Use or Loose Odds n Ends n gluts

[ZeroCook Profile]

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Following a common theme on various threads, thought a thread dedicated to the constant quest to use up all manner of food bits and bobs and surpluses would be useful and fun

I cleaned out a fridge veg drawer a couple of days ago and ended up tossing celery and leeks that had been trapped in bags under other things. It was not pretty. I salvaged a small red cabbage which I diced and lightly salted overnight and is now pre fermenting with a bit of added water as a potential pickle component.

Kicking it off, I have a bit of leftover minced beef - about 100g - from last night's green chile cheeseburgers. I also have part of a bunch of kale that really needs using, some ricotta that's still good but needs using, milk that needs using ( I make a lot of yoghurt but I still have an extra unopened big container in the queue ..), a few shallots that need using soon, one and a half courgettes, half a 500g box of past their best mushrooms, part of a leek, a couple of carrots still good but from a previous life.

Also, SIL dropped off some stuff including about 5 kg of shop bought large Golden Delicious apples and a bag of somwhat unripe yellowish plums that may or may not ripen so need to be used, and a lots of big yellow onions. Also some oranges - about 6-8 - that look fine but whose whose flavour is very meh bland and prob won't get eaten as whole fresh fruit and prob won't keep.

Suggestions, ideas, comments, jokes, useful and useless info svp
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[Suelle Profile Website]

And I thought I had problems with half a butternut squash which I keep by-passing in favour of courgettes and beans straight from the garden!

Orange curd and/or a boiled orange cake will take care of that excess.

Apples - prepare, cook lightly and freeze in dessert sized portions. Plums can just be de-stoned and frozen.

Soup.

And control your buying habits It's nice to have a variety available so that you can cook whatever you fancy but there's inevitably waste if you keep too much 't hand'.

I've been known to decide what to cook for dinner on the basis of having half a tin of tomatoes in the fridge which needs using.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Crikey! Have you got any available freezer space? The meat would be straight in there to worry about at another time if I had!

A deep quiche would get rid of the ricotta, some of the veg and a bit of the milk (milk being another freezer contender!).

The mushrooms sound as though they need dealing with first- we've a thread running about them!

Plums always make a lovely crumble if they aren't good for just eating. I think I might be looking round for a needy family who could use the apples and oranges.

Friends in the USA are always busy making dried apple slices at this time of year to snack on over winter.

[Amyw Profile]

I’d be tempted to make a veggie broth using a lot of your vegetables and aromatics , then make some teeny meatballs using the mince and serve in the broth .

For the plums , I’d make a chutney , always good for fruit that’s a little tasteless . Apples I’d cook and freeze most . Apple compote is always good for breakfast , then you have the makings for a crumble , pie etc in the freezer .

[ZeroCook Profile]

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Crikey! Have you got any available freezer space? The meat would be straight in there to worry about at another time if I had!

The meat was previously frozen or I would - - I do have a fairish bit of freezer space. I'm thinking possibly a small lasagna and freezing some of that.

Good call on plums Amy

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[herbidacious Profile]

Baked ricotta with herbs etc. is nice but not a frugal way of using it, I suppose. I used up a tub in two lunchtime little salads with broad beans and peas from the garden, lemon juice, black pepper a little smoked paprika, last week.

i have peppers i need to do something with. The slugs are making holes in ones I am growing (ditto aubergines) so I guess I will roast them in chunks.

Shall I chuck my rather soft and far too mature, very large cucumbers?

Two weeks ago, I juiced oranges that had been lurking in the fridge since April! Such a treat!

I may end up having other things that urgently need eating now husband has stopped eating proper food. (Huel diet.)

[smitch Profile]

I like stuffed pasta shells with sausage, ricotta, spinach and peppers. Could do something similar using the mince maybe?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Small amounts of mince can be used in various SE Asian dishes such as ma po tofu or ants climbing a tree (noodles)

I’d be inclined to compost the Golden Delicious before they start smelling like mustard gas, unless they are very green in which case some can go in the chutney Amy suggests and the rest can be made into stewed apple/apple sauce and frozen or even canned

This is a good chutney for using gluts, I haven’t made it but I’ve been given jars by several different people and it’s good

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/glutney

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Pasta & Chickpeas.jpg

This is what resulted from a severe revision of the fridge yesterday. Pasta (mostly broken, at the bottom of a bag), chickpeas (I only used a couple of tablespoons of them), Swiss chard (mostly stalks, which are lovely and sweet) and a bit of tomato sauce. Filled a space!

I´m a bit like Suelle. Open the door of the fridge, see what´s there, then invent something.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Small amounts of mince can be used in various SE Asian dishes

For a moment, I thought I was reading "small amounts of mice"...

[ZeroCook Profile]

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And control your buying habits It's nice to have a variety available so that you can cook whatever you fancy but there's inevitably waste if you keep too much 't hand

I know I know. Pandemic mode. Ordering online +- every 2 weeks has it's advantages and drawbacks ... it's a challenge to get it exactly right on the fresh stuff.


Ditto having a fridge cull, KKA hence list. Your result looks quite Spanish.

SE Asian for meaty bits good idea Stokey. Ma Po tofudef with small amounts of mice yes! Love. Fuchsia Dunlop has an excellent one. You could be right about the apples. I'll see if they'll vaguely par cook in slices for a future croustardes, tarts or pies without falling apart. Applesauce/puree hmmm maybe but bit of a waste of freezer space poss.

Amy - for crumble too - OH is devotee

Good call on the oranges Herbid - juiced em, juice was fine but no tang so added juice of a big lime in tall glasses with ice. So good. Would have been plus a couple of vodka shots back in the day
Peppers + cukes = gazpacho? Gordon Ramsay
https://www.gordonramsay.com/gr/recipes/gazpacho
Watermelon gazpacho from SeriousEats -
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/201 ... crema.html

Smitch - yep, only as lasagna tomorrow with courgettes, kale in there too. Milk for the bechamel.

The shallots will be sliced, fried until crisp, ditto with garlic, plus chile and variousnesses and transformed into Nam Prik Pao which I've been thinking about too, eyeing up the prawns in the freezer for Tom Yum Goong.



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[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I find leftover cooking really difficult.
Lettuce wraps, or rice paper pancake wraps always work if you have carrots dwindling in the fridge box.

Otherwise, I get stumped.

I've got a load of fresno peppers in the fridge, that were going to get skewered with marinated pork. As I cannot think of another thing to do with them.
I'd love to stuff 'em, but Tony isn't a fan.
I might still make them into veggie skewers, if I get some courgettes.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

If I had a cucumber I'd whizz it up with one of the cans of Heinz tomato soup we acquired during lockdown, loads of ice cubes and some balsamic to compensate for the sweetness and make a sort of gazpacho.

I find leftover cooking really difficult.
Lettuce wraps, or rice paper pancake wraps always work if you have carrots dwindling in the fridge box.

I make a grated carrot salad with tired carrots from the fridge, with vinaigrette and grated apple, sultanas, chopped red pepper ...
Also omi houriya is rather a nice carrot dip that I've used up old and tired carrots in:

Omi Houriya
Using a vegetable brush, scrub a bunch of trimmed, young carrots (about 500g) and roughly chop. Bring to the boil in a saucepan along with a little grated ginger, garlic, salt and sufficient water to barely cover the carrots. Simmer until tender, adding a little more water if required.
Remove from the heat, add a teaspoon each of white wine (or white balsamic) vinegar, ground cumin and harissa paste; a pinch of caraway seeds then puree with either a hand blender or food processor. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil and whiz again.
Allow to cool and chill before serving with the requisite flat breads. The addition of thick, Greek yogurt (in equal quantity) produces a creamy dip with a less pungent but, equally delicious flavour to serve with crackers and crudité though mayonnaise could easily be an alternative addition.

[ZeroCook Profile]

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Big fan of carrot salads in any event. Never have come across a cooked carrot dip before nor did it occur even tho I love and make beetrot and red pepper dips -omi houriya looks excellent, Bea. Tunisian-ish? I'm also going to pass it on to veggie fam members.

Are your fresnos the hot smallish ones or the sweet ones Gill? Peppers and chiles freeze well tho changes their cooking quality a bit but still ok for lots. I got a great deal on 6 v large red peppers that I couldn't pass up & roasted and froze 3 and froze the other 3 whole.

Muhammara - red pepper and walnut dip as mentioned

Red pepper chile jam

Peppers sliced longways with onion - part of fajita fixings.

Roasted red peppers very versatile. Sopa de Ajo, salads, stews, soups, sandwich component.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Another thought for the peppers, because I had some in the fridge yesterday that were looking a bit tired...
Chop them into bite-sized pieces, put them in an ovenproof dish, add a chopped onion ( big pieces), couple of cloves of garlic,salt, drizzle of olive oil. Stick them in the oven (425°F) for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I kept half for salad today and the other half went on top of some pasta, with a bit of leftover tomato sauce.

[MariaK Profile]

I've got a load of fresno peppers in the fridge,

Gill,

How about a variant on the classic Potato & onion tortilla from Ciudad Real. Take 2-3 green peppers (must be pimientos - the long thin ones - and not morrones - ie bell peppers), remove stalk end, slash down one side , remove seeds etc and fry in a dribble of olive oil till cooked.

Prep the tortilla as usual. When ready to cook pour half the eggy mix into the frying pan; put a layer of the fried green peppers on top and cover with the rest of the eggy mix.
Obviously they don't use chillies, but if you and Tony like it hot - why not? Though if your fresnos are very hot, you may want use fewer peppers.

[MariaK Profile]

Shall I chuck my rather soft and far too mature, very large cucumbers?

Have you tried cucumbers cooked as a veg?

Peel cucumber(s) - Cut across into 6-8 cm lengths. Slice these in half lengthways & remove seeds with a teaspoon (up to you) I usually don't bother. Slice each half into 3 or 4 strips. Sprinkle with a little salt.
Melt some butter - or butter & oil in a frying pan & cook the cucumbers on low heat. Sprinkle with dill & serve. Mint's also good.

On the old BBC board FCQ mentioned Elizabeth David had a similar recipe (I invented mine one summer in Madrid when there was a glut of cucumbers). E.D: peeled the cucmbers - sliced in 2 lengthways - scooped out the seedy bit and then sliced each half across into dainty crescents before cooking in cream.

Gazpacho
Not convinced by Gordon Ramsay's recipe - a whole cucumber is too much, but cucumber "soup" - hot or cold can be good

Polish cucumber salad . Mizeria
Peel & slice cucumber - very thin. Place in sieve / collander , sprinkle generously with salt. Cover with plate & a weight to drain off liquid.
Transfer to shallow bowl - add sour cream / Greek Yog / creme fraiche & dill. Don't let it hang around for too long or it can go watery.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I’ve just remembered a recipe for a cold cucumber soup - made by the generic method of cooking cucumber with potato and puréeing, the twist was this one was finished with a little mayonnaise instead of cream and chives or dill

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Just remembered cucumber jelly with smoked salmon and curry mayonnaise on top. Wouldn´t be much good for you, Herbie, but others might like to try. It´s a good was of using up tiny amounts of smoked salmon, too.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Cucumbers are cooked in Chinese cuisine. I'm sure there was a recipe in the original BBC Ken Hom book, I've also done one from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery, there must be plenty online.

Given that they firm up when salted, what about the cucumber relish? Scully & KK have both got good (quite similar) recipes.