MODULE FIVE The Organized Cook

NOTE: The material in the audio and video is covered on the following pages in written form if you prefer to read.

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The Dos and Don’ts of Keeping Leftovers Safe

A while ago I inadvertently sparked some controversy Stonesoup. It all started when I suggested that some roast butternut pumpkin would keep in the fridge for ‘a few weeks.’

One reader commented “No way would any food be safe to eat after a few weeks in the fridge. Yuck!”

Which sparked much debate and some disparaging remarks about my food safety knowledge. (For the record, I have a degree in Food Science, majoring in microbiology. So yes I know my Listeria from my E.coli.)

The thing I found most interesting was the observation that different people have different comfort levels around how long leftovers should keep.

I think the most important factor should be whether you feel comfortable eating something or not. Not whether it fits some generic ‘guidelines.’

After all, you know how it’s been stored, how well it was cooked in the first place, whether your fridge is cold enough. You can see if there’s any mould growth or if it looks and smells funny.

That being said, there are some actions you can take to make sure your leftovers are as safe as possible.

So here’s a quick ‘Dos and Don’ts’ list to help you adopt food safety best practices in your kitchen.

THE DOs

DO put leftovers away ASAP
Bacteria love warm environments. The sooner you refrigerate or freeze your leftovers, the sooner bacteria growth will be slowed and the longer your leftovers will last. Simple.

Do cover food well
Food exposed to the air in your fridge or freezer will dry out surprisingly quickly. This doesn’t tend to be a food safety issue but it does make leftovers less appealing.

I always cover with cling wrap or transfer leftovers into containers with airtight lids. I love the glass ones from Pyrex with the blue coloured plastic lids. For freezing, best to use proper ‘freezer’ bags or zip lock bags to prevent freezer burn.

DO trust your instincts
If something smells funny, or doesn’t look the right colour or has mold or other nasties growing on it, it’s best to trust your senses and throw it out.

DO share the love
It’s important to be realistic about how many leftovers you can cope with. Better to send guests home with a little takeaway package than forcing yourself to eat the same leftovers for days.

DO properly reheat food again before eating
Just as low temperature is important to minimizing bacterial growth, high temperatures are the best way to ‘kill off’ any sneaky fellas that have managed to grow.

THE DON’TS

DON’T eat anything that feels unsafe
I still follow my Mum’s rule, ‘if in doubt, throw it out.’ If you feel that something is unsafe, there’s no point stressing yourself out and risking your health.

DON’T throw away perfectly good food
Just because food has passed some arbitrary guideline of being in the fridge for ‘X’ days, you don’t need to toss it automatically. If you know it’s been handled carefully and refrigerated promptly and it looks and smells fine, then in all likelihood it will be safe.

DON’T leave things sitting around at room temperature for long periods of time
I know we mentioned the ‘opposite’ of this in the ‘Dos’. But low temperatures are really one of the most important parts of keeping food safe so I wanted to stress it again.

DON’T feel like you always have to ‘obey’ best before dates
This applies more to packaged food than leftovers, but since we’re talking safety and waste, I thought I’d throw it in. If you’d like to learn more, check out my Insiders Guide to Use-by Dates.[/tab][tab]

3 Tricks for Leftover Ingredients

One thing I find really annoying are recipes that call for using small amounts of perishable ingredients. You know the type I mean. Recipes that leave you with half a bunch of parsley, a few tablespoons of goats cheese or half an avocado…

Apart from being annoying, these leftover bits tend to end up getting wasted as they hide in the fridge.

When I was a young food scientist, learning how to develop new breakfast cereals, I learned an important lesson. Always try to round the ingredients on your formula (I always found it funny that in food factories there were ‘formulas’ not ‘recipes’) to the nearest lot or pack size.

This made it much easier and quicker for the factory workers to just use say, 3 bags of flour, rather than fiddling around with measuring 86.335kg flour. It also meant there wouldn’t be random partially used bags floating around the factory.

This practical lesson stayed with me.

Anyway, you may not have noticed, but for my recipes I try to keep leftover ingredients to a minimum. It’s just a natural part of my simple cooking philosophy.

But when you do find yourself with leftover ingredients, here are my 3 favourite tricks for minimizing waste.

1. Avoid leftover ingredients.

My first port of call is to avoid leftover ingredients all together. Often the easiest way is to just skip the ingredient.

If skipping it isn’t an option, I look to use up all of the ingredient at once. So I’d use the whole bunch of herbs instead of the 1/2 bunch called for in the recipe. You get the idea.

2. Store the leftovers correctly.

The general rule of thumb is cooler temperatures are best for most fresh ingredients.

So keep them in the fridge for starters. After temperature, moisture loss is the next biggest destroyer of fresh ingredients, so make sure they’re protected. I tend to store my produce in plastic bags in the crisper section.

3. Try some ‘mise en place’.

If you know you aren’t going to be able to use an ingredient, there’s always a way to ‘pre-prepare’ it so it will last.

For example, a half bunch of basil can be turned into a tasty pesto. Or if you don’t have much time, just pop the leaves in a jar and cover with olive oil for a quick basil oil that will last for weeks rather than days.[/tab][tab]

11 Ideas for Leftover Meals

Here are 11 ideas to keep leftovers in the ‘fun’ and tasty end of the food spectrum.

1. Take a break.

Having the same leftovers for more than one meal in a row can make even the most unadventurous eater get a little tired. But a break of even just one day can make them seem ‘new’ again.

Most things will keep for a week in the fridge and much longer in the freezer so don’t feel pressured into eating all the leftovers before moving onto other dishes.

2. Freeze some.

If you’ve got way more than you can possibly eat in a week, be sure to freeze at least some. It’s amazing how a few weeks spell in the freezer can make something totally ‘old’ seem fun again.

Most things, with the exception of raw veg dishes or salads, freeze well. So if in doubt give it a try!

3. Share the love.

Either take leftovers into work to share with your colleagues. Or invite some friends over for dinner – no need to tell them they’re doing you a favour by eating up your leftovers. When I was single I used to pack a leftover ‘care package’ to give to my guests (especially for leftover desserts) so I wouldn’t be stuck eating the same thing for weeks.

4. Make a leftover leafy salad

Make a classic green salad and turn it into a meal by scattering over your leftovers, that have been chopped into bight sized pieces, if needed. Works with either cold leftovers or warm them up for a lovely warm salad.

5. Try a leftover & legume salad

If you’ve got some leftovers but not enough to make a meal out of them, give them a little ‘stretch’ by tossing warmed leftovers through cooked or canned lentils or beans. A handful of some fresh leaves, herbs or finely sliced celery can help to freshen it all up.

6. The leftover sandwich or wrap

The Earl of Sandwich was onto a good thing. Most things do taste better between two slices of bread. Just don’t forget to add something fresh and something saucy to keep it moist. Slow carbers should apply the same rule to an ‘ice berg lettuce wrap’.

7. The leftover ‘toastie’

Without the fabulous invention that is the ‘toasted sandwich maker’, I would have starved to death during college. It never ceased to amaze me how a practically inedible meal could be turned into a tasty delight by popping it in a ‘toastie’. The addition of a good melting cheese shouldn’t be overlooked either.

8. The leftover soup

Bring a few cups of water, tomato puree or stock to the simmer and add your leftovers (chopped into bight sized pieces). Instant divinely warming soup.

9. The leftover baked frittata

Leftover cooked vegetables, legumes, starches, protein, herbs and even cheese, can all go into making the most divine baked frittata. Use the recipe over here as a base and get creative.

10. Change the nationality of your dish

This can be tricky with strongly flavoured dishes like curries. But for more European style recipes, a change in nationality can make all the difference.

For example, a pot of leftover beans could have curry powder added and served with yoghurt and fresh coriander (cilantro) to become an Indian curry. A little coconut milk and Thai curry paste and you have a smiling Thai almost-native.

If you’d like to discover more on this check out Module 5 of the ‘Master Your Meal Plan’ program when we discuss flavour profile templates and common flavour pairings.

11. Try the ‘serving with a different side / accompaniment’ trick

Take example from a classic sauce of minced meat with garlic and tomatoes. Add spaghetti and a generous sprinkling of cheese and it becomes ‘bolognese’. Serve over corn chips and melt some cheese on top, add a splodge of sour cream and it becomes ‘nachos’. Or serve on a baked potato and it takes on an Irish vibe. [/tab][tab]

Module 5. A SUMMERY MEAL PLAN

NOTE: A more Wintery Meal Plan is included in Module 4.

Weekly Meals

[1] MONDAY: Quinoa & Grilled Veg Salad

[2] TUESDAY: Pesto Chicken with Zucchini

[3] WEDNESDAY: Noodles with Hot Tuna & Eggplant

[4] THURSDAY: Pea & Pesto Soup

[5] FRIDAY: Steak with Ricotta & Red Peppers

[6] SWEET TREAT: Chocolate Chip Banana ‘Ice Cream’*

* Takes 6 hours to freeze. If short on time just serve fresh banana with chocolate chunks.

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VARIATIONS

Vegetarian: [2] Replace chicken with sliced halloumi cheese [3] Replace tuna with brazil nuts. [5] Replace the steaks with large field mushrooms or these chickpea burgers.

Carb Lovers / More Substantial: [1] Double the quinoa and dressing. [2] Serve with steamed or mashed potato [3] Double the noodles or pasta. [4] Serve with crusty bread and butter. [5] Serve steak with potato crisps or home made fries.

Budget: See vegetarian and carb lovers suggestions.

Carnivore: [1] Toss cooked chicken or sausages in with the salad. [3] Replace tuna with minced (ground) beef, cook in a little oil until well browned. [4] Simmer sliced chicken thighs or sliced chorizo in the soup until cooked.

Paleo / Gluten-free: [1] Replace quinoa with 1/4 head raw cauliflower finely grated. [2] Use dairy-free pesto. [3] Use zucchini noodles and increase the tuna to make it more substantial. [4] Use dairy-free pesto. [5] Use hummus instead of the ricotta.

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Your Weekly Shopping List.

VEGGIES

4 lemons [1&2&3&5]

2 medium zucchini [2]

1 small bunch parsley [3]

500g (1lb) frozen peas [4]

1 bag salad leaves [5]

2 bananas [6]

PROTEIN

450g (llb) chicken thigh fillets [2]

2 steaks [5]

DAIRY

200g (7oz) ricotta [5]

PANTRY

extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

100g (3.5oz) quinoa [1]

handful brazil nuts or almonds [1]

lge handful roast eggplant from the deli or 1 jar[1]+

lge handful grilled red peppers from the deli or 1 jar [1]#

8T pesto [2]*

200g (7oz) hokkien noodles or long pasta [3]

1 can tuna in oil (185g / 6oz) [3]

1 jar grilled eggplant (280g / 9oz) [3]+

4T pesto [4]*

4 roasted red peppers from the deli or use 1 jar [5]#

1 teaspoon vanilla extract [6]

handful dark chocolate [6]

____ COOK’S NOTES ____

‘t’ = teaspoon ‘T’ = tablespoon

Unless otherwise stated all cans are 400g / 14oz

+ [1&3] You could cook your own eggplant

# [1&5] Or cook your own peppers.

* [2&4] To make your own pesto you’ll need a bunch basil, handful grated parmesan, handful pine nuts and 1 clove garlic.

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Mise en Place Possibilities.

[1&3] Roast Eggplant (60 minutes)

If you prefer to cook your own eggplant, rather than using eggplant from the deli, follow the recipe over here. Store in a container in the fridge for up to 3-4 weeks before using.

[1&5] Smoky Peppers (30 minutes)

If you prefer to cook your own peppers, rather than using grilled peppers from the deli, follow the recipe over here. Store in a container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks before using.

[2&4] Pesto (15 minutes)

For home made pesto follow the recipe over here. Keep in the fridge for up to a few weeks before using.

[1] Quinoa Salad

QUINOA (15 minutes)
Simmer quinoa for 10-12 minutes then drain and store in an airtight container. Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead. Let come to room temperature before using.

WHOLE SALAD (15 minutes)
Alternatively you could make the whole salad except for adding the nuts. Store in an airtight container. Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead. Let come to room temperature before serving with nuts sprinkled over.

[6] Banana ‘Ice Cream’

BANANA (6 hours freezing). Peel banana and chop into chunks. Freeze. Can be done up to a few months ahead of time.

CHOCOLATE (5 minutes) Chop chocolate into chunks and store in an airtight container or wrap in foil. Can be done weeks ahead.

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Ingredient Storage Best Practices

VEGETABLES

lemons – in the fridge wrapped in a plastic bag. Can be kept at room temp if you prefer but will last longer in the fridge.

zucchini (courgettes) – in the fridge wrapped in a plastic bag.

parsley – in the fridge wrapped in a plastic bag.

frozen peas – keep in the freezer.

salad leaves – store sealed bag in the fridge. If buying loose leaves, wash and spin dry in a salad spinner then wrap loosely in paper towel and place inside plastic bag. Push out most of the air and seal. Store in the fridge.

banana – keep at room temperature or peel , chop and freeze.

PROTEIN

chicken thigh fillets – in the fridge in the packaging they were purchased in.

steaks – in the fridge in the packaging they were purchased in.

DAIRY

ricotta – in the fridge in the packaging it was purchased in.

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MEAL PLAN DOWNLOADS

Full Colour PDF Meal Plan

Print Friendly’ Meal Plan

You’ll need to ‘Right Click’ and ‘Save Link As’ – see below for detailed instructions.

**Super Important!**

Make sure you use Adobe Reader to open you meal plan pdfs – its FREE!

For your computer: www.get.adobe.com/reader/

For your mobile device: www.adobe.com/au/products/reader-mobile.html

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Your Actions

This week I really encourage you to keep going with your regular ‘mise en place’ date and add something new as well…

1. Review the meal plan. Download and print or open it in Adobe Reader.

2. Edit the shopping list to suit your preferences. Get your ingredients, and follow the plan!

3. Share your results in the comments below.

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