It’s that time of year when I like to deal with all the pot plants on my terrace. I dispose of those that look sad, get ready for planting spring bulbs and generally tidy up loose ends. There’s always a fight over my precious bougainvillea each year as my other half likes to chop it off in its prime and I don’t.

Fortunately, he doesn’t interfere in the kitchen when it comes to loose ends – in fact, he’s a great ‘use-upper’, spiriting away the odd chicken drumstick, spoonful of cottage pie or slice of apple tart when he gets hungry (which is pretty well always).

At some stage, every cook is faced with leftovers. Even in the best regulated kitchens, chefs need to find ways to use food up wisely, so with a little ingenuity, last night’s fish becomes tonight’s aljotta and leftover vegetables become tomorrow’s minestra.

Others are not so resourceful. Some time ago, I remember reading that something like a quarter of all food purchased in the UK ends up in landfill sites, which is pretty iniquitous when you consider that half the world is either drought-stricken or starving. Apparently, we buy food, put it in the fridge and forget about it until it’s a question of “Oh dear, can’t use that, it’s past its sell-by date” – so in the bin it goes.

I do admit to throwing things out sometimes, although I try not to make a habit of it. One thing I can’t bear to throw out is bread, so I’m always making bread and butter puddings, bruschetta, meatballs or rissoles to use it up, and my cupboards are overflowing with homemade croutons and dried breadcrumbs.

Sweden’s national ‘use up’ dish is pytt i panna, which I think means ‘bits and pieces’. It’s a catch-all for all manner of things, like the remains of the Sunday roast, and it makes a good Monday night supper for two, but I don’t think there’s a definitive recipe – it’s more a question of using up what you have, so the recipe is just a guide.

I like meatballs of any description. Made with pork, sausages and plenty of breadcrumbs, they are really tasty, particularly if you serve them with oniony Irish colcannon. In fact, if you don’t have any leftover mash, it’s well worth cooking some just for the colcannon.

Chicken and mushroom paté using some cooked chicken, a few mushrooms, eggs and cream makes a very respectable starter, but you do really need to blitz the mixture in a processor. It can be prepared in advance, kept in the fridge until you’re ready to cook and, although we prefer it hot, it can be served cold as well.

I make bread and butter puddings quite often during the winter, either just a simple one with a couple of eggs, a few slices of bread, some milk and a handful of sultanas, or occasionally something more elaborate. Either way, it’s a favourite that goes down well – and it uses up some of that excess bread I get so worried about.