Re-Purpose your leftovers

Even though I found another handful of ripe raspberries today, it’s really pumpkin season. Last week I made one of my favorite pumpkin recipes—a cream cheese, pumpkin dip—to take to a party. The recipe makes far more dip that anyone would need for party of 50 or fewer people, but I forgot that when I put it together. So I came home with plenty left to snack on.

Leftovers often inspire creativity in our house and that was certainly the case with the pumpkin dip. It started out as a sweet dip for celery and carrots, although it’s also quite good as a fruit dip. The party-goers liked it.

Next it became an “icing” for shortbread. That provided a nice afternoon snack until the shortbread was gone.

I followed that with ginger crackers topped with pumpkin dip and fresh raspberries. That was an interesting combination, although I wouldn’t give it a 10.

Finally the dip became a “dressing” for a mint, fruit salad. I did add a little bit of yogurt to cut the sweetness and extend the “dressing” to make a larger salad. It was a hit—there wasn’t a bit of fruit salad or dip left after that final re-invention.

Don’t let leftovers bring you down with repetition. Plenty of folks these days are re-purposing clothing; now you can also re-purpose your leftovers.

Tonight another round of pumpkin begins with Liberian Pumpkin. I’ll let you know how it turns out.