Waste not, want not #5

More from our current round of sessions being run in conjunction with Love Food, Hate Waste...

Ashton session – Thursday 25 October at Dukinfield Town Hall with Alison

Tonight we found ourselves in the wonderful building that is Dukinfield Town Hall. We had a full house of attendees from the local area keen to spruce up their cooking skills and learn some really important facts about food waste and ways we can reduce it. We got on with preparing for the curry straight away and everyone gave themselves a job to do. We had a quick demo on finely chopping garlic and chillies, which impressed the group, and we talked about all sorts of ways you can reduce your food waste, saving you money and trying to reduce landfill! Everyone was really chuffed with their Love Food Hate Waste containers and we filled them up with curry and rice with some fresh chopped coriander sprinkled on top for everyone to take home.

Bolton session – Monday 22 October at St Elizabeth Church Horwich with Gideon

As with the previous Love Food Hate Waste cooking sessions, the participants came together to cook a vegetable curry and broaden their knowledge of careful food management at home. Everyone got stuck into preparing vegetables for the curry and were soon chatting about the food they make at home and using up leftovers. The vegetable curry is an ideal dish to use up those limp veggies sitting at the back of the fridge which might get thrown away, as is a hearty soup as suggested by one of the cooks. All were interested in using pulses such as lentils, beans and peas as a great way to bulk up a meal and as an alternative to meat in dishes such as a puy lentil bolognese and lasagne. The most popular and practical plan we discussed was for a roast chicken dinner, stretched to include two more meals. A risotto or chicken curry, followed by a soup and maybe even some extra stock from the last remnants of goodness from the bones. By this point we were all very peckish, but fortunately the curry was ready so we all tucked into a delicious, healthy, nutritious and frugal meal.

Oldham Session – Wednesday 22 October at East Compton St James Parish Rooms with Gideon

With the autumn evenings drawing in, we gathered a group of keen cooks together in a church hall to make a delicious vegetable curry and pass on tips and knowledge of good food management. We discussed using up leftovers and avoiding wasting food by carefully planning meals and writing a shopping list. We also talked about avoiding the supermarkets to find better value ingredients in the quantities required rather than having to buy a whole bag of vegetables such as carrots and ending up throwing half of them away. The group was keen to share their experiences and to learn more, and at the end of it we all sat together to tuck into a delicious vegetable curry.

Rochdale Session – Friday 19 October at The Hub with Gideon

The evening's participants began to arrive and we got on with the preparation of the vegetable curry. We made two versions of the curry, both containing the same ingredients but with a different spice mix in each, one with curry powder and one with garam masala. Before the spices were added, we passed them round the table for all to smell the heady scents, and several people commented on the sweetness of the garam masala. We then went on to discuss the best way to store spices in an air-tight container to maintain the flavour as long as possible. The discussion continued to include discussions of using leftovers and thrifty cooking techniques. After all the talking, the curry was ready and we all tucked in together.

There are more photographs from these sessions on the Cracking Good Food Facebook page here.

GUEST BLOG: Waste not, want not #4

By guest blogger KIM IRWIN, Cooking Leader

This Tuesday evening saw CGF in Stockport as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which we are delivering in partnership with Recycle For Greater Manchester. Lots of eager cooks braved the cold autumn evening and turned up ready to don their aprons and get cracking.

Our top tips to cut down on wastage were eagerly received and soon the group were sharing their own… rice-cooking methods from Madagascar, what to do with cauliflower stalks and re-planting herbs on the windowsill were all discussed. We did so much talking, we nearly forgot to cook! Nonetheless, it's so quick and easy to make, our veg and lentil curry was soon bubbling away and the pungent spices filled the air. As the rice steamed, we quickly made a yoghurt riata with fresh mint and cucumber… the perfect accompaniment to any curry.

The room quietened down (always a good sign!) as people tucked in and agreed that they would definitely be trying the recipe at home… even the curry sceptics agreed, it was indeed a lovely dish!

GUEST BLOG: Waste not, want not #3

By guest blogger KIM IRWIN, Cooking Leader

Last Thursday night saw the team in Swinton, Salford at the cosy Lighthouse Community Centre, delivering a curry session as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

It was a full house with 16 eager cooks, and prepping the raw ingredients was done in no time at all. A quick demonstration of knife skills and people were off, dicing and slicing. Soon the pungent aroma of Indian spices filled the room and mouths were watering. For some, it was a first experience of tasting curry and everyone agreed it was a great way to use up tired veggies that might otherwise have landed up in the bin.

Plates were scraped clean and leftovers taken home. A big success!

GUEST BLOG: Hearty types

By guest blogger HELEN ROADHOUSE

Autumn was on the menu on Monday for our Food Futures session at Wythenshawe Community Church as we were cooking up some seasonal colours and flavours. Kim had a wonderfully simple recipe for stew and dumplings that she also adapted into a pie using the same ingredients.

Most of our participants would be using what they learned to show others how they could cook healthy but cheap food and without too much difficulty. Kim wanted to show that adaptation was the key and that even if you didn't have specialised cooking equipment you weren't scuppered - there may be something else in your kitchen that you could use or even just do without. For instance, a rolling pin could be made out of a bottle (Kim suggested a wine bottle...!) and today we actually used a metal flask. Also not having scales needn't be an issue as you can just read the weight on a packet then divide the amounts to get an approximate weight. Some recipes do not need complete accuracy, and luckily that applied to our dumpling pastry.

Kim was making good use of seasonal vegetables and used carrot, sweet potato and beetroot. The colours were just gorgeous and so autumnal too plus the health benefits derived from having such an array of coloured foods in your diet are fantastic! No oil was used in the stew, in fact the only fat was some veggie marge used in the dumplings and pie crust so you could just have the stew should you want to go down the ultra-healthy route. Also Kim didn't use any salt so this is also healthy in that respect too.

Kim explained that although this version was following a veggie recipe, it could be adapted by just adding almost any meat. Beef or lamb or chicken thighs would be ideal slow cooked in the stew. Also different veggies could be used should you not be able to get these ones or if you just preferred others.

We sat down to a hearty and colourful lunch and there were many comments on just how simple it was to prepare - even the dumplings and pie crust were very easy and quick to do. A few people also said they were definitely going to make it for themselves later that day - brilliant! We fed 12 people with plenty to spare and Kim had only spent £13 on ingredients so this without a doubt demonstrates how you can cook a no-fuss, healthy and cheap meal... and did I mention that it tasted delicious too?

See our Facebook page for more photographs.

GUEST BLOG: Causing a stir

By guest blogger TRACEY

Wow, Maz was on fire at her first Cracking Good Food session at the Butler Street Church in Miles Platting. The session was the third of six classes on behalf of Food Futures' Cooking For Cooks programme. The seven participants had varying skills and experience, but all were keen to watch and listen to Maz, share her knowledge and expertise. Sizzling stir-frys with noodles and cheat's seaweed was on the menu.

The group watched as Maz demonstrated chopping all manner of veg - carrots, mangetout, garlic, mushrooms, onions, peppers, ginger, chillies - then each began to prep their own dish. An assortment of vinegars and oils (fish oil, red wine vinegar, groundnut oil, toasted sesame seed oil, teriyaki to name a few!) were available, and each participant was encouraged to sniff, dip a finger and taste to see if the flavour was agreeable. There were three types of noodles to accompany the veg - rice, wholewheat and egg - which got everyone eager to try ones they’d not had before.

Then it was action stations at-the-go as the group started to quick fry their ingredients. The participants were taken with the aroma and the quickness of the dishes, but were delighted that Maz gave them the knowledge and confidence to create their own sauces. Some were even adventurous enough to use the spicy wasabi!

The group left knowing that these are dishes which are easy to recreate with their respective community groups; and healthy, appetising and extremely economical at approximately only £1.60 per head. Thanks, Maz – this session was enjoyed by all!

There are lots of photographs from this session on the Cracking Good Food page on Facebook.

GUEST BLOG: Waste not, want not #2

By guest blogger GIDEON FOSTER, Cooking Leader

On Monday, as part of a Love Food Hate Waste educational programme around Manchester, I led the first of a series of cooking sessions at the Chesham Fold community centre in Bury.

The session was due to start at 7pm and just before the start time there were only a few of us setting up the table and discussing the ingredients to be used for the vegetable curry we would be cooking that evening. But suddenly the room was full and bustling, and we all got stuck in to preparing the vegetables.

We got busy peeling, chopping and dicing as we discussed the importance of not wasting any food and the suitability of a vegetable curry for using up those limp vegetables at the back of the fridge.

With at least one person proclaiming that they didn't like curry, everyone tucked in and enjoyed it, coming back for seconds and taking away the leftovers in their LFHW containers.

We had a fantastic turn-out on what was a cold and damp evening, and it was a very rewarding cooking session, educational for the participants and, I hope, inspiring. 

You can see more photographs from this session on our Facebook page (click here). You can read guest blogger Alison's account of another session we ran with Love Food Hate Waste here.

GUEST BLOG: Waste not, want not #1

By guest blogger ALISON MAUDSLEY, Cooking Leader

Our session in partnership with Love Food Hate Waste at the Inspire Community Centre Levenshulme earlier this week involved cooking a yummy vegetable and lentil curry with rice, with a focus on reducing food waste at home. The free session was attended by 18 people from the local area who all wanted to learn some new cooking skills and share handy hints and tips on their own ways of reducing food waste, such as: cooking in bulk and freezing, eating the leaves on a cauliflower as cabbage (a personal favourite), using the grey caddy bin and food liners for all compostable items (see link), freezing herbs and vegetables, sticking to your budget, only buying what you need, and planning meals in advance. Once it was all cooked, we sat around together and ate the wonderful curry before everyone headed home with leftovers!

You can see more photographs from this session on our Facebook page (click here). You can also read guest blogger Gideon's account of another session we ran with Love Food Hate Waste on the blog.