I’m a child of the 70s, but you would think I grew up during the Depression because I refuse to waste food. People often tell me to just “get rid of it” after I complain about the leftover pie or cake that tempts me during the day. But I can’t. I just refuse.

Eat week-old turkey soup for lunch? Yup, I do that. Those overripe bananas in the fruit bowl become banana bread or they are peeled, individually wrapped in plastic and stowed in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until I can get to them. Mushy apples = applesauce. Limp carrot? Thrown in the stockpot.

Bono and other celebs are saving the starving kids in Africa, so guilt isn’t behind my frenzy of food frugality. It’s more that we’re paying big bucks for good, nutritious food at the supermarket. And — forgive me for sounding like your crotchety old neighbor — but, dammit, I’m going to get my money’s worth.

Besides, I recycle bags, cardboard, LOTS of newspaper, glass, cans, bottles, plastic, clothes and those pervasive white wire hangers from the dry cleaners. Why wouldn’t I recycle food?

Today, while perusing the fridge, I came across a small container of a puree of butternut squash and pears from Thursday night’s dinner. There was also another Gladware of Lundberg’s Black Japonica Rice stowed with leftover chicken I plan to use in chicken pot pie. (If you’re not getting three meals out of a roast chicken, the terrorists win.)

So how did I repurpose these leftovers? I made wild rice and squash cakes for tonight’s dinner.

In a bowl, I tossed in the squash (1 c.) and rice (1-1/2 c.), 2 T. of mined shallots, an egg white to bind it together as well as ½ c. cornmeal, salt and pepper. I stirred up a nice stiff batter then used an ice cream scoop to drop them into a non-stick frying pan sizzling with canola oil.

I flattened them out once they were in the pan. And after a few minutes, I flipped them – one not so successfully. When they were done, I put them to drain on paper towels, and, when cool, they returned to the fridge to await dinner.

Tonight, I will re-warm the cakes and serve them with a small dollop of crème fraiche alongside beef tenderloin that was marinated in Dave’s Coffee Syrup, a couple of crushed chipotles in adobo sauce and smashed garlic. (More on that experiment later.)

So, how, dear readers, do you repurpose your food? Or is your garbage disposal working overtime? Let me know!

Tags: #cooking, #food, #leftovers, #recycle, #repurpose, #squash, #wildrice