Wednesday 7 November 2012

No Food Waste

Am I alone in my complete and utter irritation when people throw away food? Either because its past its sell by/use by date (which quite frankly I always ignore, if its been in the fridge & it smells and looks okay then to me it is okay!) or because its slightly stale. Whatever the reasoning it annoys the bejeezes out of me! I could harp on about starving children and the such but my main annoyance is because I hate seeing the possibility of creating something marvellous thrown in the bin.

After my afternoon tea bakeathon last week I had 6 scrummy scones left on Monday; they were past their best, a little dry & stale. They certainly needed reviving. So....I turned them into a scrummy bread & butter style pudding with brandy & sultanas! Yum.

It was so easy & simple. I sliced the scones, buttered them & arranged then in an oven dish. Poured over a custard made from milk, 2 eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg & 2 tbsps vanilla sugar. Then poured over some brandy soaked sultanas! In the oven for 45 mins, job done!!



It tasted delicious served hot with the left over clotted cream from Fridays afternoon tea. Such a treat. And all created from some old scones & some basic store cupboard ingredients.



Do you find food waste annoying? Have you created any culinary masterpieces from leftovers? I'd love to hear from you.

There's a great website here which provides loads of ideas of what to do with food no longer at its best - full of recipe ideas & tips; I wholeheartedly recommend this food waste site (and this isn't a sponsored post!)

STORE CUPBOARD ESSENTIALS...

I've been thinking about what my top 10 store cupboard/fridge essentials are for any home cook/baker. Here are mine...

1. Flour (s raising & plain)
2. Eggs
3. Vanilla extract
4. Sugar (icing, caster, brown)
5. Bicarb soda & baking powder
6. Quick action yeast
7. Milk
8. Good olive oil
9. Cinnamon
10. Butter

NB. A top tip for all you cake bakers...after using a very expensive real vanilla pod for flavouring a special cake or icing pop the scraped pod into a tub of sugar & let it work it's vanillery magic! This awesome vanilla sugar tastes insane in a mug of coffee, or in your next batch of icing, cakes or simply sprinkled over your cornflakes as a decadent treat!



I could carry on with easily another 10 items I count as 'essential' in my kitchen. But those 10 I certainly couldn't bake & cook without.

What are your store cupboard/fridge favourites?

Much love & sparkle

L xxxx