Leftovers
Dec
26
Written by:
12/26/2011 5:01 PM
How do you feel about leftovers? My husband and I love them, our daughters not so much. We love being able to easily put together a tasty meal with little mess in the kitchen.
Part of managing a household well is using that which is leftover. People in primitive cultures and those struggling with poverty are most often quite good at this, as a matter of necessity. Unfortunately prosperity often breeds wastefulness. Our country has been guilty of this. Some people have taken up dumpster diving, not out of need, but to underscore this point. Yuck! Perhaps our struggling economy will result in better management of what we have.
As believers, we are called to be responsible stewards. We can use leftovers or remnants creatively to produce some good things. Extra turkey can make a yummy soup or casserole; scraps of fabric, including some from favorite old clothes, can become a beautiful quilt; partial skeins of yarn can be knit into a well-loved striped scarf; bits of trim can dress up a doll blanket.
Managing leftovers requires organization. If we aren’t careful with leftover food we can give our family food poisoning. If we don’t organize our stashes of yarn or fabric, we just create clutter where we have difficulty finding anything. We don’t want to hoard or be pack rats. However, producing something good from leftovers is very satisfying, especially when it means we can then share it. Pray for guidance about when to give.
God told the Israelites to leave grain and grapes when they harvested as gleanings for the poor and the stranger. (Leviticus 19:9-10) When we have an abundance we should consider how it might bless someone who is needy.
Tips:
If you make turkey soup, please don’t call it turkey “carcass” soup. Add a box of broth, not just water. It will be tastier.
Know how long you can safely store food in your fridge or freezer. Consider owning a resource book on this subject. We have one called Keeping Food Fresh by Janet Bailey.
Resolve to use leftovers creatively.
Keep a log for your freezer, maybe even for your fridge.
If you are into sewing, knitting and/or crafts, organize your remnants in storage boxes and label or number them. Ziplock bags are handy for further organizing a box of notions.
Once in a while sort through your stashes and consider taking some stuff to the Good Will.
“It is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” I Corinthians 4:2