Leftovers: Waste or Surplus?

Some people toss them. Others don't mind them; they just don't know what to do with them. Me? I plan on them. Leftovers – our favourite "fast food" – also help keep grocery spending on budget.

By planning for and making the most of leftovers, food needn't be sent to the landfill. Meal-planning is easier and preparation faster, simply by using those excess cooked foods. A few extra minutes of preparation on the first day and there's enough for (at least) one more meal. Most leftovers are used as ingredients in dishes which cook rapidly, so cooking processes are reduced for the second meal and that saves on energy costs. Any way you look at it, leftovers provide some thrifty dinners.

And there are so many good things to make with leftovers! Par-boiled and chilled potatoes make the crispiest hash browns. The best stir-fried rice – one that doesn't become sticky – is made with cooked, cold rice. A surplus of pared veggies makes handy snack food. Soups and stews not only stretch for a few meals, their texture and flavours often improve during the chilling process, as natural gelatins are activated and seasonings fuse. Leftover chicken breast or pork chops, julienned, make "topping" enough for two medium pizzas, or a hearty salad, or an excellent addition to stir-fries or ramen-noodle soup. Leftover turkey or roast beef are great in casseroles such as tetrazzini or one-pot pilafs. If you're fortunate to have spare gravy, it can seed a sauce that will convert those leftover roast meats into scrumptious pot pies. Nobody will guess they're eating leftovers!

To make fabulous fare from last night's excess, you'll need to build your own repertoire of recipes, ideally ones which allow ingredient substitutions. Pizza – my favourite use of leftover chicken – always delights. It's both a satisfying and economic meal. Home-made pizza dough requires fore-thought – to allow for rising time – but the smell of fresh-baked dough, and the pleasing texture and taste of the crust, makes it worth the minimal effort. If you like a tomato sauce base, you can make a simple sauce on the stove-top. During winter months, we don't have access to good cooking tomatoes so we use a few tablespoons, per pizza, of a jarred spaghetti sauce. (Each jar, once open, we use within its shelf-life as a condiment or ingredient in other dishes, marinades, and/or sauces – these, too, I plan ahead.) Here's my simple dough recipe for one, medium-sized pizza crust:

• 1/2 cup warm water
  
• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2-1/4 teaspoon yeast (or one, 2.5 oz. Packet)
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1-1/2 cup flour
  

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and allow it to develop (approximately 5 minutes.) Add oil, stir to combine, and pour into a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup flour and beat until smooth. Add the salt, stir well to blend, and then add the remaining flour, as much as required. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and set aside to rise for 45-50 minutes. Punch down dough, knead until smooth, and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before shaping. Once topped, this 12-inch pizza crust cooks in about 10 minutes in a hot (425-450 degree) oven.

Even the smallest amount of leftover food need not be wasted. You'd be surprised by the delicious meals that can come from a hodgepodge of leftover ingredients. Once you build your collection of recipes, your own family favourites, you'll begin to see these "fast foods" as desirable surplus. Be warned, though. This process is addictive! Soon, you'll be intending leftovers, too. Meal-planning quickly becomes a tag-team activity, featuring first meal and its progeny.

How about you? What's your favourite recipe for leftovers?

Storage & Preservation of Produce & Cheese

Last week, a reader asked about veggie and cheese storage, expressing the concern that these perishables often spoil before they can be used. That concern is shared by many. Annually, in Canada and the U.S., several million tons of food is thrown away. At a cost of several hundred dollars, on average, per household, these statistics are alarming. Two rules of thumb can alleviate much of this waste.

1. When it comes to shopping for perishables (particularly produce,) buy only what is needed and can be consumed in a few days. This may mean more frequent visits to the grocery store, but you'll enjoy fresher produce and avoid spoilage of a stockpile. Most produce requires a cool atmosphere and a fridge not filled to capacity actually works more efficiently, allowing internal air to circulate better and preventing pockets of cooler or warmer air from forming. Those over-chilled or -warm conditions can be very detrimental to the longevity of both produce and cheese.
   

   
   

2. When storing perishables, avoid washing them until they are to be used. Many vegetables and fruits have natural oils or have been sprayed with protective (and neutral) waxy coatings which help preserve them. Washing removes those oils and/or coatings, making the produce much more vulnerable to spoilage. If the product has excessive dirt on it, simply brush the soil from it with a soft cloth and then store. When ready to use, the produce can be washed. Check out this very informative article Fruit & Veggie Washes by "The Grocery Bags," Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic. Their findings support my own experience.
   

   
   

Though these two rules will help avoid most produce spoilage, there is another concern when storing fruit and vegetables and that is whether the product needs to be stored in the fridge, at room temperature, with ventilation or without, or in darkness. While researching this, I came across an excellent article on SparkPeople which included this comprehensive and easy to read chart: Fruit & Veggie Storage Chart .

When it comes to cheese, the situation is not as clear. Some argue cheese needs an airy environment, while others argue ventilation is death for cheese. It turns out, both are true. It depends on the cheese, which is a living food, much like yogurt. During research, I found an article – directed towards food service professionals (recommendations by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Wisconsin Cheese Makers,) – which answers this question, in all its complexity: Cheese Storage Tips.

I've heard other tips on preserving foods, but none of them have proved successful for me. One such recommendation says: to preserve bananas' freshness, they should be separated from the bunch. I ran three experiments on this suggestion, using three different bunches of bananas in varying weather conditions. In each experiment, I separated a few of the bananas from the bunch, and left the remaining bananas attached. Each time, all bananas, whether separate or attached, appeared to mature at the same rate, and their taste confirmed this. We do live in a very arid climate, so I'm not sure if this skewed the results or not. You might wish to perform your own experiments.

One handy hint I learned from my mother is to freeze produce that is deteriorating, but not yet spoiled, and use those veggies in a stock. The flavours may not be as high as fresh vegetables would produce, but those wilted products won't be thrown into a landfill where they'd be completely wasted. A compost pile is another good place for (most) produce that has passed its prime.

If you have ideas or suggestions you wish to share on this subject, please leave a comment.