It seemed like a good idea. I was making a vegetable broth, and had chopped up and simmered tomatoes, aubergines, onions, garlic, mushrooms, sugarsnaps, plus anything else left over and a mixture of garden herbs. There was a vegetable stock cube and a little ground pepper and cayenne – just enough to give it bite. Then it hit me. Why not add the leftover baked vegetables? Good way to use them up. I peeled off the cheese crust and added them. Then I thought, “Why not add it, too?” So I cut it up and put it in to simmer.
Bad mistake. When I stirred it, the wooden spoon practically stuck to the bottom, and came covered in sticky cheese globs. Uh-oh. I quickly transferred the broth to another (non stick) pan and scrubbed the first one clean, together with the spoon. Ten minutes later the same happened, so I did it again. I had to change pans one more time, and scrub the spoon several times until it no longer came out slimy with cheese. Eventually it gave in.
An hour and a half later I had a really nice broth, with a haunting tang of cheese in its taste. But no, it wasn’t worth it, and I won’t do it again.