~ 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. 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! 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
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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. ~ Save your leftovers ~ First - Freeze The best way to save leftovers is to immediately freeze any portions that you think you won't be able to finish in the next few days. The saving of leftover meals is of course thrifty in itself. Almost everything can be frozen nicely and most cookbooks have a section on how long it is safe to store different types of dishes. Save more money by reusing old margarine, yogurt or cream cheese tubs. When money runs low - don't reach for the credit card at the grocery store - turn to your freezer to make up a supper. Second - Refrigerate Put leftovers in the fridge that you know you will use in the next little while, but don't cover with that costly and wasteful plastic wrap or tin foil. The fairies, who simply don't have those type of factories in the Grove, use covered glass and ceramic dishes instead. Many vintage Pyrex and Fire King dishes were intended to be used first for cooking a meal, and then came with a fitted lid, providing a simple method for saving leftovers in the fridge. And even if you didn't prepare the meal in the dish; you can still use these beauties for storing leftovers! Estimate the amount you pay each year for disposable food wrap. It quickly becomes apparent how a covered dish, that you reuse year after year, makes good economical sense. Covered dishes are yet another way to work towards self-sufficiency and move away from the dependence on, and expense of, disposable products. Third - Remember; leftovers aren't just cooked meals Ever open a tin of crushed tomatoes or vegetables and only need half for your recipe? Freeze the rest immediately in a small tub. Freeze it, no matter how small the portion because you can always add separate portions together to make up a full portion at a later date. Likewise wrap up bits of cooked chicken, turkey, ham etc. to later use for soups and broths. And make sure to wrap up any leftover (and very expensive) cheese when cutting or grating! It makes a great pull-it-all-together macaroni and cheese at a later date. Save old bread bags and cut them up to use for wrappers and secure with a bit of masking tape. Once you get started truly saving all your left-overs, you will be pleasantly surprised how much money you save, and how few ingredients you really need to buy in order to put together some sort of a meal when money is tight ... not to mention saved preparation time on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking at all! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2020
The merry Yule gatherings have been successful in chasing away the darkness! The fairies in the Grove have noticed the dazzling pink sunsets glittering on the snow have moved from the late afternoon to the early evening. We also find that the joyful winter celebrations around the tables have somewhat exhausted the fruits of harvest and it is time to take stock of our larders. January often marks a month for tightening our belts!
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