Sometimes “cook it forward” can mean being creative with leftovers, or making a big batch of a something, like rice, to use as a backdrop for multiple dishes with all kinds of seasonal ingredients.
Do you “cook it forward”? You don’t have to can beets or ferment sauerkraut or even freeze beans to do so. Cooking it forward is often about food preservation, but it’s also about using up leftovers to create something new. Sometimes it’s even about making leftovers on purpose so that you can create multiple dishes out of a single batch of a backdrop ingredient. If you’ve ever roasted a six-pound chicken or boiled extra potatoes, you know what I’m talking about. Soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches—the opportunities are boundless. As somebody famous once said, “Eternity is a ham and two people.”
This approach is especially handy for local-minded cooks who want to make the most of each season. In springtime, one staple that seems to lend itself especially well to the early harvest is good ol’ rice. Think rice salad with asparagus and green onions, or an egg-drop rice soup with fresh sorrel. Then there’s fried rice, a “leftovers” preparation that gets varied with all man- ner of cool-season crops: spinach, peas, ramps, broccoli shoots, mushrooms, bok choy, and so on.
Fried rice is a classic example of how edible odds and ends have been turned into some of the world’s favorite dishes. That’s why it always surprises me when someone says, “I don’t like leftovers.” (What? You don’t like Buffalo wings? Enchiladas? Chicken pot pie?! Not to mention saving time, money and the planet.)
Leftovers can be fun. On Fridays, I make a game of it. The rule is I can only use what I have on hand to make dinner, the main idea being to clear the way in my fridge for all the goodies I’ll want to buy at the farmers market on Saturday. But I admit that I’ve been known to cheat—I plan ahead.
I make a pot of rice on Thursday night.
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