Odds and ends turn to treats
WASTE NOT WANT NOT isa cookbook based on the 10 top foods thrown out in New Zealand — bread, leftovers, oranges and mandarins, apples, bananas, potatoes, poultry, rice, lettuce and beef.
With $1.7 billion of food wasted a year, this book gives the general household 80 fridge-cleaning recipes and 40-plus tips and tricks for minimising food waste and maximising flavour.
If every household can stop one bad food-waste habit, it will make a huge difference.
Sarah Burtscher’s aim is to engage people with approachable and fun cooking while sharing a simple, essential, and sustainable message.
Waste Not Want Not is cleverly broken down into chapters based on the fridge, pantry and the fruit bowl with easy-to-make, hearty and tasty recipes that will become go-to family favourites.
Following is a recipe from the book:
SPICED WHOLE ORANGE CAKE with a SPLASH of SOMETHING FUN
You will need
Clean hands
20cm tin (or smallish tin), greased and lined with baking paper
Cake rack
Mixer/bowl whisk
Wooden spoon/spatula
Pot for glaze
Zester/grater
Ingredients
250g sugar 100g butter 3 eggs
275g all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup Greek yoghurt
1 large orange, washed and cut into pieces, removing pips, and pureed in a processor
Little bit of fun if using — I’ve used whisky
Glaze: 1 orange, zest and juice; 1⁄3 cup sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to fan bake 180C.
In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter till creamed. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each egg. (If I am in a rush I add all at once.)
Sift in the four, spices and baking powder and fold in with a wooden spoon or spatula. Once all blended together, add the yoghurt and pureed oranges.
Here you can add the “little bit of fun” — I put in whisky (and of course a small taste test to check it’s not off, ha ha). Fold in, but do not overbeat.
Pour cake mixture into your lovely preprepared tins. (I generally forget to do this and run around like a mad thing prepping them at this stage.) Anyway . . . pop into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, as it can cook more quickly depending on your oven.
If it looks done and a testing skewer comes out clean, take out and rest on a cake rack.
Glaze: Place ingredients in a pot and gently simmer until a smooth consistency.
Pour over cooled cake and dust with icing sugar and extra orange zest. Serve with a smile and whipped cream.
A good idea when making cakes is to double up as they freeze well, plus it uses up more oranges if you have more to use.