That is a magnet on my fridge. As soon as I spotted it in a cluttered, whimsical housewares shop on College Avenue in Rockridge, I knew I had to own it. And, my legendary sarcasm notwithstanding, it is actually a genuine sentiment for me. More than that, it manages to distill my kitchen philosophy into two little words.
For me, successful home cooking involves knowing my priorities and arranging my schedule to fit the things that matter most. My priorities include (not necessarily in this order):
- cook mostly from scratch
- eat homemade meals as often as possible
- eat seasonally
- budget strictly when needed
- spend a moderate amount overall
- don’t waste food
- put my creativity to work to keep cooking enjoyable
Embracing the concept of leftovers helps me tick at least five of those boxes.
Before I explain how, I think it’s important to discuss what I mean by leftovers, because this word can carry a lot of different meanings, many of which have negative connotations. The word is often used as a joke and I have heard people proudly proclaim, “I never eat leftovers.” In leaner times and before refrigeration, using up every bit of food that was harvested and hunted was simply a way of life. No separate name was needed for food not finished during a meal. All cooks knew how to create soups from scraps and to fill meat pies with the remnants of last night’s roast as a way to keep everyone fed.
Once refrigerators were commonplace and food prices as percentage of household income fell, leftovers began to be seen as a separate category of food and as something to be eaten as a chore. By the 1960s they had definitely entered into their punchline phase and many in my generation have not-too-fond memories of being forced to eat mystery casseroles concocted from leftovers. Later generations may not even think about leftovers at all, if they were raised by parents who just throw them out (after a stint in the back of the fridge to culture mold).
But what if a cook plans to have food leftover to form the basis of future meals, as insurance in the freezer for upcoming busy days, or as a way to have affordable work lunches worth getting excited about? Maybe those shouldn’t be called leftovers but “planned overs”. I’m not here to try to coin a new phrase, but to suggest that leftovers can be problem solvers and workload savers. They are worth creating with intention rather than just being a byproduct.
Here are a few ways this works in my resourceful kitchen:
- Reheat and eat again in the same form (e.g., beef stew, pasta) to take a couple nights off cooking dinner
- Package into meal-size portions, freeze, eat for not-sad desk lunches
- Make a big batch, immediately freeze half for a future dinner
- Use the components as the base for something completely new (e.g., turn roast vegetables into fried rice or corn salad into corn fritters)
- Make extra of one or two components specifically to have on hand for future quick-to-prepare meals (e.g., roast chicken that makes pasta salad a meal, mashed potatoes as cottage pie topping)
- Stale bread becomes bread pudding (sweet or savory), bread salad/fattoush, croutons, or breadcrumbs (which in turn go into future meals)
Find ways to embrace leftovers and your kitchen will become easier to manage and more productive with less effort. Specific ways I plan for and use leftovers will be discussed further in future posts. Look for the Yay! Leftovers! tag.
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Never did understand anyone's aversion to leftovers; so many dishes taste better after a day or two for the flavors to really set in.
ReplyDeleteI hear it a lot, actually. And I just smile wanly and my eyes glaze over. There's no convincing an actual leftover hater to change their spots.
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