Using what’s on hand
Making a meal with some leftover food is a great way to save money
One of the most important tenets of managing a grocery budget is to use what you have. I recognize that for some, the cupboards are bare at the end of the week, and that is sad. But those of us lucky enough to have food left can help ourselves by being diligent in using what’s on hand, whether in the fridge, freezer or cupboards.
The more you make use of what’s already in your kitchen, the less you have to purchase.
Last week I brought the bones from a leg of lamb up from the freezer and made a batch of hearty, wholesome Scotch broth. People have always made soup from bones and if they aren’t inclined to simmer them for soup immediately after serving a roast, people with freezer space can wrap them securely and freeze until ready to use them. Besides adding flavour to broths, bones usually have a useful amount of meat attached that is freed while the bones simmer.
Here’s the recipe I used, with some notes about the changes I made to accommodate what I had on hand.
Scotch Broth
Adapted from Chavich, Cinda: The Waste Not, Want Not Cook Book: save food, save money, and save the planet, Touchwood Editions, Victoria, touchwoodeditions. com, 2015.
5 ml (1 tsp) olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (I used 2 small onions)
3 stalks celery, chopped (no celery in the fridge, I omitted)
leftover roast lamb bones (I used a meaty leg of lamb bone)
1 L (4 cups) chicken stock (I used reduced sodium beef stock)
1 L (4 cups) water
500 ml (2 cups) diced peeled rutabaga
250 ml (1 cup) diced carrots
250 ml (1 cup) pearl barley
15 ml (1 tbsp) minced garlic
5 ml (1 tsp) black pepper
5 ml (1 tsp) chopped fresh thyme, OR 2 ml (½ tsp) dried thyme
250 g (½ lb) leftover roast lamb, cut into small cubes (I used whatever was left on bones, about 200 g)
salt, to taste
15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)
In a large stockpot over mediumhigh, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and celery until beginning to brown.
Add the lamb bones to the pot and brown the bones for 10 minutes (I stopped browning them after 5 minutes, as the bottom of the pan was starting to burn) before adding the stock, water, rutabaga and carrots. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add barley, garlic peeper and thyme, and continue to simmer for 45 minutes, until the barley is tender and the soup is thickened. Remove the lamb bones and discard. (At this point, I removed and cubed the remaining meat before discarding the bones.)
Stir in the leftover roast lamb and heat through. If the soup is too thick, thin with a little more water or stock. Season to taste with salt, and serve each bowl topped with a little chopped parsley.
Makes 8 main course servings We also had three bananas that were starting to turn black and urgently needed to be used. I started with a recipe that my friend and neighbour gave to me decades ago and made a few changes. Here’s my slightly modified version of Cathy’s recipe.
Prepare 12 muffin tins with baking spray or paper liners. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
In a medium bowl, combine beaten eggs, canola oil, milk, mashed bananas and rolled oats.
In a larger bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add wet ingredients, and stir just until combined to make a lumpy batter. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin tins and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until top springs back when touched gently.
Makes 12 large muffins