Some basic tips


The Recycled Cook

By Adrian Sleeman

Some basic tips

Here are a few simple ideas which will get you thinking along the lines of recycling food and hopefully you will not only enjoy some great flavours but will save some money in the process.

Containers

This might seem like a strange place to start but if you are going to think like    a recycled cook then you will need somewhere to store it. Take those lidded plastic boxes that your takeaway Indian and Chinese food comes in, don't just throw them away, rinse them thoroughly and put them in your dishwasher. Perfect for keeping those leftover bits and pieces in your fridge or freezer.

Breadcrumbs

We all have bread from time to time that goes stale (by stale I mean dry NOT mouldy). Stale bread makes great breadcrumbs so just chop up the bread into manageable chunks (crusts and all) and blitz in the food processor.

 I use an old coffee grinder which makes amazing breadcrumbs. Put the crumbs into one of the above containers and freeze.

Croutons

Alternatively you can cube the bread and shallow fry in a little oil until golden brown, drain on kitchen paper and then, once cold, put in yet another of the above containers and freeze. perfect croutons for your soup.

Parmesan Cheese

Why is it that we are always left with that last piece of Parmesan cheese,     next to the rind, that is so hard it is almost impossible to cut let alone eat? Don't throw it away though, grate it into yet another of those little containers and pop it into the freezer, perfect for all those "au gratin" dishes.

Peppers

Whether the small hot chiili pappers or the large sweet capiscums, most of us de-seed these before cooking with them, the small ones especially as most of the heat is held in these seeds. Don't throw away the seeds, put them in a pot on your kitchen windowsill. Once dried out they can be planted in seed trays or just sprinkled in small pots.  

Once these become seedlings you can transplant them and if you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse you can really get serious about growing your own peppers. I find just some small pots on the kitchen window-sill or in the conservatory works just fine.

One observation, recently I have noticed that when I have done this with chillies bought from supermarkets they grow into nice healthy plants but don't bear fruit. Could it be that they are genetically modified to prevent us re-growing them, potentially costing them sales?

Other possibilities

You can of course do the same thing with seeds from citrus fruit, tomatoes, courgettes or in fact any seed bearing fruit and vegetables. 

 

Disclaimer: The suggestions and tips on these blog pages are meant to be used in conjunction with common sense. Keeping your family healthy is the priority. Do not use food that is unfit for human consumption and always follow sensible food hygiene guidelines. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/food-leftovers-safety.aspx

 

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