13.2.14

Eating Shoots and Leaves


Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes and comments on my A Little Less Grocery Shopping post. Your encouragement means a lot and is helping me to stay focused on limiting both my spending and waste this year. I'm determined to keep improving in this area.

Our cooking is definitely becoming more experimental adventurous as we endeavour to use up our leftovers before replenishing our food supplies. Take tonight's meal, a stir fry with a difference. Instead of our usual pre-prepared stir fry veg mix (cheap but still an expense) we used what veg we had to hand: one onion, the last few stalks of limp celery, carrot shavings (yellow stickered carrots), leftover florets of broccoli plus the stem (peeled and finely chopped), shredded iceburg lettuce, a few chilli flakes and chopped ginger (Very Lazy Ginger, which lasts forever). It's the first time I've used broccoli stalk and lettuce in a stir fry but they worked well and added volume and texture without any strong flavour. And it's amazing how lacklustre veg can suddenly be transformed into something robust with a flash of heat in a wok. To the stir fried veg we added leftover pork from Sunday's roast and a sachet of sweet and sour sauce from Aldi but I'm sure a homemade sauce of soy sauce and fruit juice would have worked just as well. We ate this with noodles as they're so quick and easy. Mouth wateringly good. 

So that's tonight sorted. I still haven't decided on a meal for Valentine's Day. Our youngest is off to see The Lego Movie with friends so it looks like we can please ourselves. Is curry romantic?



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12 comments

  1. That really does look ever so yummy !

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  2. It looks delicious, just the kind of thing I do with things I find in the bottom of the fridge.

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  3. I made something similar last night, with whatever I could find in the drawer.

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  4. Curry is definitely romantic!

    Happy belated birthday Claire! xx

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  5. Stir fry is one of my favourite thrifty meals, there's so much you can do with it.
    I'd just like to say thank you. Your blog has inspired me to cut down on some of the excess "stuff" I've been hoarding for too long. I wrote a post on my own blog about it, I do hope you don't mind.
    I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!

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    1. Hi there! No problem - I read your post and was both touched and impressed. Happy simplifying!

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  6. I've always thought the broccoli stalk was the most flavorful part! I hide it in all sorts of things, but it also is good to add to my veggie scraps bag in the freezer to make broth.

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  7. Cauliflower stalks work in exactly the same way!

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  8. What a great way to use up your bits and pieces. Once you have finished your everlasting ginger - because it will get used up one day... May I suggest the cubes of frozen ginger, garlic and chilli that you can buy. I used to buy fresh of all of these things and ended up wasting loads because I never got them used up before they went too manky to use. However, I now use the frozen ones, no waste and they really do taste good (promise, I am not advertising here!). The only time I buy fresh now is if I really need fresh to be raw in a recipe and that is really only the odd chilli. Also, for cooking you can get frozen onions which are great too and also avoid any waste. They are no more expensive than using fresh and probably cheaper due to the no waste. Anyway, sorry to go on!! xx

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    1. Thanks I will try these ideas in the future. I love tips on saving money :)

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  9. Sounds like our dinner last night. We had sweet potatoes, onions, and kale, and that was about it for veg. I felt like eating just sweet potato fries, but thought we should have something a little more healthy. I sauteed the veggies, cooked up some quinoa, and my husband made a great sauce with half a can of pureed tomatoes, paprika, cumin, and harissa. With some grated cheese on top, it was actually a delicious meal. Since I had considered asking my husband to pick something up on his way home, I was thrilled that this turned out so well and we saved the money. Sometimes the best things are the last minute, unplanned ones!

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