I don't have to tell you how awful it was. 

Jams and jellies - individual servings
Mix apricot or orange jam and mustard and you get a perfect glaze for anything. Just paint it or spoon it on early in the cooking. It can caramelize if you burn it a bit.  Yummy!   Add any flavor to plain yogurt. I add a spoonful to sweeten the juices of a fresh fruit salad.  Melt it in the microwave for a few seconds (with our without booze) and it becomes a sauce for ice cream, whipped cream, leftover dry cake. 

Sliced tomatoes, lettuce, onion  
Have you ever sautéed them - separately or together?  They are a stand-alone for sautéing but I add them to other vegetables I am cooking or in an omelette or soup. Any wilted vegetable can be chopped and cooked and added to a soup. 

Ketchup, mustard, mayo, artificial sweeteners, creamers  
I keep a few of each of these for just in case. We usually don't keep mayo or ketchup in the house. The bottles would last forever. You never know when you need a little bit. A teaspoon of mustard added to oil and vinegar makes a lovely salad dressing. There is always a guest who wants a no-cal sweetener. And we sometimes run out of milk and I prefer a little cream in my morning coffee. One teaspoon of preserved half & half won't kill me. 

My favorite   
The Bread Basket - Restaurants are not allowed to serve anything on your table to anyone else. They should be throwing your bread into the trash. I consider that the cost has already been worked into the prices - I've already paid for it. I'm just rescuing it from the dumpster and making sure it gets to my toaster.

Never
The one free condiment I have never found use for:  Chinese take-out mustard packets. That stuff is really horrible! 

Now you know. If you avoid going to restaurant together, I will understand.