Simon Cook from Carlisle said:
I have been looking for a site like this for ages. Can't wait to try out some of the suggestions.
Storage & Tools
Reviving tips
Some foods, that you might have earmarked for the bin, can be revived and given a new lease of life. Read on and please tell us your ideas too.
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Naughty bread saving
Cut ANY left over bread into cubes, toss in olive oil and a little garlic, herbs and chilli powder, freeze on a tray and transfer into bags/boxes when frozen. You have an instant crouton mix, wonderful shallow fried in oil straight from the freezer or for the more health conscious, baked in the oven...add to any soup or salad ...naughty but nice!
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Stilton
Too much stiliton cheese at Christmas can be frozen and later used up in a nice homemade celery soup.
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Pineapples
Save leftover pineapple(fresh or tinned)in the freezer, use defrosted in fruit salads, or... the best use I've found is to chop into small pieces before freezing and add frozen to other fruit and liquidise for a great smoothie! My kids also like it as ice cubes in their squash drinks.
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Be a good fridge manager
Instead of planning meals in advance I base what I eat on what needs using up first in the fridge, e.g. any leftovers and fruit or veg that's looking a bit dodgy. I've made up some really tasty recipes by just combining random ingredients e.g. in soups try beetroot, pumpkin and apple.
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Aromatic herb oils
Herbs with softer leaves, such as tarragon and basil, tend to discolour. Don’t throw them away but make a lovely scented oil; finely chop the basil or tarragon and add to a bottle of olive oil, keep in the fridge for a few days to allow the herbs to infuse the oil then sieve and discard the herbs, pour the oil back into the bottle and use the lovely herb scented oil for dressing and flavouring fish, chicken and cheese dishes.
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Leftover potatos
Use leftover potatos to thicken soups.
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Great soup from fridge oddments
Gather up all the bits from your fridge - coarse outside lettuce leaves, that bendy carrot, bit of onion, green tops of leeks and spring onions, a few herbs, etc, etc. Put in a pan with water to cover and a stock cube or meat jelly or gravy if you have some leftover and boil until the veg are soft. Whizz in processor or liquidiser. The French call this 'Garbure' and it's almost always delicious and different each time. Can be thickened with leftover potato, or some small pasta shapes can be added, or a cooked chopped bacon rasher. Soy sauce and a slowly poured beaten egg will make it Chinese-ish. Curry paste,and garlic, or grated cheese, or mushroom ketchup ... almost any mixture you invent will taste better than a tin of soup, and it's practically cash- and additive-free!
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Bananas
Always keep bananas separately from other fruits unless you want the other fruit to ripen quickly.
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How to keep half an avocado
Keep the half avocado with the stone still in place and put on a dish/plate in the fridge. You should be able to use the avocado the following day without it going off.
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To remove insects from salad or vegetables
This is really good for vegetables straight from the garden. Fill a sink or bowl with cold water and add a couple of tablespoons of salt. Leave the vegetables or salad leaves to soak in this for about 20 minutes. The insects will sink to the bottom of the bowl and you can then clean the vegetables as normal.
