If you have extra veg, old bread or food-scraps...
With most people stuck at home these days, and access to food somewhat limited—not to mention having at least more time just from a reduced commute and no social outings—here are some ideas I've found that work well to make the most out of each bit of food.
Food scraps?—Broth bags.
Why buy broth, when you probably go through all the necessary ingredients in a week? Certainly with vegetable broth anyway, what I've started doing is to take the garbage parts of vegetables—onion ends, potato-peels, celery-leaves—or anything else that you wouldn't want to keep for its own sake, and saving those in a bag in the fridge until I have enough for a liter or two of vegetable stock.
To do this, just dump those in a pot of simmering water for about 2+ hours for small pots and 4 for very big ones, strain out the water and leave it in a jar in the fridge.
Stale Bread?—Stuffing, French Toast, or Bread Pudding
This is an old problem and there are certainly some old solutions. Basically, these come down to adding some kind of liquid to it and baking that all together. My go-to with stale bread is stuffing which I already have a recipe for: Apple Stuffing. Pudding uses the same principles, but add in an egg-cream mixture instead of broth, and add dried fruits all in a deep oven-safe dish.
Miscellaneous Veg?— Add a Base
In a conversation with a meat-eating friend who was trying to reduce her meat-consumption, she mentioned how she was struggling, because planned her meals around meat. What I do instead, especially since I have been vegan for over a year now, is to have a fairly consistent assortment of vegetables (and mushrooms), and to just add those in around other things. If you do that, here are some tips to add as a base. First, my go-to's are usually: carrots, zucchini [courgette], onions, mushrooms, bell-peppers, and sometimes broccoli (especially the stocks, or broc-stoc if you will).
Whatever your go-to's, here are some things that go well with leftover bits of veg:
Risotto: just add in uncooked rice and slowly stir-in some broth for ~20 minutes, and grated cheese (Violife works, I can say)
Stuffed Aubergine: Slice an aubergine length-wise, roast your minced vegetables beside those skins in the oven, then put those in the aubergine (along with a spoonful of jam if you're feeling naughty) stirred together for another 20 minutes. You can also add rice as a base inside the skins, but I don't.
Dumplings: finely mince your veg and fry up in a nice broth until everything is soft and somewhat mushy. Add this into a dumpling dough (it can be as simple as flour and water) and add these to simmering water for 2-5 minutes
Noodle Stir-fry: Sauté the veg and add in noodles and a sauce. Can't get much simpler. Add meat if you're so inclined
Couscous: use Israeli couscous, aka Giant Couscous, aka Ptitim. Fry those for 2-5 minutes and add to water for another 10-15. While that's going, sauté zucchini, peppers, and whatever else you want. Once done, add those together with vinegar, salt, and parsley if you've got some.
This is the first non-recipe I've put on the blog, so I'd like to know if you'd want more in this format.
With most people stuck at home these days, and access to food somewhat limited—not to mention having at least more time just from a reduced commute and no social outings—here are some ideas I've found that work well to make the most out of each bit of food.
Food scraps?—Broth bags.
Why buy broth, when you probably go through all the necessary ingredients in a week? Certainly with vegetable broth anyway, what I've started doing is to take the garbage parts of vegetables—onion ends, potato-peels, celery-leaves—or anything else that you wouldn't want to keep for its own sake, and saving those in a bag in the fridge until I have enough for a liter or two of vegetable stock.
To do this, just dump those in a pot of simmering water for about 2+ hours for small pots and 4 for very big ones, strain out the water and leave it in a jar in the fridge.
Stale Bread?—Stuffing, French Toast, or Bread Pudding
This is an old problem and there are certainly some old solutions. Basically, these come down to adding some kind of liquid to it and baking that all together. My go-to with stale bread is stuffing which I already have a recipe for: Apple Stuffing. Pudding uses the same principles, but add in an egg-cream mixture instead of broth, and add dried fruits all in a deep oven-safe dish.
Miscellaneous Veg?— Add a Base
In a conversation with a meat-eating friend who was trying to reduce her meat-consumption, she mentioned how she was struggling, because planned her meals around meat. What I do instead, especially since I have been vegan for over a year now, is to have a fairly consistent assortment of vegetables (and mushrooms), and to just add those in around other things. If you do that, here are some tips to add as a base. First, my go-to's are usually: carrots, zucchini [courgette], onions, mushrooms, bell-peppers, and sometimes broccoli (especially the stocks, or broc-stoc if you will).
Whatever your go-to's, here are some things that go well with leftover bits of veg:
Risotto: just add in uncooked rice and slowly stir-in some broth for ~20 minutes, and grated cheese (Violife works, I can say)
Stuffed Aubergine: Slice an aubergine length-wise, roast your minced vegetables beside those skins in the oven, then put those in the aubergine (along with a spoonful of jam if you're feeling naughty) stirred together for another 20 minutes. You can also add rice as a base inside the skins, but I don't.
Dumplings: finely mince your veg and fry up in a nice broth until everything is soft and somewhat mushy. Add this into a dumpling dough (it can be as simple as flour and water) and add these to simmering water for 2-5 minutes
Noodle Stir-fry: Sauté the veg and add in noodles and a sauce. Can't get much simpler. Add meat if you're so inclined
Couscous: use Israeli couscous, aka Giant Couscous, aka Ptitim. Fry those for 2-5 minutes and add to water for another 10-15. While that's going, sauté zucchini, peppers, and whatever else you want. Once done, add those together with vinegar, salt, and parsley if you've got some.
This is the first non-recipe I've put on the blog, so I'd like to know if you'd want more in this format.
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