Here's how you never need throw any food away ever again!

If you can, you should never throw away any food, if you can save it.

We aren't talking about putting food into council food caddies (though that's also an option). What we are talking about is the concept of Smidgin Cookery.

Basically, this involves keeping all leftover foods and keeping it in the fridge, the pantry or the freezer and using the leftover foods in combinations to make Smidgen Roasts, Smidgen Pies, Smidgen Soups and Smidgen Deserts.

For example perhaps you have frozen in freezer bags or packs: several slices of beef, turkey or ham, a cup of cooked rice, some peas, carrots, beans, etc? These will make an excellent base for a very tasty soup.

You could have several half-finished packets of flour in your pantry. You can combine these together and make a pie, either a savoury pie or a dessert pie, using whatever else you have in the pantry, fridge or freezer.

Also, if you have several fishfingers, a couple of frozen or chilled burgers (meat or meat free) some chicken nuggets, several sausages, some leftover roast potatoes, a handful or two of frozen vegetables, you can make a smidgen roast, cooked at about 200c for 30 to 40 minutes and served with rice, mashed potatoes and vegetables plus some gravy or sauce.

Smidgen cooking is a variation on scratch cooking.

The word Smidgen means "a small amount" so smidgen cooking means adding together small amounts of leftover food and re-combining them in new, interesting ways.

I'm off now to enjoy a slice of Smidgen Pie, made with several smidgens of different types of flour and some sliced apples!

(Image courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay)

Sustainable and delicious. New Cocktail ideas

Now, more than ever, sustainability is at the forefront of the minds of many of us, especially in the kitchen, and as the cost of living crisis continues to put a strain on our finances, many of us are looking to reduce our food waste and squeeze out the most of our weekly shopping trips. 

But! There are many tips and tricks for utilising your leftover food scraps including turning them into delicious cocktail ingredients. (What? Cocktail ingredients? Yes, cocktail ingredients. We'll explain more, here.)

The team of top drink experts at online drinks retailer, The Bottle Club, have put together some handy tips for utilising your leftovers and transforming them into tasty summer beverages.

Blend fruit pulp, peels and zest into syrup

Adding a fruity syrup to your homemade cocktails in an ingenious way to add a delightfully delicious extra fruity dimension to your drink, whilst simultaneously reducing your food wastage. 

Leftover fruit pulp, peels, and zest can all be used to create a sweet and delicious syrup. Making the syrup is simple, all you need do is add the fruit pulp, peels, or zest into equal parts water and sugar, simmering in a pan until the solution resembles a syrup-like texture. 

Use your leftover fruit as garnish 

A great alternative to using leftover fruit in syrup is to use them as garnish for your summer cocktails. Dehydrating your leftover fruit is an ideal way to make them last longer, as they can last up to a full year when stored properly in a proper airtight container. 

If you don’t own a dehydrator or an air fryer, this can also be achieved by oven-cooking your fruits for 30 minutes. Leftover orange peels go well in a classic Old Fashioned, whilst grapefruit peel is the perfect addition to the iconic Negroni cocktail.

Create syrups with leftover herb stems

If you’re a kitchen whizz, you’re probably no stranger to cooking with herbs. But herbs aren’t just used to add a little extra flavour to your dishes, they can also be used in your drinks, too. 

The leftover stems of your everyday herbs like parsley, thyme, and basil can also be brewed into a syrup that will add a nifty extra kick to your summer cocktails. 

Start by simmering your herb stems in equal parts of sugar and water. Simply allow the solution to cool in the fridge and then add to your cocktails. To maximise the flavours, leave the solution to chill in the fridge for several weeks. 

Herbal syrups are particularly effective when used in gin and vodka-based drinks. 

Save coffee grounds to be used in coffee-based cocktails 

If you’re partial to a coffee-flavoured cocktail, try saving your leftover coffee grounds to make a delicious after-dinner drink. From a classic Espresso Martini to a Calypso cocktail, there’s plenty of delicious cocktails for coffee lovers to indulge themselves in. 

To create a coffee liqueur to be used in cocktails, just add 100 grams of coffee grounds, 4 tablespoons of white granulated sugar and 2 parts of spirit (preferably vodka!) to a sealed container. Leave this to mix for around 24 hours before you start crafting your homemade cocktails.

Use leftover mint stems to add a refreshing kick

When using mint leaves to add extra flavour to your cooking, you probably throw out the leftover stems. However, mint stems can be used as the perfect garnish for cocktails like the class Mojito and Mint Julep, to give a real minty kick to these cocktails. 

Spearmint is the most common type of mint used to craft these delicious and refreshing cocktails to be enjoyed on a summer's day. 

Create an infusion with your leftovers 

There is a wealth of possibilities and combinations when it comes to infusing alcohol with leftover fruits, spices, and herbs. Light-coloured spirits like gin and vodka are the most common spirits used, as the mild flavours will infuse more easily than darker spirits like rum and whiskey. 

When you are creating an alcohol infusion at home, add the chosen ingredients to an airtight container along with your chosen alcohol, shake it up and let it sit. Leave the solution to settle for 24 hours to give the flavours time to infuse and strain before drinking.

Popular infusion combinations include: 

Grapefruit, rosemary and vodka

Apples and gin 

Pineapples and whiskey 

Coconut rum 

Lemongrass, ginger and tequila

To learn more visit https://www.thebottleclub.com/blogs/thedrinksjournal/cocktails-to-make-the-most-of-fresh-seasonal-produce

(Image courtesy of Radosław Kulupa from Pixabay)