Don’t Waste Those Leftovers!

Years ago, when my children were very young, I used to cook for my family once a week. ONLY once a week. That might seem weird to you or like I neglected them six days a week but, actually, that cooking day was a big, comfortable deal for me and it fed my family quite well all week long. (We used one weekend night for eating out/ordering in and one night of hot dogs!)

Sunday afternoon was my cooking day.  On that day, I would go into my kitchen and there I would stay practically all day long.  It was actually a sort of vacation/break for me because my husband and sons would go off and do something and I would VERY HAPPILY watch Turner Classic Movies while I cooked.  Funny, no one missed me at all; especially during football season!

I cooked two very large, very complete dinners with all the fixings, and a large dessert like a pie or a cake.  I planned those meals well. During the week, all these items would be mixed and matched according to each individual’s likes and dislikes.  Usually (but not always), this would rescue any kid that hates a certain veggie; he could just pick a different one that was readily available.

My family never tired of this and I loved my time alone in the kitchen watching the movies that I wanted to watch, unbothered by anyone else.  Did I mention wine?  I should have mentioned wine.

Now that my sons are grown men, there’s no need for me to 1) escape, 2) make such large meals.  However, I do still cook.  I guess I like to cook.

The painting above is a reminder to me that leftovers have value and they should be savored.  The vestiges of anything has the potential to become something new.  There is very little in the world that should actually be thrown away.

This painting was made from the leftover blue and yellow paint from a previous painting. I always use my leftover paint, thanks to a tip I saw in Google land.  Most often, I use the leftover paint to tone pages for another painting session.  Not only do I not find myself staring at a blank, white piece of paper but I also manage to get some great effects on which to layer a new painting.

I’m starting to find that I like circles and swirly things, so I purposely tried to work with straight lines on this. Of course I ended up having to add more paint … but then I ended up toning a page from the leftovers of that one, too!

Is there any area of your life where you always make sure to use every drop?