Am I missing something? I don't share Zoe Williams's excitement about this new book, the Kitchen Revolution, from Rosie Sykes, Polly Russell and Zoe Heron, as outlined in today's G2.
It's all about eating leftovers - which is broadly a good thing. I have an obsession with eating leftovers that borders on the unhealthy (I mean, really unhealthy) and drives those around me slightly up the wall.
And I guess it's sensible to have some kind of organisation around it, but this:
The idea is that you do one weekly shop and cook a big meal from scratch on Night One (perhaps it's your Sunday dinner). The next two evenings, you have leftovers, only excitingly done, not just bubble and squeak; the fourth night, there is a seasonal recipe that is generally pretty quick; night five you prepare a feast using stuff from your larder; and on the sixth night, you make double quantities of something and freeze half of it. On the seventh night you eat something you made from the week before - the book provides 52 weeks' worth of dinners.
... well, isn't it a bit regimented? It's not that it's a bad idea. And there are good bits - I'm told you can download shopping lists from their website, for instance, but initial thoughts are - who plans their whole week's meals in advance? Where's the spontaneity? What's wrong with those recipe suggestion websites or just winging it and experimenting by yourself? And if you don't like one of the meals, doesn't that kind of scupper the whole thing? More importantly, though, what's with the bubble and squeak disrespect? Try bubble and squeak with a bit of stilton and some pepper in there, it probably tastes better than the original meal you made it from. Favourite leftover suggestions please.
