0300 123 5011 www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/recycling

We throw away 7.2 million of tonnes of food every year in the UK. Of course, some are peelings, cores and bones, but most of it is, or once was, perfectly good food.By making the most of the food that we buy, the average family can save up to £50 per month – as well as reducing what we throw into landfill.The good news is that over the next few pages, we’ve got some quick and easy ways to make the most of our food. There are delicious recipes and useful tips on storing food. Enjoy!

Understanding ‘use by’ dates and knowing the best way to store food to keep it fresher for longer can help save us pounds. Below are just a few tips that you might find helpful:

1. Remember to keep your fridge temperature below 5°C.

2. Store bread in a cool dark, air tight place. It’s best not to put bread in the fridge as it goes stale much quicker.

3. The fridge is the ideal place to store most of your fruit and veg (except bananas and pine-apples) they can last up to two weeks longer.

4. It pays to plan! Planning your meals is one of the most effective ways you can cut food waste and food bills.

Green News

Savvy Storage

Lovely leftovers

My Big Fat MousakkaThis is a good recipe for using leftover potatoes and vegetables. By scrubbing the potatoes and not peeling them you are saving on excess waste, also a lot of the nutrients come from the potato skin.

This recipe uses ground cumin and coriander for an authentic flavour, but omit if your children don’t like spicy flavours.1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) mark 5. Put

the potatoes in a large pan of water, bring up to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until they are just cooked. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, garlic and spices and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Turn up the heat and add the lamb mince and cook, stirring for another 4-5 minutes, add the tomatoes and season well. Continue to cook for about 20-25 minutes adding the stock in stages.

3. To make the sauce, place the butter, flour, milk and mustard in a small saucepan and, whisking continuously, cook over a medium heat until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. Turn down the heat to its lowest and let the sauce cook for 2 minutes. Allow to cool a little then add the grated cheese (reserving a handful for the topping) and eggs, nutmeg and seasoning.

4. In a large shallow ovenproof dish or individual freezer dishes, layer the meat with the potato slices, finishing with a neat layer of potato slices. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and sprinkle with the reserved grated cheese.

5. Place in the preheated oven to cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

IngredientsServes 10-12500g waxy potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thick slices 2 tablespoons olive oil2 onions, peeled and chopped 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 900g minced lamb 700ml chicken stock either homemade or from cubes 80g butter 75g plain flour 1.2 litres milk 1 teaspoon mustard250g leftover grated cheese4 eggs Pinch of nutmeg Black peppercornsSalt

2 x 400g canned chopped tomatoes

SPID your spud.

Store Potatoes In the Dark

to keep your tatties good.

The key to good compost lies with getting the mix right. You need to keep your greens and browns properly balanced. Here’s some advice on how to keep your compost healthy:

GREENS• Tea bags • Grass cuttings• Vegetable peelings, salad leaves and fruit scraps• Old flowers and nettles• Coffee grounds and filter paper• Spent bedding plants• Rhubarb leaves• Young annual weeds (e.g. chickweed)

BROWNS• Crushed egg shells• Egg and cereal boxes• Corrugated cardboard and shredded paper • Toilet, kitchen roll tubes and vacuum bag contents• Garden prunings• Vegetarian pet bedding• Ashes from wood, paper and lump wood charcoal• Tissues, paper towels and napkins

+KEEP THESE OUT• Cooked vegetables• Meat• Dairy products• Diseased plants• Dog poo or cat litter or baby nappies• Perennial weeds e.g. dandelion and thistles

top tips • If your compost is too wet and gives off an odour, add more browns• If your compost is too dry and is not rotting, add some greens• Make sure you mix up your material to add air pockets to your bin

Making good compost

Frank is one of our waste reduction volunteers, he is a Master Composter from Macclesfield.Food waste still makes up about a third of Cheshire’s “other waste” - or what you put in your black bin! As a nation, the UK sends a massive 7.2 million tonnes of food to landfill every year.Composting helps reduce landfill and here Frank offers readers answers to common composting questions that are asked at events.

Q1. Why does my compost heap take so long to break some stuff down, even in the summer? I always end up with un-composted material, such as broccoli stems, which spoils the finished product. A1. Sometimes people add material that is too large. If possible, chop it down to about the size of a 50p. Garden shredders are useful on woody material and you can always sieve out lumps from finished compost and add them back in for another cycle.

Q2. Somebody told me not to add orange peel to compost as it stops it working.A2. Citrus peel and even whole citrus fruit can be composted. The confusion may come from the fact that brandling worms (often taken as a sign of a “working” heap) dislike an acid environment. That doesn’t stop the composting process though, which is initially driven by micro organisms. Eventually these break down the acid and the worms return.

Q3. We often have summer barbecues and wondered what to do with the ash and unburned charcoal.A3. Provided you’re using lumpwood charcoal and not briquettes, wood ash and charcoal can be added to your compost heap in modest quantities. It could also be applied to the garden direct, particularly round delphiniums in spring to deter slugs, but be aware that BBQ smells can be retained by the charcoal and are irresistible to pets who might choose to eat the tastier lumps!

Q4.: Why are there some small black flies in my bin?A4. These are harmless fruit flies that feed from fruit peelings. Make sure that fruit skins are mixed thoroughly with the other materials in the compost bin and spread a thin layer of soil over the top if necessary. It may help to wrap fruit peelings in a sheet of newspaper.

Franks Q&A’s

Interested in becoming a Waste Reduction Volunteer?Start talking rubbish today. Increase your skills, knowledge and attend informal training sessions, meet new people and make a difference to your community.

Find out more today from the Project Co-ordinator: email:wastevolunteers@Cheshireeast.gov.uk

Tel: 0300 123 5011

Thanks for reading, look out for our summer edition.