Creative Christmas Cooking with Ali

Last week we had a tasty couple of hours at Charleston Community Complex learning some really simple but sparkling recipes from Ali Mitchell, thanks to the R U Up 4 It? food waste project. A quick chat with those that came along came up with lots of new suggestions on how to deal with some foods folk regularly find themselves throwing away. Onions can be kept for a long time (weeks, even months) if kept cool and are in good condition. Old bits of bread can be made into breadcrumbs and then added to sausage meat to fill it out, top off a tartlet and of course go towards bread sauce. It will keep in a bag in a cool place or freezer for quite a while. For more tips have a look athttp://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Ali will be sharing his top tips and recipes for money- and waste-saving cooking on the Charleston Academy Community Complex Facebook pages. Why not do the same?

Dishes we made in only 1.5 hours included

• cranberry sauce with orange
• Brussels sprouts and bacon bits with butter and honey
• Brussels outer leaves (not to be wasted) drizzled with lemon, butter and sugar
• Sausage meat "roll" with cranberries, sage, thyme and oregano, breadcrumbs and honey
• Goat's cheese, Stilton, herb and cranberry sauce tartlet
• Carrots and parsnips tossed in turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, honey and lemon

Bill - carefully considering the Brussels spouts leaves drizzled with lemon, honey and butter

Charlene adding a delicate touch of honey to the sausage meat.

Just cranberries, orange and a wee bit of sugar. Not too sweet as this is to accompany meat.

The evening's favourite - remainder goat's cheese and Stilton and tonight's cranberry sauce on a thin base of ready-made puff pastry. What could be easier?

Top tip - put the shiny side of the foil against the sausage meat. Not on the outside.

Nissil adding home-grown rosemary to the tartlet.

The busiest member of our cooking group was Lucy, a pupil at Muirtown Primary School. Delicately slicing a juicy orange for the home-made cranberry sauce.

Ali showing us the finer points of using knives.

Sausage meat mixed with breadcrumbs from left-over bread, herbs and an egg. wrapped foil and baked in oven for a sausage snack later.