Did you know that around a third of all the food we buy ends up being thrown away? That staggering information is according to research by WRAP, a UK government funded agency.
I like to think that I am quite good when it comes to buying the right amount of food to meet our needs. Even so, I am guilty of throwing some food away, I would by lying if I told you I used everything up.When buying fresh produce, the thing that really makes me want to scream, is BOGOF (buy one, get one free.) I don't want 2 massive cauliflowers, or 2 packs of 10 oranges. Sell it to me at half price please! And what's my mum going to do with 2 pineapples? She lives on her own and only has a tiny freezer.
A campaign called Love Food Hate Waste is aiming to raise awareness of the need to reduce the amount of food that we throw away. The website has plenty of recipes, tips and even advice on how to save money on your food bill.

PS. It's not just good food going to waste, there are serious implications for the environment as well. My family recycles as much as we can, we are lucky to have the space to do so. There are collections in my village for the newspapers and cardboard. I take all the glass bottles and cans to the nearest recycling centre, but have to go to the nearest town with the plastic containers and that is always full.

This brings me nicely to my little strawberry cream tarts. Made entirely from leftovers! The pastry came out of the freezer, leftover from this recipe, the blueberries and strawberries are from my summer berry mille feuille recipe, along with the fabulous white chocolate custard cream.
This is also my entry for In the Bag, being hosted by Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie. The ingredients this month are strawberries and white chocolate.
Strawberry Tartlets with White Chocolate Cream
Amounts are a bit vague, and depends on the amount of pastry/fruit/cream you have to use up.
Cooked tartlet cases, made from sweet tart dough recipe below
White chocolate cream, made from the recipe below
Strawberries
Blueberries, or blueberry sauce from this recipe
White chocolate cream
1 cup double cream
½ cup custard, good quality if shop bought
5oz white chocolate, melted
Whip the cream to soft peaks, then whip in the custard.
Melt the white chocolate and when it has cooled, fold it into the cream.
Sweet Tart Dough
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
8oz plain flour
2oz icing sugar
4oz butter, cut into cubes
pinch salt
1 large egg yolk
Using a food processor, blend the flour, icing sugar and pinch of salt with the cubes of butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and pulse gently until the pastry comes together. If the pastry is not binding properly, your egg yolk may not have been big enough, so add a little water or milk, a teaspoon at a time until it does come together.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to fit your tart tin. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter the shiny side of a piece of foil and put it buttered side down on the pastry, bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes until nicely browned.
Note: Dorie recommends pressing the dough evenly into the tin - I prefer rolling the pastry out with a rolling pin, as I get a more even sheet.
(Printable Recipe)

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