Party season perfect
Love Food Hate Waste helps residents of Warwickshire have a stress-free festive season and waste less food.
Christmas is the time of year when friends and family get together, diets go out of the window and everyone stocks up on their yuletide favourites. But as most hosts know, planning the perfect Christmas party can be a little daunting.
There is the age old question of how much food and drink to buy per guest for instance and we still end up with a surplus of food and an unnecessary dent in our pockets!
This Christmas, Warwickshire’s Love Food Hate Waste Campaign is encouraging us to take advantage of a new range of “Glamour from nothing” recipes for entertaining.
These clever nibbles create the perfect festive party at home, without the need to go shopping for special ingredients, helping us make best use of the food we have in stock. No bad thing when you consider that research suggests 38% of us expect food waste to increase this festive season Christmas Food Behaviour Omnibus Study, October 2009. Simply go to http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for inspiration.
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Portfolio Holder for the Environment said: “We want everyone to have an enjoyable Christmas this year, and these recipes are designed to help us stick to a budget while being able to create a nice spread for friends and family. But the trick is that all the ingredients are simple and straightforward.”
Love Food Hate Waste also have some brand new recipe suggestions for homemade “ready meals” which can be re-heated from frozen – meaning none of us have to trek out in the cold to the shops when it’s cold outside – just look on http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
If there is still food left over, Love Food Hate Waste has a number of great tips to help us avoid unnecessary waste and save money, including:
Potato wedges are always a favourite of kids and adults alike so why not keep some prepared in the freezer, all the hard work is done for you- just scatter the wedges with leftover cheese and strips of bacon, salami or ham. Try a drizzle of pesto or chilli sauce and serve them with a platter of cold meats, salad and any pickles from the cupboard.
If you have cooked too much of a meal such as Love Food Hate Waste’s beef, Guinness and mushroom stew, simply pop it in an airtight box and store in the freezer as a homemade ‘ready meal’. This will be a welcome treat on a cold January evening when there’s no time to cook.
Leftover Christmas cheese is perfect for freezing. Freeze stilton in pieces and use later in a quiche or soup. Cheddar can be grated and frozen in bags to use straight from the freezer for topping pizzas and cheese on toast.
If you are making your own mince pies, freeze them uncooked. They make a great treat to have on standby during the festive season - just bake a few at a time when visitors pop in.
Delight guests by making a bowl of punch or jug of Christmas cocktail – using up the fruit you’ve been meaning to eat! Follow a recipe or invent your own by using different spirits or wine, diluting them with fruit juice or lemonade. Try adding any fruit you’ve stored in the freezer too to add flavour.
If you still have lots of turkey left over from Christmas Day, why not turn it into an exotic turkey and chickpea curry? You’ll find that most of the ingredients will already be in your store cupboard and you can freeze the leftovers to make a perfect winter warming meal.
Soup has to be the ultimate winter leftover dish and will be a welcome light meal after the indulgence of Christmas. Just gently fry an onion, blend with leftover cooked veg and stock, add seasoning and re-heat thoroughly. See http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes for a tasty turkey noodle soup recipe.
For more festive food facts, tips and advice, visit http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.