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on the downward side of the age mountain.

Friday, October 20, 2006

My Freezer

My freezer is a goldmine of good intentions. It’s loaded with frozen potential suspended in various states of creation. There’s Thanksgiving stuffing from last year waiting for the right moment to either be thrown away or changed into pot pie topping with frozen chicken meat equally as old, and peas and carrots only bought for the said purpose.

Staples move through the freezer to fridge like soldiers to culinary war. The egg beaters ready for de-frosting to make cholesterol free baked goods or a Sunday omelette. Coffee in the bean form to stay fresh. Various tasty sausages are my arsenal against a boring weekday meal. They slip into stir fry’s, soup, or as a protein topping on salad. Pork tenderloin, ground buffalo, stray chicken breasts with or without their skin all contribute to the efficiency of the freezer stash.

In the door we have immediate, not-to-get-lost items. Nuts, whole, ground, and chopped jostle next to various sized household batteries that are stored according to an urban legend that they would last longer. True or not our freezer has been the battery's home in many of our houses and I can locate them quickly when the flashlight dims. Little plastic bags of chicken fat wait for rendering on top of a new freezer necessity, porcini powder. The powder was bought with all surety that this secret ingredient would blast through my culinary repertoire giving that secret umaji to my daily meals leaving the family panting for more and voluntarily joining the clean plate club.

As new occupants sit front and center, bits and pieces scuttle to the back only to be guiltily retrieved when I reach just a little too far looking for the frozen butter. Small containers of chopped clams bought for white clam sauce play hide and seek when I want them fast. Filo and puff pastry make seasonal appearances with their leftovers re-frozen for another day.

Last winter I decided to save the last cup of soup I would make and thus have a welcome addition to nights when I didn’t want to cook. A full season has passed and fall is upon me again as well as those little globs of frozen soup. They think they can hide in the back but my arms are long and off they go to the garbage. I don’t think I will continue the leftover soup practice.

There have been years when I dutifully froze pesto in ice cube trays, put tablespoons of leftover tomato paste on parchment paper to freeze and then in to baggies. The result? Flavored ice cubes with a hint of pesto and blobs of tomato paste that merged together during the freezing and defrosting cycle. Another example of efficiency gone awry.

There is only one habit I do religiously to foods I put in the freezer. I label and date them so I know when I can throw them away.

1 comment:

Margaret said...

Yes, I agree with labeling and dating all freezer items. Basil cubes can be hard to identify when they are white with freezer frost!