I cannot do without my freezer.

It is a food treasure trove as whatever I cannot finish is frozen for another time. It comes in especially useful when I'm about to go away for I can freeze leftovers, bread and even eggs and vegetables.

I also freeze fruit and you can find cut watermelon, whole oranges and lemon wedges in my freezer.

We all know about freezing leftovers. But I not only freeze leftovers, but also make extra each time I cook to freeze for another meal.

Currently, I have vindaloo sauce, to which I can add meat, and even poon choy gravy for me to make a braised hot pot another time.

The trick is to prep each food before freezing so that it is ready for use upon defrosting.

Everything is frozen in serving portions, lemons are cut into wedges, as is watermelon, which will be zapped into a granita later.

The oranges are left whole because it will be turned into marmalade when my current batch runs out. I merely chop it in the food processor.

Bread is frozen in slices so that it is easy to remove each slice, unless you want a whole loaf to break into later. As for eggs, break and beat them before placing them in jars in the numbers you would use at a time or in covered ice trays if you want them in single portions.

And trim the green vegetables.

Blanch and drain before placing them into plastic bags for freezing. They are perfect later for soups and stir-fries.

No waste indeed in my kitchen.

Sylvia Tan