I started the festive period with a jam packed fridge and a real desire to waste as little as possible in a season filled with excess and discards.

I had 4.5 adults for all three meals from Christmas Eve Eve to Stephen’s day, and now it’s back to the usual menagerie. For Husbeast, a roasted bird is his favourite for the big day. I’m not the biggest fan of turkey, and having cooked a lot of them over the years I’m aware that a large chunk of the weight goes in the bin, with everyone swearing off the bird for another year. Often a cleansing trip to McDonalds is also required.

This year I skipped the goose we’ve had for the last number of Christmases, and picked up a free range bronze turkey crown. Theres still enough left for at least two dinners plus sandwiches, but it’s in the freezer. The dogs got a few meagre scraps off it, and this is what’s left..

Naturally I forgot to take a before shot. You’ll have to believe me when I say it’s one of the better roasts I’ve made. I wet brined it overnight, and it was cooked in a little under two hours. A large part of my prejudice against this most seasonal of birds is that by the time the non-breast meat is cooked, the crown is dry and a waste of a good roast dinner. This fixes things.

Tomorrow begins the slow return to normality. I’ll go through the fridge and freezer and rearrange things in “need to be eaten” order as much as possible. These are the first casualties I spotted…a portion of leek and potato soup and a banana that small boy wanted to hold, but not eat.

He’s back on bananas now but it’s too late for this one. The soup is not dog friendly, so in the compost bin it goes.

Tonight’s fare is in front of the telly junk food, served with huge amounts of ketchup, and while wearing pajamas. Not pictured: several diet Cokes.