No waste, all taste: Max La Manna’s comfort food pantry-raid recipes

Cooking with little to no waste isn’t about rules; it’s about rethinking old habits. Take inventory of the food you already have (I like taking a photo of my fridge and pantry before I go shopping), stick to your list and buy only what you need. Make sure you store it properly, too, so it lasts longer, and don’t forget to cook with a bit of curiosity: that bendy carrot, yesterday’s rice, the broccoli stem you’d normally bin – they all have potential. Start small, and trust me: you’ll notice the wins in no time, saving money, time and food from the bin. For me, low-waste cooking isn’t restrictive, it’s liberation

If you like piña coladas: how to make slushies at home without a machine

It promises icy, refreshing drinks, and for a cool $179, this slushie maker is yours – if you can find one.Australian TikTok users have become fixated on a Kmart slushie machine, apparently a budget version of the equally viral Ninja slushie machine (RRP A$499), with users posting videos and reviews of their frosty, fruity extrusions. One Australian video has racked up 2.7m views, and the appliance has sold out online. But with Kmart supply chains under scrutiny and the knowledge that culinary trends and the very specific appliances needed to make them are passing fads, not everyone wants to – or has to – buy a machine to make slushies this summer

Pickle power: how to make your first ferments | Kitchen aide

I love ferments and want to start making my own to save money. Where should I start? Ben, by email“Maybe with some carrots, onions, cucumber or beetroot – anything Ben has an excess of,” says Connor Wilson, head chef at The Kirkstyle Inn in Slaggyford, Northumberland. “Fermentation is a great way of preserving produce, but it won’t give new life to things that are past their best.”That said, tired-looking carrots would be perfect for Olia Hercules’ go-to for newbie fermenters: “If they look dehydrated but without any rotting, they’re amazing to ferment,” says the author of Strong Roots. “The sugars concentrate and you get this bright carrot flavour

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for parmesan and sage jacket potato gnocchi | Quick and easy

If I’m going to the effort of making jacket potatoes (and by effort I mean putting them in the oven for an hour), I will almost always pop in a few extra spuds to make gnocchi for a later meal. The difference between shop-bought and homemade gnocchi is vast, especially the vac-packed, long-life kind, which are dense and can be heavy. Freshly made gnocchi, with fluffy baked potatoes, however, are light as air, pillowy and silky. If that sounds intimidating, let me reassure you that this recipe is really forgiving, and much easier than making fresh sheet pasta. I love them served simply, as here, with a slightly nutty sage butter and lots of parmesan

How to make the perfect strata – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect…

Also known variously as “breakfast casserole” and “egg dish”, strata is an American brunch favourite that, according to the great US chef Sohla El-Waylly, is best described as “the love child of frittata and bread pudding”, while the dish’s name comes from the fact that it’s assembled in layers. Like all the best leftovers recipes, those layers are eminently flexible, but what all strata have in common are stale bread and eggs. The rest is largely up to you.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Scottish hospitality coalition urges chancellor to protect whisky industry

A coalition of drinks, tourism and farming bodies has urged the chancellor to protect the Scottish whisky industry from a steeper sales slump and further job losses by freezing spirits duty in her budget next month.The grouping, which includes the Scottish arms of the National Farmers’ Union, the Institute of Directors and UKHospitality, has written to Rachel Reeves to argue that a freeze in duty would be a “strategic investment” that could increase tax revenues.They said recent rises in spirits duty had taken the overall tax paid on the average bottle of whisky to at least £12, or 70% of the retail price, contributing to about 1,000 redundancies in whisky production since last year’s budget, when spirits duty rose.“The current duty regime, combined with wider economic headwinds, is placing significant strain on both producers and venues,” the joint letter said. “Some businesses are halting investment or looking abroad, while others are being forced to cut jobs