January - make even more of the food​ you buy by reincarnating it!

1914, Photo by Harry W. Frees

~ Last Week at Meadow Sweet Grove ~
​"The price of food keeps going up, up, up!  Even the fairies have discovered increases at their little local markets in the Grove.  With the price of food so high, it makes sense to cut waste at every opportunity.  One of the best ways to do this is to save all your leftovers so you are truly eating most of the food you buy. "​​

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Another tricky fairy habit is to never, ever throw out food. It can usually be "reincarnated" into something else. Fruit and vegetables that seem "on their way out" can often be turned into a useful dish or ingredient. Just remember the last time you had "sticker shock" and how much you paid for those groceries!  And before you toss anything out, always have a quick think about what else you might be able to make with that expensive food.

~ Never throw food out ~

Save Vegetable Peelings/Cuttings & Leftover Bits of Chicken
Chicken broth is relatively inexpensive at the store and available in tins or tetra packs.  But why pay for anything that is so easy to make and for which you already have the ingredients?  You do have the time if you remember your freezer.  Just keep a bread bag in the freezer closed with a twist tie.  Next time you are chopping or peeling vegetables (especially carrots, onions, broccoli and celery), toss all the good bits that you would ordinarily throw away, into that bag and keep them frozen.  Wrap up any leftover bits of cooked chicken and freeze separately. Now, and at your leisure, you may make up a batch of chicken stock whenever you choose. Simply tip the various little bags of frozen veg and chicken into a large pot.  Add black pepper, parsley and a bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer.  When ready, pour over a strainer into ceramic bowls.  Use immediately or transfer, when tepid, into plastic containers for freezing.  And if you are lucky enough to have a left-over chicken carcass, you can immediately add the frozen veg directly into the pan to make your broth.  Don't forget to check the bottom of your crisper bins in the fridge!  Often there are some veg "on the way out" that can be easily added to the broth.

Save Soft Tomatoes
Tomatoes starting to soften in the refrigerator?  Bad on one side?  Put them in a large metal mixing bowl, boil a kettle and pour over top.  When cool enough to touch, make a slight cut -- the skins should peel off easily.  Slightly chop, discarding any spoiled pieces, and place the remainder in a medium pot.  Reduce to mush over medium to low heat.  Ladle into sterilized mason jars (just boil jars and lids rapidly for a couple of minutes in a large pot of water), add a small squirt of lemon and sprinkle of rock salt on top and seal jars.  Freeze when they reach room temperature.  Now you have some wonderful crushed tomatoes for your next spaghetti, lasagna or other pasta dish!

If you are in a hurry, simply wash the whole tomatoes in cool water, dry and freeze in a bread bag.  You can then add the frozen tomatoes directly to any pasta sauce or soup you are making at a later date - just takes a little longer to break them down.

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Richard Scarrey, The Crow & The Cheese

Save Bits & Pieces of Cheese / Odds & Ends of Bread
Cheese is so incredibly expensive ... at least in Meadow Sweet Grove.  The fairies in Britain often come to visit their little cousins in the Grove and are shocked at the price of cheese!  So, every time you slice cheese for snacking, or grate cheese for a meal, make sure you save the little leftover bits, wrapped up tight in the refrigerator.  Start a bread bag in the fridge for left-over bread - that last slice no one seems to eat, the broken crust, etc.  Also, don't throw out that last bit of sour cream, cottage cheese or unflavoured yogurt - unless it truly is off of course!  ​

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​Black Bananas
Banana Bread of course!  A tasty snack anytime and perfect for kid's lunchboxes.

​These are just a few ways to save food that you might otherwise have thrown out.  Once you get used to the idea, you will discover many, many more ways to use up food that you thought had no life left in it, or was too small to save - and start saving lots on that shocking grocery bill!

Next week for you:  Two recipes -
​"Pull-It-All-Together Macaroni & Cheese" & Delicious Banana Bread

​​​Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017