Freezer Roulette

I don't know about you but my kitchen is bursting at the seams with food, in the fridge, in the freezer and in the cupboards.  What's the problem with that, I hear you ask.  Well, it's because some of it has been there for a long time.  Instead of using it up I go out and buy more food, and the jars and packets and tins spread out over the surfaces until there's very little room left to work.  It's got to stop one day and the New Year seems the best time to begin.

So, starting tomorrow, I've set myself the challenge of preparing a meal based around at least one ingredient from my stockpile.  I'm beginning with the freezer.

For the uninitiated, this is an Arbroath smokie, a smoked haddock, originating from Auchmithie, a fishing village a few miles north of Arbroath.  My smokie was one of two I bought at the Tobacco Factory market some time ago. We ate the first one the day we bought it, dotted with butter, flashed under the grill, with Mark's oaty groaty bread and diced beetroot.  Its partner was frozen for a later date, which is now tomorrow.

A quick Google produced the ideal recipe, Cullen Spink, a variation on the traditional Cullen Skink.  I have enough potatoes, onions and other ingredients to produce a meal for two.  I know that my daughter will not eat so smelly a fish, and will be happy enough with yesterday's leftover sausage casserole.

Now that wasn't too hard, was it?

Towards a Waste Free 2009

What with assorted building work and the festive season my weekly weigh-ins were abandoned, the result of which has been that our landfill bin has dramatically increased in volume. However, now that we are back to normal(!), I have reinstated the paper carrier bag on top of the kitchen bin and started to think long and hard before I buy.

Following my success in producing a mere 5 g during Zero Waste Week my weekly total crept up to between 200g and 250g, almost entirely composed of unrecyclable plastic. I'd like to set myself a weekly target of 100g. However, given that half way through this week we'd reached 250g, it's not going to happen overnight, nor without serious reconsideration of our purchases, because that's where it all begins.

I am, however, cautiously optimistic for several reasons.

Firstly, having done it once, I know it can be done again.

Secondly because, with careful planning, it is perfectly possible to cut right back on plastic. It just requires a bit of effort.

Thirdly, the opening of the Bristol Green Store in our old Chessel Street Post Office and the arrival of self service bins in Southville Deli will make it easier to buy waste free staples.

And last, but by no means least, because I am not alone. There are hundreds of you out there, all over the world, committed to a greener way of life and supporting each other along the way.

So, starting this Thursday, I am going to select one piece of waste from my landfill bin and spend the week working out if and how I can ensure that it never turns up in my bin again. Some things are going to be easy but I suspect that the majority of them will prove to be somewhat of a challenge.

Wish me luck!