Bubble and Squeak.

Growing up, I used to read this children's book (I can't remember the name), which talked about the concept of bubble and squeak. Basically, bubble and squeak (in that book) is the term used to describe Sunday brunch consisting of leftovers from the week. For some reason, the term and concept remain ingrained in my head until now, that each time I eat leftovers, I'll tell my husband that I'm going "bubble and squeak!"

Like previous years, I have a tendency to cook more during the fasting month. Not only does my husband enjoy home-cooked meals, it also saves me the trouble of having to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to prepare something for him to eat for sahur because I will normally cook more of what I'm cooking for buka puasa for that purpose.

But sometimes... I think I take the definition of "cook more" to another level. Another ridiculous level.

Some time last week, I really wanted to make sambal hijau since I had loads of green chillies. I have always loved sambal hijau but I've never made it before because (1) I'm the only one who eats it; and (2) the cafe next door sells it so it was easily accessible. But since it's fasting month, and I love to cook and I had so many green chillies and it was the first week of Ramadan so I wanted to eat so many things, I looked for the recipe and found out that IT'S SO EASY!!! I had a hard laugh at myself and went back happily, knowing that it was possible to make it at home. 

At about the same time (remember this is the first week of Ramadan, so I always felt like no amount of food would be able to appease my husband's hunger (and well, mine too, I guess)... I also "smartly" defrosted 400g of minced beef to be put into some spaghetti goreng basah that I've been thinking about cooking for so, so, so long. 

I mean, seriously, which idiot does that???

I ended up with SO MUCH sambal hijau and leftover spaghetti because as expected, my husband didn't eat the sambal hijau and how much spaghetti can one person have in one sitting anyways? 

the last of my bubble and squeak.

To make up for the "very smart move", I had bubble and squeak until all the sambal hijau and spaghetti was gone! For the whole week! Husband didn't object to this (I made fresh meals for him every day), of course knowing that I would make a big fuss out of having to throw away food since I'm a stern believer that when you waste whatever rezeki Allah gives, Allah will not give anymore. So, bubble and squeak I did all week long.

 When all that was over... I peeped into my freezer and saw that I only had mutton left. Mutton. I have never cooked mutton my whole life. Although I do cook quite alot at home, I'm not very experimental. Plus, my husband is really easy to please and anything with gravy doesn't really tickle his fancy... so what do I do with the mutton, now?

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 After weighing all the options and looking through what I already have in my fridge... I decided on cooking mutton stew. The recipe calls for 4 pounds of mutton leg but I only had 900g mutton shoulder, so I said, why not use them all, after all, mine's mutton shoulder (loads of bones, less meat, hence justified) and I got to cooking my stew, in a kuali.

I do have stockpot, but I like sauteeing in a kuali better. And by the time I mixed everything together...

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and this was without the stock and gravy!

I had SO MUCH OF IT, WHY OH WHY DO I NEVER LEARN! There's only 3 of us, for crying out loud...

My husband came back from work on Saturday and was so shocked to see what I had cooked! "BANYAKNYA", dia kata!

Luckily though, I tastes good enough, so much so that someone jumped on the "bubble and squeak" bandwagon with me the following day (yesterday)!

And even then... I still have some more left, though not as much as my spaghetti and sambal hijau previously.

xxx

What I'm really trying to say is that this month is the month to remember those who are less fortunate than us and the easiest way to do that is by abstaining from our basic necessities (drink and food) from dawn to dusk just so we know what it feels like to be thirsty and hungry and have no other choice but to be thirsty and hungry.

But when the time comes for breaking of fast, where we do have a choice to appease our hunger and thirst, it doesn't give us the entitlement to gorge and binge and WASTE.

Just so you know - 

"It (Malaysia) generates about 15,000 tonnes of food and kitchen waste daily – enough to fill 7.5 football fields or to feed 7.5 million people a day."

 

 "Of the amount wasted, between 10% and 15% comprised unconsumed and expired food."

Source: The Star.

So, next time you're in a buffet line, take only what you need and think about the more needy. Next time you're at a Pasar Ramadan, each time you are tempted to buy something that is most likely going to go to waste, set aside the money supposedly spent for that "wastage" and bring it to the tabung masjid instead.

And hopefully, this Ramadan would be better than the last. 

Just my 2 cents. Semoga bermanfaat.