Waste: NOT!

So yesterday was Australia Day and we had a BBQ  and of course I prepared too much food and there is uncooked meat and cooked meat and corn and salad and fruit cluttering my fridge, and there are uneaten burger buns and hot-dog rolls in my pantry. And there are leftovers from last Sunday brunch and from other meals. And I want to tell you that this KILLS me because I can’t stand waste. I am usually much better at this- in fact, I have written a hitherto unpublished cook book dedicated largely on how to deal with leftovers*- but this got out of hand.

Wasting G-d’s bounty is just wrong, and that’s even without factoring in the Holocaust  and Great Depression (my dad was a survivor and my mum was Australian born, so I got it from both sides.) And especially wrong is wasting meat. The thought that this creature had its life taken in order for us to have nourishment and pleasure, that I can just get my head around. But to then take the meat and throw it out…it’s just immoral. It really kills me.

Unfortunately, I still tend to cook like there are 7 kids living at home and now there are none. Empty nest. Except that the local marrieds generally do swoop back in to relieve me of leftovers, but not this week. It’s still vacation time, some are away, whatever. So time to roll up the sleeves and right wrongs.

What to do??

Freeze the raw meat which was fresh from the butcher. Easy.

Hamburger mince, all seasoned and ready for the grill- meatballs in tomato sauce. Freeze.

BBQ chicken wings. Hello, Shabbat dinner.

Cooked steak- cut into strips and serve with noodles and vegetables. Faux Chinese.

Older chicken, corn, vegetables, plus some bones and peelings  etc from freezer- chicken stock. Ahh, blessed stock, user of scraps and leftovers, basis of kick-arse soups, stews and sauces.

Old cake- trifle. I’ve been known to make rumballs but trifle wins every time.

Bread- I won’t fall into the trap of filling my freezer with bread rolls which then end up tasting funny, if they are ever used before being thrown out for Pesach. No. I will make croutons. I will make crumbs and freeze them for use on schnitzels, in meatballs, in fish patties etc. I might even make a bit of garlic bread with the long rolls.

Watermelon- freeze cubes and whizz in blender for natural watermelon slushies!

OK, enough writing, there’s work to do!

*All expressions of interest welcomed with pathetic gratitude