One of the biggest changes that we’ve made in the past year (besides not going anywhere, doing anything, or seeing anyone…) has been cutting down on food waste.
The amount of food I threw away each week had been bothering me for a while, but – I’ll be honest – it took the pandemic to really get my butt into gear and do something about it. I started thinking about easy ways to reduce food waste. Now, rather than deciding what I felt like eating each day then buying extra food practically every other day, I started looking in the fridge and making do with what was already in there.
It forced me to be more inventive with meals and I ended up adding loads more recipes to my repertoire. In fact, it became a challenge for me to get the fridge as empty as possible by the end of the week – the more white shelving I could see, the better I felt.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH OLD PEACHES?
The other week I had some peaches that had seen better days. I knew the kids wouldn’t go near them, but didn’t want to throw them out, so asked ‘what can I do with old peaches?’ in a No-Waste Facebook group, set to offer hive mind advice and easy ways to reduce food waste.
The suggestions I got back included peach crumble, jam, smoothies and purée to go in Prosecco (yum!), but in the end I decided to go with a good old classic cobbler.
The difference between a peach cobbler and a crumble (I now know) is that a crumble traditionally includes rolled oats in its top layer. Both are quick and easy to make (the Ministry of Food actually recommended them as a cheap dessert to make during World War II rationing) and can be made using cupboard staples and pretty much any left over fruit you have – apples, peaches, pears, berries, plums, rhubarb… you name it, it can probably be turned into a delicious cobbler!
I started by finding a scrumptious recipe for peach cobbler. I cut the peaches into segments, then sprinkling with a 1/4 cup of sugar.
Next I created the biscuity topping, by mixing flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla essence, salt and butter, and layered it over the peach slices. Half-an-hour in the oven later and the fruit juices were bubbling around the edges and the sweet, crumbly topping had turned a lovely golden brown.
Next, I dished it up and topped it with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt, the tart creaminess perfectly offsetting the sweet stickiness of the cobbler.
Food photography is most definitely NOT my thing so ignore the fact this looks a bit ‘meh’ and believe me when I say it tasted absolutely delicious – and all with ingredients I already had at home, and six sad-looking peaches that’d usually have gone in the bin.
What can I do with old peaches? Make a quick, tasty, cheap dessert your family will love, that’s what!
