Honeyed Parsnip and Ham Orzo

I love orzo. It’s a fantastically versatile rice shaped pasta that works well in soups, casseroles and anywhere you would use rice or pasta. It takes less time to cook than rice and has a really delicate texture and flavour too. 

This is one of those meals that tastes really special but isn’t at all difficult to make. Yes, there is a bit of peeling and chopping, but it’s worth it. And if you don’t eat meat or are serving vegetarians, please just leave out the ham. I only include it when I have leftover ham to use up anyway.

The sherry adds a beautiful flavour to this dish, but it is still delicious without it. If you would rather leave it out, just substitute more stock.

To serve four people you need:-

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and cut in half inch dice

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons oregano

a couple pinches of pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1½ cups orzo

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup sherry

½ cup frozen peas

1 cup chopped cooked ham

chopped parsley or dried parsley

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan with a lid or a stove top casserole. (I use my shallow Le Creuset casserole dish.)

Gently sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to soften. Add the diced parsnips, carrots, oregano and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the vegetables all begin to soften a bit (this will take at least fifteen minutes), add the honey and stir to coat the vegetables. Now stir in the orzo.

Add the sherry and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to a simmer, put the lid on the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender.  Be sure to keep the heat low and stir frequently or the mixture will stick to the pan.

Stir in the ham and the peas, adding a bit more stock if the mixture needs it, and heat through for about five minutes.

Serve garnished with the parsley.

Grandma's Garlic Bread

This is one of those wonderful 1950’s and 60’s recipes that not only tastes good, it’s frugal too. Back before everyone could pronounce baguette, when garlic was still an exotic ingredient, this was the way my Mom made garlic bread. And sitting at her table one day in Canada thirty years later, my son, who loves it, christened it Grandma’s Garlic Bread.

Of course, he was used to the kind of garlic bread you get in Italy and France, beautiful thick loaves smothered in a thick medley of garlic and unsalted butter. But my Mom’s garlic bread has a cachet all its own, and when it comes down to comfort food, this is the garlic bread I prefer.

The bread part is hamburger buns. They can be white or whole wheat, and if they are a little bit stale it really doesn’t matter. I do recall a couple of occasions when Mom used hotdog buns as well. Originally she made this recipe with garlic salt and margarine, so I have made it healthier to reflect the times, but the spirit and taste of the recipe is very much the same as Mom’s. It’s quick and easy and let’s face it, there are not many dishes garlic bread doesn’t go with.

For about 8 to 10 pieces of Grandma’s Garlic Bread, you need:-

4 or 5 hamburger buns, cut in half

4 to 5 tablespoons butter

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled

(You can use garlic salt here instead, but don’t salt the bread at the end!)

1 to 2 teaspoons dried parsley (you can use fresh if you prefer)

salt and pepper to taste (I like to use ground rock salt and peppercorns)

Preheat the broiler/grill  to about 375℉ (180 to 190℃).

Place the buns, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove. Grate in the garlic and add the parsley.

Brush the cut side of the buns generously with the buttery garlic mixture. Grind some salt and pepper over the top.

Colourful Vegetable Medley

This is one of those recipes that the photograph doesn’t do justice to. In reality the colours are much brighter, and it makes an excellent side dish with just about any meat. This colourful and fresh dish is also very economical. Plus, it is a fantastic way to use up your more raggedy Thanksgiving leftovers - just stir chunks of cooked turkey and/or ham through it when you add the peas and gently heat through before serving as a one dish meal with hot rolls. Easy and delicious.

To serve four people as a main dish and six to eight as a side, you need:

2 tablespoons oil (I used olive, but any oil is fine)

1 red onion

1 tablespoon sugar

1 small cabbage, shredded

¼ cup Madeira or sherry

¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ cup frozen peas


Heat the oil in a frying pan (with a lid) and sauté the red onion over low heat until it is just beginning to soften. Add the sugar and stir to mix through. 

Turn up the heat to medium and add the shredded cabbage. Stir-fry for a few minutes, just until the cabbage is tender-crisp.  Add the Madeira or sherry and the chicken stock, along with the soy sauce.  Stir to mix and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble away for a minute or so just to let the liquid reduce a bit.  Stir in the frozen peas.  Then put the lid on the frying pan, lower the heat and cook for about three minutes.  You still want the peas to be nice, bright green.

The 21st Century Housewife's Special Asparagus Omelette

I have a rather un-traditional way of making omelettes, in that I use a broiler or grill to finish them off. I find it makes them nice and puffy and also avoids the stress of having to turn them. The other thing I do is always use three eggs. We now know that eggs are much better for us than we thought they were, and that unless you have a serious issue with cholesterol you don’t have to be nearly as careful about them. Like the American egg board has been saying for years, they are the “incredible, edible egg”.  However, if you are worried, there is no reason why you shouldn’t just use two eggs.

I know asparagus is pretty much out of season at the moment, and it is very naughty to buy the imported stuff, but I just love asparagus and sometimes I cannot resist. It’s also a great way to use up leftover cheese, so hopefully that makes up for the food miles…

I like to use a light cheese like Swiss or Gruyere in this omelette, but having said that cheddar can be a brilliant foil for the strong flavour of the asparagus, so just pick your favourite cheese and go for it!

For each omelette you need:-

1 teaspoon mild olive oil

3 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

a few very thin slices of red onion

salt and pepper to taste

5 - 6 small spears of asparagus, very lightly steamed (they should still be almost crunchy)

1 handful of your favourite cheese

Heat the olive oil in an oven safe medium non-stick frying pan with a non-metal handle. Beat the eggs, milk and seasonings together in a bowl.

Preheat the grill or broiler to medium.

When the pan is hot, add the egg mixture and scatter the onion slices over top. Cook for minute or so, pulling the mixture away from the edges of the pan with a heat proof spatula or egg turner as it cooks and tipping the pan so more egg fills in the gaps that are left. Cook for a couple of minutes, lifting the edges of the omelette occasionally to make sure it is just browning and not burning.

Now carefully lay the asparagus over half of the omelette, and sprinkle the cheese over the whole thing.  Let it cook for a second or so.

When the top begins to look a bit dryer and the bottom is nicely brown, place the frying pan under the grill or broiler. The omelette should puff up (it will fall when you take it out from under the grill). Watch the omelette constantly or it will burn. When it is golden brown, remove it from the grill and flip half the omelette over like in the photograph above. Slide it on to a plate carefully and serve.  It’s really nice with a side of hash browns if you are feeling like a treat. 

The 21st Century Housewife's© Pork Tenderloin with a Mustard Cream Sauce

Pork tenderloin is a wonderful cut of meat. It’s lean and low in fat, and you can so do many different things with it. When I’m buying it I prefer to buy more than I need for just one meal. It’s usually cheaper that way and anyway, pork tenderloin is a great thing to have as leftovers. Among other things you can make really lovely hot supper sandwiches with it, serve it re-heated with spicy onion gravy or you can make it into something very special by preparing this quick and easy dinner with it!

To serve four people you need:-

1 tablespoon oil
1 red pepper, de-seeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 heaped tablespoons flour
about 1½ cups milk
1 generous tablespoon whole grain or Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon paprika
about 2 cups cooked pork tenderloin, cubed
¾ cup frozen peas
1 bunch scallions (spring onions), washed and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
enough rice for four, cooked according to package instructions

In a small frying pan, heat the oil and gently sauté the pepper over a low to medium heat.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the milk, a bit at at time, whisking constantly. As the sauce begins to thicken after each addition of milk, add a little bit more, but go carefully - you may not need the whole amount. When the sauce is a nice creamy consistency, stir in the mustard, paprika, cubed pork tenderloin, sautéed red peppers and frozen peas.

Heat gently over medium heat, stirring frequently and adding a bit more milk if the mixture begins to thicken too much. When the pork is heated through and the peas are cooked, stir in the scallions (spring onions). Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste if you wish.

Serve over the hot, cooked rice.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Leek and Ham Risotto with Cherry Tomatoes

This recipe is delicious – perfect comfort food for this time of year – and you probably have most of the ingredients for it already in your store-cupboard and freezer. In fact, it is a great way to use up any leftover ham you might still have tucked away in the freezer after the Holidays. If by any chance you don’t have any ham left, just buy a thick slice from the deli counter and chop it up. Don’t worry if cherry tomatoes are too pricey or not available. You can either chop ordinary tomatoes up finely and use them instead.

Risotto does require pretty much constant attention and stirring, but not much effort, and as it only takes about twenty minutes or so to make. This is why it is one of my favorite quick and easy dinners. Risotto is quite rich, so servings do not need to be all that big (in fact this recipe wills serve at least four hungry adults). You don’t really need to serve anything with this, although I’m sure no one would complain if you served some nice hot rolls or a small green salad alongside it.

2 tbsp butter
3-4 leeks, thinly sliced and washed and drained thoroughly
2 cups Arborio or other risotto rice
1 glass white wine
1 litre hot chicken stock
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup cooked ham, chopped in bite sized pieces
¼ cup light cream

Melt the butter over low to medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the leeks and sauté until they begin to soften. Add the rice and stir to coat with the buttery leek mixture. Cook for a minute or so, but don’t let the rice start to brown at all. (Turn the heat down a bit if it starts to do that.)

Add the white wine and stir in until it absorbs. Now add the stock gradually, stirring after each addition until absorbed. Once you have added all the stock, the rice should be cooked, but still “al dente”, with just a little bit of bite.

Stir in the peas, cherry tomatoes, ham and cream. Cook, stirring pretty much constantly, until the cream has absorbed and the peas, tomatoes and ham are heated through.

Serve on warmed plates.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Creamy Christmas Turkey with Rice

I love leftovers - anticipating well in advance what I will do with them - so Christmas is a great time for me. It's the season of leftover everything - and the only limit is my imagination! The key to using up your leftovers is to be sure to cool them quickly and refrigerate them promptly. This keeps them fresh, safe and appealing. Also remember to buy extra fresh vegetables so that you can use them creatively with your leftovers - after all, you can only eat so many sandwiches!

Because the cream sauce is pale and delicate, I use only light meat turkey for this recipe. It's reminiscent of Chicken A La King, but with a much more evolved flavour and texture. Please don't omit the nutmeg - it adds a fantastic hit of spice that suggests Christmas, but is not immediately identifiable. It's one of those - "what is that?" flavours that takes a recipe from good to great.

It goes without saying that this works very well with leftover cooked chicken too. And please do not feel you have to make the stock from scratch, ready made or from a cube is fine.

To serve four people you need:-

2 tbsp butter (unsalted if possible)
2 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock (you may not need it all)
½ cup light cream or half and half (again you may not need it all)
Leftover white meat turkey – roughly 2 cups chopped
1 red pepper
3 – 4 leeks, washed, thinly sliced and drained
1 cup frozen peas, measured into a cup and set aside to thaw a bit
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the leeks and cook slowly, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook the leeks in the butter, the softer and more meltingly tender they will get. If you can leave them for about fifteen minutes that is wonderful. If you are in a hurry, ten will do.



Sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir to coat. Add the stock gradually, stirring and allowing the sauce to thicken after each addition. You want it to be fairly thick, but remember you still have cream to add, so don't feel you have to add all the stock. Just go slowly.

Meanwhile, cook enough rice four people in boiling water according to package directions. (I usually find about a cup and a half of rice is more than enough for four, but check the package directions.)

Add the red pepper to the creamy leeks and sauce and cook for about five minutes. Add more stock if necessary.



Now add the turkey, frozen peas, oregano, nutmeg and about half the cream. Stir together and heat over low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally if necessary. After about five minutes, add more cream if you feel it needs it. You want a nice consistency; not too runny, not too thick.

When you get your desired consistency and everything is heated through, take a small spoonful to taste. (Careful, it's hot!). Add salt and pepper if necessary. (I highly recommend a bit of pepper, but I've always skipped adding any more salt to this recipe. However taste is a personal thing so you should do as you like - except if you are on a low-sodium diet - in which case, please be good and don't add any salt! )

Serve the Creamy Christmas Turkey on a bed of rice.

In Praise of Potatoes

The American author of 'Little Women', Louisa May Alcott said, "Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes".

I’m not sure why I am thinking so much about potatoes these days. Perhaps it is the cooler weather and the nights drawing in. They are the epitome of comfort food. It is funny we see them that way because back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they were rather looked down on. A British journalist of the time, William Cobbett, wrote, "As food for cattle, sheep or hogs, this is the worst of all the green and root crops; but of this I have said enough before; and therefore, I now dismiss the Potato with the hope, that I shall never again have to write the word, or see the thing." In 1783 French author Legrande d'Aussy wrote “The pasty taste, the natural insipidity, the unhealthy quality of (the potato), which is flatulent and indigestible, has caused it to be rejected from refined households and returned to the people, whose coarse palates and stronger stomachs are satisfied with anything capable of appeasing hunger." Ouch. Poor potatoes. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been much kinder to them. Everyone seems to love them. I mean, imagine a world without potatoes. No chips or French fries, no fluffy baked potato interiors to smother in butter or sour cream and dive into with your fork, no comforting plate of mashed potatoes on a cold day...It just doesn't bear thinking about.

I’m not that big a fan of cooking potatoes actually. I really hate peeling them, which is lazy I know, but it’s the truth. Having said that I do love how they taste, and my family love them too, especially the mashed variety, their absolute favourite. In addition to copious quantities of these, I like cooking small new potatoes as – oh joy! - these do not require peeling. Baked potatoes are good for this reason as well actually.

One thing I do love about potatoes is the many wonderful things you can do with the leftovers. In fact, just like with roasts of beef, I often cook more of them than I need just to ensure I have some.

Leftover new potatoes can become a wonderful salad, or be re-warmed and mashed with a fork, some melted butter and a bit of salt and pepper for a delicious variation on mashed potatoes. My latest craze is roasting new potatoes in the oven. It could not be easier. Simply pop heat some olive oil on a roasting pan in the oven. Put some washed and dried new potatoes on it, carefully rolling them in the hot oil with a spoon or fish slice. Roast for about 40 minutes, turning once. I have served these with roast beef to rave reviews. If I have any leftovers, I use them to make this delicious twist on traditional potato salad.


The 21st Century Housewife’s© Roast Potato Salad

Small bowl of leftover roast small new potatoes, cooled and cut in half
3 or 4 tablespoons of your favourite mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s Extra Light)
4 or 5 chopped spring onions (scallions)
1 red pepper, very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a medium bowl and add the spring onions, red pepper and oregano. Starting with about 3 tablespoons, stir in the mayonnaise. You want the potatoes to be dressed nicely, but not too heavily. Add a bit more if needed, but go carefully. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for two or three hours before using so the flavours can blend together. Stir before serving and enjoy.

Now, if you have any baked potatoes left over that have not been cut into, let them cool and then slice them in thin slices. Shallow fry them in hot oil (turning only once if possible) until golden brown. Serve these gorgeous crunchy mouthfuls sprinkled with salt and pepper alongside just about anything.

As for leftover mashed potatoes, of course they can be reheated, but one of my favourite things to do with them is to make potato pancakes. These are wonderful for brunch, served alongside crispy bacon and fried eggs, as a side dish with fish or even as a snack on their own.


The 21st Century Housewife’s© Easy Potato Pancakes
To make 5 to 6 pancakes you need:-

About 1 to 1 ½ cups leftover mashed potatoes, cooled
1 egg
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried or fresh parsley
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

Beat the egg and add the dehydrated onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes and stir with a fork to mix. Set aside and allow to rest for about ten minutes.

Shape the mixture into small pancakes, about two to three inches in diameter. Place on a plate. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan until it is very hot.

Fry the pancakes for about two minutes on each side. Try to only turn them once as they can be delicate.

As tempting as it is, don’t eat these straight out of the frying pan. Allow to cool just a bit before serving so as not to burn your mouth!

Using up leftovers is so important these days and with potatoes, it couldn't be easier. Try out some of these ideas and you will find that being economical and environmentally friendly was never more delicious!

In Praise of Leftovers

These days we are being exhorted by everyone to waste less, reduce our carbon footprint, and to use only what we need. But with today’s hectic lifestyle, all that can be easier said than done. Not only that, but who wants to eat leftovers all the time? Back in the day, the Sunday roast would last for two or three days, most often reincarnated as cold meat or sandwiches. By the time it was finally finished, everyone was well fed up with it.

Actually, leftovers are lovely. Seriously. In fact, I like them so much I deliberately buy larger cuts of meat in order to be sure we have some. Not only that, but leftovers actually make it easier to keep up with today’s hectic lifestyle. Don’t believe me? Read on.

In the pursuit of the quick and easy, we have forgotten how little effort it requires to cook a nice big roast or a whole chicken or turkey. For some reason the belief is that this is a difficult thing to do. Actually roasting a piece of meat is of the easiest things you can imagine. Yes, it takes time, but very little effort is involved from the cook. In fact, one of the easiest dinner party ideas I can think of is to roast a beautiful sirloin or rib roast. All you have to do is bring it out of the fridge about a half hour before (so it does not go straight into the oven bone chillingly cold), season it with salt and pepper and perhaps anoint it with a bit of olive oil. Put it in a hot oven (say about 375℉ or 175℃) and depending on the size of the roast or bird (and in the case of a roast how well you like it done), about two hours later, dinner is served. (Be sure to allow about twenty minutes at the end for the meat to rest covered outside of the oven, or all the lovely juices will be lost when you carve the meat.)

Yes, you need to make gravy or a sauce, potatoes or rice and a vegetable or salad, but this is all pretty light work. In fact, my favourite potato dishes at the moment is to heat some olive oil on a baking sheet in the oven for about five minutes and then (carefully – you don’t want to burn yourself with hot oil!) remove it and put washed and dried baby new potatoes in the oil. Using a spoon, roll them to coat, and pop them back in the oven for about forty to fifty minutes. Roast baby new potatoes – yummy and so very easy. If you think of it, take them out about halfway through cooking and turn, but they are so small it is no tragedy if you forget to do this. All this is so easy as to render it do-able not just on a weekend or special occasion, but even – dare I suggest it – one evening during the week.

But back to the leftovers bit. I’m going to concentrate on a roast beef in this entry as it is my roast of the moment, the thing I am really into as the nights grow cooler. So, if you are serving a roast to several friends as I did last night (and last Saturday and the one before as well incidentally) buy a nice big roast, say twice the size you need. Check with your butcher or ask at the meat counter in your grocery store if you are not sure about sizes – and if you are like me take their suggestion and add a bit again. I usually work on roast that is about 3 kilograms, so a bit over six pounds of meat. It might sound like a lot, but believe me we are going to have fun with it.

So, when you first cook this very large piece of meat, you could serves it perhaps as I suggested above, with a nice gravy or sauce (I have been known to purchase good ready made gravy or sauce for ease if I’m having a dinner party). Side dishes could include roast baby new potatoes and say, some steamed vegetables or a nice salad. Even if you are serving six or seven with a roast like this (as I did last night) you are definitely going to have a nice size piece of meat left. I like to just slice off what I need, and leave the rest to cool. Be sure to refrigerate it promptly after it has cooled off a bit. That is the key to delicious, safe leftovers.

The next day when it has all gone quiet, slice the meat into as many tidy slices as you can, and separate the slices from the bits that are slightly chunkier. You should have enough for at least two, or maybe three meals left here. Now of course, you can use some of the slices in cold sandwiches, with a bit of horseradish or sharp mustard on some nice crusty bread for lunch. However, if you want a more substantial, really satisfying supper sandwich, try this. Sauté some thinly sliced mild onions in a bit of butter. Now when I say, sauté, I mean cook over very low heat for a very long time. The longer you can cook onions, the yummier they are – I like to go for at least twenty minutes. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the onions about halfway through cooking. Now stir in a bit of leftover homemade or packaged liquid gravy (canned or fresh from the chiller cabinet) – just a bit though; you want it fairly thick. Now, very gently lay the leftover slices of beef in the pan with your oniony gravy over low heat just to warm through. Cut a nice crusty loaf of French baguette or an Italian ciabatta in generous chunks (about four to six inches long) and slice each one of those in half. We are going for an open-faced production here. Serve the oniony beef and gravy mixture over slices of crusty bread. It’s positively ambrosial comfort food for a Fall evening.

Another delicious sandwich idea is to make hot hoagie style sandwiches. You can even use French baguette or rolls that are a bit on the stale side as they will be revitalised when you heat these yummy sandwiches in the oven.

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Hot Hoagie Sandwiches
Serves 4

I large baguette or 4 rolls
Butter
Several slices of cold leftover pork or beef
1 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar
Leftover roasted peppers or vegetables
Grated cheese

Slice the baguette into 4 pieces and split it so that you can put the fillings inside. If you are using rolls, slice them in the same way. Butter the baguette or rolls. Place each baguette on a piece of aluminum foil big enough to wrap around the entire sandwich. Preheat the oven to about 150ºC or 325ºF.

Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until it begins to take on a golden colour. Sprinkle with the sugar and cook a little longer. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Fill each piece of baguette or roll with a quarter of the meat, roasted vegetables, fried onions and cheese. Now wrap each sandwich firmly in the foil. Place the foil wrapped sandwiches on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 1o to 15 minutes or until heated through. Unwrap the sandwiches carefully (they will be steaming hot!) and enjoy. These taste great with a cold beer and some crisps or potato chips on the side.

But what to do with the not-so-tidy slices, those chunks of meat that often end up lost in the back of the freezer? That need never happen again. Those chunky slices can make the most wonderful stroganoff. Normally beef stroganoff is made with slices of fresh beef fillet, cooked at the very last minute. However you can definitely use leftovers for a yummy (much less pricey) version too.

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Leftovers Stroganoff
Serves about 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 large onions, finely sliced (red or white onions or one of each)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 cup beef stock (made from a cube is fine)
2 tablespoons wholegrain Dijon mustard
(if you don’t have wholegrain Dijon, use 1 tablespoon of ordinary Dijon)
½ cup half fat crème fraîche or light sour cream
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
about 2 cups ragged bits of leftover beef from a roast, sliced as thinly as you can

Melt the butter with the oil in a fairly deep frying pan. Add the onions and sauté gently over low heat for twenty minutes, until they are soft and beginning to colour. Add the sugar and then stir in the mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat up to medium, add the beef stock and reduce for about two or three minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat back and stir in the mustard, crème fraîche, paprika and nutmeg. Heat through. Gently stir in the beef and heat just until piping hot throughout. (As it is already cooked, you don’t want to make the beef dry by overheating.)

Serve over some warm, buttery rice. It’s absolutely delicious.

From you average 3 kilogram/seven pound-ish roast you are likely to get the main meal for four to six people, one or two cold sandwiches, supper sandwiches for three to four people and stroganoff for three or four. That’s one (not very major) cooking effort the first night, followed by a very light amount of effort on the other occasions. (The very easy stroganoff is probably the most complicated suggestion here.) As cold meat will keep for up to three days in the fridge, you can use everything up in plenty of time. Of course if there are only one or two of you – or you don’t fancy beef three days in a row - feel free to freeze any leftovers (carefully labelled at the front of the freezer!). It takes no time at all to thaw a couple of slices of roast beef or a small bag of chunky bits.

So you see, using up your leftovers need not be tedious or boring – a little bit of creativity and they won’t even be recognisable as leftovers at all. Being economical and reducing your carbon footprint isn’t all that difficult after all. It’s also very delicious!