Would you eat food that has expired?

There’s a new grocery store/restaurant/teaching kitchen opening next year near Boston will offer only food that is already past its sell-by date.

Is this a bold attempt to make healthy food more affordable and reduce food waste? Or merely another way to make a buck off of those who have few options for shopping elsewhere?

Doug Rauch, the former president of Trader Joe’s, is behind “The Daily Table.” He wants to take good quality food that grocers have to throw away and cook and sell it as low-cost prepared food.

Rauch says Americans trash up to 40-percent of their food every year because they don’t understand expiration dates. Expiration date refers to the last date a food should be eaten or served according to the manufacturer or producer.

The hybrid store will sell prepared food, like soups and casseroles, as well as packaged chopped vegetables for prices that compete with fast food, not brand-driven food. There will also be a kitchen area where people can learn how to cook with the healthy ingredients they purchase.

So… if you knew the food was safe to eat, but past the “best-by-date,” would you buy it?

I would if it meant giving my children fruits and vegetables and other healthy food I couldn’t otherwise afford.

Hunger is a very real issue in this country. Kudos to Mr. Rauch for trying to tackle this very large social challenge.

Beautiful, golden brown, garlicky croutons are one of those things that I can eat until the cows come home.

I pop one or two in my mouth with no guilt. Then I eat a third and fourth and think: “That’s it! No more until dinner!” Of course… I have a couple more. This is about the time someone wanders into the kitchen and snags one off the tray and I yell, “Stop eating all the croutons! They’re for dinner!”

These croutons are so good, I bet even my Paleo friends would succumb to one or two.

Here’s how to make croutons that’ll venture off the salad plate and into soups such as Gazpacho or Cucumber (make the croutons small or you won’t be able to see the soup!). Croutons also like to sit on grilled vegetables and eggs (no need to make toast… it’s on top!) and casseroles.

Some recipes tell you to use stale bread. I like day old or two-day old bread… otherwise the croutons taste a little tired. I prefer to use baguettes, but really, any bread will do. As you know, I’m big on contrasting colors. Once, I mixed pumpernickel bread with white bread (I even flavored them differently, but that was one of those rare occasions when I had a little extra time).

Give them a little sex appeal with a dash of cayenne pepper… or even a curry or Moroccan spice blend.

The beauty of croutons is that you can make a whole tray of them and they will keep for a week in a tightly sealed container or re-sealable plastic bag… assuming they survive the crouton bandits and snacking masses!

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