It's Wednesday, the day of the week when Suburban Correspondent flings the doors of her refrigerator open wide and invites the entire world (or, at least, 300 people) to see what has gone bad in her refrigerator lately. It's like a train wreck, folks; you just can't help looking!
Here we go, friends - the throwaways this week. You'll see that we have a few of the
regulars with us today - the sacrificial egg sandwich there on the right, the homemade salsa - along with some newcomers to the fold. On the left you see the usual assortment of Gladware (actually, a piece of Tupperware is on the bottom of that pile, a lone survivor from the days when I thought I could actually keep my fridge both organized and color-coordinated). The contents of the containers range from some cut-up homegrown tomatoes to orphaned spaghetti (does anyone else run out of meatballs and sauce before they run out of pasta?) topped by some pesto (homemade by David) gone bad. Hmmm...Pesto Gone Bad...maybe I'll send that to Dave Barry as a suggestion for the name of a rock band. I'm sure he's just dying to hear from me.The big metal bowl center stage (with the rotting peach posing demurely in front of it) contains yet more homemade salsa (also made by David). Here's a close-up:
I assure you, 9 days ago it was simply delicious.
On the right, we have yet another stack of past-their-prime comestibles. Three watermelon slices are on the bottom. I remember considering forcing one of the children to eat them, even though everyone was full; because I knew if I put them back in the fridge, they were doomed. Alas, I ignored my instincts; and these innocent watermelon wedges died a slow, lingering death (along with the 8 cooked carrot rounds in the container above them). Oh, well, at least neither the carrots nor the watermelon suffered alone.
And on the top, of course, is our sacrificial egg sandwich of the week. Looks like Elijah still isn't hungry, folks!
[For you newcomers who are still puzzled as to why you are staring at someone's half-eaten lunch, let me tell you: you can blame the Germans.]
I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who has difficulty figuring out the correct spaghetti/meatballs/sauce ratio.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, inspired by you, I cleaned out my fridge yesterday.
I dumped all the bad food in the garbage, and made my kids wash all the dirty gladware.
Be proud of me.
***You'll see that we have a few of the regulars with us today***
ReplyDeleteThis just gets funnier.
That's why I leave my cut up watermelon on the counter to dry out.
ReplyDeleteWhat, Jill? No pictures? Join the party!
ReplyDeleteAnd, Jenn, that is so sensible of you...
Homemade salsa in the pot, nine days old!
ReplyDeleteI really wish I had thought of that line. Oh, well...
ReplyDeletei think i dated the bass player in pesto gone bad in college.
ReplyDeleteI threw away two rotting nectarines and thought of you. That's a compliment.
ReplyDeleteWell I must say I am also one of those Krauts who likes your fridge.*lol*
ReplyDeleteBut i also read your other posts and today I decided that it is finally time for a comment.:-)
verena
I hear you on knowing something's doomed. We face that fact up front, my husband and I. We'll ask, "Do you want to throw this out now, or put it in the fridge and throw it out later?"
ReplyDeletemrs g - Well! Um, thanks!
ReplyDeletehelianthe - Wilkommen!
amy - I guess Larry and I are just a couple of optimistic fools.
I have the same pasta/sauce issue, but its not a problem. Leftover pasta gets eaten by my 12 yo who doesn't like sauce. At least a couple times a month he gets pasta, plain (with a sprinkle of parmesan if he's lucky) for lunch. The sauce used to rot until I decided to save it in yogurt cups in the freezer - for meatloaf. Sounds perfect, right - well, now I have too many bits of sauce in the freezer! Nothings perfect!
ReplyDeleteIt still boggles my mind, their fascination with your fridge.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered making half an egg sandwich? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteNow, I may be dreaming, but it seems to me that the leftovers are beginning to look more organized and uniform--could this be a sign of an uprising? What if they're organizing into some kind of revolt? What if the pesto and salsa is just a smokescreen for some undiscovered hunk of raw ground beef smoldering underneath the veggie drawer? Just sayin'....
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Mrs. Smith - as a mother of 7 children, you know what happens...the day you make only half a sandwich, the kid eats it and wants more. Then you make another half, the kid eats half of that, and - voila! - you are still left with one quarter of an egg sandwich. I'm at peace with it now.
ReplyDeleteOh, Oh…Ms Suburban Correspondent, Ms Suburban Correspondent (ok, I think this is funny because I am thinking about Welcome Back Kotter – Oh, Gabe Kaplan where have you gone)…I have a use for your leftover pasta. In our house we make a frittata. Combine parsley, spaghetti (cold), butter, parmigiano-reggiano, eggs (about 5), black pepper…though with the dairy allergy you will want to leave out the cheese. I feel kind of giddy because I am not a lurker any more. I love your site!
ReplyDeleteJessie - I couldn't remember my g-mail account.
because of you I've been so much better in "Fridge Management." I'm quite proud. Thanks, SC.
ReplyDeleteThat's me - changing the world, one fridge at a time...
ReplyDeleteA book I was reading last week had a funny quote in it, "every woman always has half an onion somewhere." And I had to LOL because it's certainly true with me!
ReplyDeleteYou would feel much better if you would just get a pygmy goat. You could feed it all the left overs and if you got an Angora goat, you could harvest it's wool and knit with it. And you would feel all around like you have done the world a favor. Just imagine, growing your own wool to knit!
ReplyDeleteAh, the joys of fridge maintenance. :(
ReplyDeleteFor the cold spaghetti, I susually just cut it up and add it to the homemade macaroni and cheese. It adds a different texture. ;) Or, Just throwing it in a pan with butter and garlic, then any spice of your choice made for a fast meal.
Our problem with leftovers is not that there's too much, it is that there is too little! With seven kids, some days they eat more, some days they eat less...which makes it very tough to decide just what portion should be cooked. If there is too little left in the leftover, I try to incoorporate it in another dish, or throw it in someone's lunchbag. {although no one likes the mystery leftover sandwich}
I'm still just impressed that you're cleaning your fridge every week...
ReplyDeleteMe, too - I guess I need to thank the blogosphere for that.
ReplyDeleteLOL! your egg sandwiches crack me up!!
ReplyDeleteEvery week, I think I won't see one. You guys must really like egg salad. I hate making hard boiled eggs. I do it wrong because my shells turn into microscopic particles when I try to peel them. Any hints?
Also, why are your chairs piled on your table upside down?
"Every woman always has half an onion somewhere"?!? LOL! Mine's diced and in a baggie in the freezer!
ReplyDeleteAre my kids weird, or will any other children eat a small bowl of buttered pasta with a chunk of cheese and an apple for lunch?
OK. It has to be asked: what is going on with all this salsa?!
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to finish those egg sandwiches. I'm too lazy to make one for myself.
ReplyDeleteI usually force my husband to eat up the leftover pasta in some way- usually fried with butter. :) Or I freeze it. That works really well for the quick "I need something to eat that's NOT a sandwich". Just run it under some water to defrost and add sauce. :)
ReplyDeleteGod I feel guilty. I wonder what the hell is in my fridge.
ReplyDeleteThat Sacrificial Egg hogs the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAH!
ReplyDeleteWe had this mysterious Stink in our kitchen earlier this summer and we could NOT figure out what it was... until we realized that it was some homemade salsa, gone WAY BAD. Stinky!
I clean out the fridge in our work break room every month or so. There are always really gross green fussy things in the drawers. How hard is it to remember to eat the lunch you bring in instead of buying something? I should start cleaning it out every weekend. I could just send an email every Monday morning stating that the fridge will be cleaned this weekend and to put your name and a date on anything you want saved? Anything that has not expired or is not opened I don't throw out. I found tv dinners in the freezer that expired in 2005 one time I cleaned it out. :(
ReplyDelete