Reviving Celery

We try really hard not to waste vegetables, but it's actually pretty easy to forget to check the status of the crisper drawer residents. Such was the fate of our celery. Originally purchased as an ingredient in cranberry turkey stuffed squash (recipe to come), the remaining stems lay forgotten in the back of the fridge for weeks.

Poor depressed celery, it feels alone and forgotten

Not surprisingly when I finally dug it out there wasn't much life left. The stalks were kinda squishy and unappetizing. Definitely not crispy or delicious. I was about to toss them when I remembered something I heard about reviving celery by letting it sit in water. I decided to give it a try so I snipped the base off of the stems to allow the water to seep in and set them in a cup of cold water. 

I wasn't sure how long it would take, so I kept checking every hour. I was pretty sure it wasn't working because even several hours later my celery looked as sad as ever. After a while I forgot about it, and it wasn't until the evening of the next day that I looked again. 

The celery's mood greatly improves after a long relaxing soak

My celery had completely revived! It stood up straight and was totally recovered! I felt kind of like a wizard. Unfortunately, I then proceded to forget about it on the window sill for several more days (not recommended), and it started to grow something on it, so I ended up throwing it out anyway... :(

Steps:

1. Discover overlooked squishy celery in the back of your fridge

2. Chop off bottoms so that the stems can absorb water

3. Fill a cup partway with cold water and set the celery in the cup

4. Wait (mine took overnight)

5. Enjoy!

<><Elizabeth