On the subject of leftovers

[expatgirl]

`you definitely have stamina, Charlie, if you can eat 2 week old chicken and a great immune system.........good for you!

 

[CharlieD]

`you definitely have stamina, Charlie, if you can eat 2 week old chicken and a great immune system.........good for you!

Growing up some times we were lucky to have garbage scraps. Builds up stamina really fast.


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[expatgirl]

same in Egypt...........you built up immunities to a lot of wee beasties........`i lived with an amoeba for years.......the medicine which was a poison literally was worse than living with it........so `i lived with it for years.........eventually my doctor said `i must have `'discarded`' it the natural way........

 

[Addie]

Growing up some times we were lucky to have garbage scraps. Builds up stamina really fast.


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Charlie, I think most of us are familiar with Russia's "five year plans," "seven year plans", but did any of them ever succeed? And was your family ever the beneficiary of all the grain the US sent to Russia when the "Plans" failed?

 

[Justice O.]

I almost always cook with leftovers in mind. I makes a quick meal the next day or a great packed lunch for work.

 

[CharlieD]

Officially we never used your grain. Officially it was of inferior quality. Maybe only good for animals. Plans "of course we're successful " we used to finish them in a year or two. We work so fast. The rest 3 years we did nothing. And got paid accordingly.


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[CharlieD]

same in Egypt...........you built up immunities to a lot of wee beasties........`i lived with an amoeba for years.......the medicine which was a poison literally was worse than living with it........so `i lived with it for years.........eventually my doctor said `i must have `'discarded`' it the natural way........

You lived in Egypt? Wow



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[Cheryl J]

Like a few others here, I cook for one. There's almost always leftovers. Some are accidental leftovers, but many are planned. I grill often and there's no way I'm going to grill, for example, one or two chicken thighs for one meal. Even when I'm grilling a big thick rib eye, I usually throw some veggies on the grill to make the best use of the coals.

About the only things I throw out if I don't eat it all in one meal are veggie salads, fruit salads, and fish. I don't expect fish to reheat well, but I've been known to nibble on a piece of leftover fish the next morning if I especially liked it the night before.

edited...I wouldn't call a cake or pie 'leftovers' though...in my mind leftovers are from a meal and not a dessert. Just like I wouldn't consider a carton of ice cream from the freezer leftovers if a scoop had been taken out of it.

 

[expatgirl]

Cheryl, `i'm not going to say all fish is best reheated, but if you put it on a preheated hot pizza stone ``(with parchment paper) it's pretty good.........nothing to lose......\\\and `i agree with the rest

 

[expatgirl]

You lived in Egypt? Wow



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We lived there for 7 years.........best 7 years of our lives........back in the 90's.........so much to see and do there it was unbelievable......and the local people were so nice and friendly...........if you even tried to mangle their Arabic which `i did and with finesse they were flattered....just caused you tried.... `i'm not sure it's the same anymore........`i've been told by others it's s= changed a lot............gawd, `i'm going to throw this computer away.......it's driving me crazy! `i can tell you, the experience forever changed my children's lives.........they came in contact with children from all over the world, different cultures, languages, mores, etc........my daughter was so impressed that she studied Arabic in college.......`i will never forget the wonderful, local friendly people we met........

 

[Addie]

Officially we never used your grain. Officially it was of inferior quality. Maybe only good for animals. Plans "of course we're successful " we used to finish them in a year or two. We work so fast. The rest 3 years we did nothing. And got paid accordingly.


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I understand every bit, officially of course.

 

[Mad Cook]

I came across this article about the history of leftovers, presented as a function of abundance. Before refrigeration was common, and especially for the poor, there was no such thing.

I always find it odd when I hear about people who don't like leftovers. I love them, for the most part. I eat them for breakfast or repurpose them for dinner.

What are your thoughts?

An Economic History of Leftovers - The Atlantic

In the middle ages left-overs from the banquets of the rich were given to the poor. Today we throw them away (well, I don't but lots of people do).

Something wrong there I feel, given that "the poor are always with us".

As I live alone and most recipes don't work when down-sized to a portion for one, I tend to make enough for two and have the dish for dinner one night and the left-overs/second helping for lunch the following day. If the recipe doesn't work for two I put portions three and four into the freezer.

 

[dragnlaw]

I feel, as others have already stated, they are not "leftovers" if made with the intention, for example, of purposely splitting what was made to serve two (or more) meals.

It might be splitting fine hairs but perhaps you could call them 'leftovers' when you stare at them and say... "hmmm, what can I make to finish this dish up..."