Not too bad for ‘left-overs’!

We used to have a friend who detested left-overs… he simply would not eat them. He probably would have died of starvation in our house as ‘left-overs’ comprise a remarkably high proportion of the food we eat. But when I come to think about it, many of our left-overs are created deliberately, they are not the result of an accidental over-estimate of the food required. Like Sam Vimes, our food does not need any favours.

‘Needs eating up.’ That was a phrase of Sybil’s that got to Vimes. She’d announce at lunch: ‘We must have the pork tonight, it needs eating up.’ Vimes never had an actual problem with this, because he’d been raised to eat what was put in front of him, and do it quickly, too, before someone else snatched it away. He was just puzzled at the suggestion that he was there to do the food a favour.

Terry Pratchett. Thud!

I like cooking enough on one day that I have something to eat the next. It’s not about using waste, it’s more about planning ahead. In this world of ours where ready meals are so popular (according to the BBC, ready the meals industry is worth £2.6bn in the UK alone), I quite like making something myself that can be quickly heated up.

I can always find a container in which to freeze or store left-overs

A rather strange programme on the BBC last week, Nigel and Adam’s Farm Kitchen, encouraged us to make and freeze our own ready meals, Although growing your own durum wheat with which to make your pasta (as they did) seemed an unattainable starting point for anybody watching the show, I was hopeful that the subsequent demonstration would provide some good ideas for viewers. Unfortunately, Nigel Slater got carried away and made 30 small lasagnes, each in their own foil tray. Hmmm… in our house, we would have made a large lasagne in a Pyrex dish, cooked it, eaten some of it and frozen individual portions in reusable plastic tubs. OK, this would require portions to be transferred out for reheating in the oven, but since most folks reheat in a microwave, there’s really no issue.

I regularly make a big pot of spaghetti bolognese ,or of soup, with the specific intention of having food for the next day or for the freezer. And if you have one of those discerning individuals who does not like to eat ‘left-overs’, just assure them that you have made Réchauffage; after all, the French are great cooks, so it must be good!