Thursday 19 May 2016

Hugh Fearlessly Eats It All - I Am More Choosy!

I am enjoying this book. It is full of good ideas, and imaginative ways to use up leftovers. But we have a very efficient system here with a foodbin under the sink, and the dustmen collect this every week. The "Dorset For You" website claims that "one third [by weight] of waste in Dorset is food. If sent to landfill, it would produce methane [which contributes to climate change] and leachate [a chemical which pollutes the environment. 
Instead food waste is composted to produce a nutrient rich soil improver, and also to generate renewable energy" and it saves money too. So I am not going to fret too much about peelings or chicken bones [once I have made stock from them, of course]
HFW's book has an alarming recipe for "Spicy Crispy Fish Skeletons" which make a good snack 'with hot and sweet chilli dipping sauce' - personally I feel this is carrying things a little too far [and not a wise idea for children or the elderly. The late Queen Mother had fishbone issues]
But I have been much more diligent about planning meals round the leftovers.
On Friday I had a baking session. I used some of our own homegrown rhubarb [yes, really- we have produced an edible crop at last!!] to make some crumbles [not fumbles] for the freezer - there were a few softening strawberries in the fridge, so I slung them in too. And as there was a large batch of homemade yogurt 'on the turn' I drained it to make soft cheese, and used that as the basis for 4 quiches. A spoonful of my wild garlic pesto added flavour, and the veg was all stuff which was 'getting elderly' in the fridge. 4 Quiches frozen for later. The peelings, plus leftover cooked veg in a box in the fridge went into the slowcooker and made a pint of veg stock. This was cooked up to make a hearty soup for Saturday lunch. I chopped up the few bits of leftover ham and chicken to make a filling for the accompanying sandwiches.
When putting the fruit into the dishes for the crumble, I seemed to have rather a lot of liquid. I drained it off- and it was such a glorious pink colour, that I couldn't bear to throw it away. I diluted it 50/50 with sparkling mineral water and added ice cubes. Bob enjoyed his refreshing rhubarb and strawberry drink.










None of these things I did were particularly revolutionary, but as Hugh says "There's a soul-feeding pleasure to be had from cooking with leftovers. It's not just about saving money and reducing waste: such resourceful cookery is a way to honour your food and yourself"
And I am not worried that I missed World Hummus Day last Friday!

2 comments:

  1. I do like that quote for HFW - the idea of "honouring" food & not just treating it as our "right" is important. That way you learn to value it, as something that sadly, not everyone has free access to.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Does every food have a 'Day' now?
    Well done for growing Rhubarb!

    ReplyDelete

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