Freeze ahead

Did you know you can freeze milk, bread, butter, cream, coconut milk, leftover cooked rice and cooked dried (not fresh) pasta? You'll need to divide them into the portion sizes you will want to use.

• Pour cream and coconut milk into ice cube trays, then transfer to a bag when frozen to save space.
• If a lot of your dishes begin with chopped onions and garlic fried in oil until soft, make a big batch and freeze individual portions for future meals. They won't freeze solid because of the oil, so they are ready to use almost immediately.
• Freeze chopped fresh herbs in bags or covered with a splash of water in ice cube trays.
• Freeze extra chopped chillies, lemon grass and lime leaves (all used in Thai dishes.)

Peel fresh ginger and freeze in a bag - it keeps indefinitely and is easier to grate from frozen.