Recycling

Like many people (at least Italians) my age, I was brought up with a dogma: you NEVER throw away food, unless of course it's not edible for health reasons.

I guess I used to be a good girl back then and listened carefully, because I learned my lesson so well that it now feels like there is an invisible hand stopping me from going anywhere near the trashcan whenever I have some food left from a meal, even if the thought of eating it again really does not appeal to me.

I actually have a problem to begin with: to be completely honest with you, the princess in me hates leftovers in general. I really do not like to reheat food that had been prepared for another occasion. With very few exceptions like some slow cooked stews or similar that I must admit actually taste better the next days or so.
Therefore I have developed a skill which I call the art of recycling. I always try to cook just as much as it is needed for the meal but whenever even that is not enough and the leftovers are unavoidable, I come up with all kinds of ways to hide the origin of the new dish.
Remember the "fegato alla veneziana" I told you we had the other night? I added a couple anchovies and some capers to what was left of that and made a tasty pate' for crostini. Yummy antipasto, right?

I am not saying whatever the new creation is, it is always going to be better than the original recipe, but at least it's different! And in certain case I get appreciable results.

So, be welcome pate', polpette, flans, stuffed vegetables, sauces and anything that can multiply ways of eating whatever we bought. In these hard times it makes a lot of sense to me on the wallet side too!