Stop wasting food!

Ever since I read the book "Hungry Planet" by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, I have been haunted by the image of a woman and her children in an African country sifting sand to be sure to capture each piece of grain. Thinking of the hunger in their eyes as I sweep into the trash perfectly good food that I just don't want to be bothered with. What are a few grains of rice in the midst of the abundance we enjoy? Lately, I have been much more careful with even the grains of rice, picking up uncooked grains that end up on the floor, washing them and using them.

I have tried to become more conscious of my consumption of food, more aware of what I am buying, cooking and throwing away. Since I have never really cared much for leftovers, as opposed to planned overs, I confess to throwing away huge amounts of food. Thinking more about waste and the health of the planet, I have been trying to make use of leftovers in meals that taste good and are satisfying.

Today I think I hit the leftover food jackpot. The combination of foods that ended up together was so outstanding that it deserves a recipe of sorts.

I had in the refrigerator leftover cooked jasmine rice, roasted sweet potatoes, half a can of coconut milk, and a serving and a half of 3-can soup. 3-can soup is made with a can of drained and rinsed black beans, a can of Ro*Tel tomatoes, and a can of diced tomatoes.

The rice was a couple of days old and a little dried out, so I poured the coconut milk over the rice in a saucepan, added some fresh ginger and slowly heated it. I warmed the sweet potatoes and the 3-can soup separately. When everything was heated, I put servings of each component in a shallow soup bowl and began to eat. The flavors were perfectly balanced and remarkable. Hey, this should become a stew! So I stirred it all gently together so the sweet potato did not become mush and lose it distinctive role. At last, I got through a day without wasting food, and I can't wait until I have this combination of leftovers again.