Monday, December 31, 2007

What I learned while cleaning out the refrigerator

It's the end of a year. Out with the old, right? It had been way too long since I cleaned my refrigerator, so I thought this was an appropriate time.

Usually, while scooping dead food out of containers, I hold my breath, try not to look, and get it over with. This time was a little different. Maybe because I'm eating healthier and exercising every day, I find it easier to look at the positive in every situation. Whatever the reason, this dirty job held more fascination for me than ever before. Here's a short list of what I learned:
  • The mayo in tartar sauce will turn translucent when left to sit long enough.
  • The plastic wrap placed over a dish of sour cream and salsa dip will harden in places, and fuse directly to the dip in other places.
  • Cream (real, raw cream directly from the farm) will separate into many distinct layers of color and texture. The top layer was thick and red. Really a brilliant red. Below that was a thin layer of black. Next came a creamy yellow layer--creamy in both color and texture, and the thickest cream I've ever encountered. I could pour out the fourth layer once I reached it. And finally was a white layer that I believe was close to cheese, yet still soft. It smelled like cheese. If I were a braver person, I would have tasted it. (Brave, insane. Either would have worked.)
  • My husband and I have an inability to finish a container of cottage cheese. I cleaned out five of them, each with precisely an inch and a half remaining.
  • All in all, there was only one thing I couldn't identify, so I learned that it hadn't really been that long since I'd cleaned out my fridge.

Now wasn't that a treat on this New Year's Eve?

Happy New Year!!

4 comments:

shaunjoy said...

Your post made me laugh, Tina! I'm a fan of the pinch-your-nose-grab-and-throw method myself.

Book Calendar said...

Lower your grocery bill. Figure out which things you buy and let rot and don't buy them anymore. I have a tendency sometimes to buy things because they are "healthy" and not eat them... things like the cottage cheese you mentioned.

Anonymous said...

I've learned that no matter how "good intentioned" I am in regards to fresh asparagus, I should not buy it just for me. Half usually goes bad...and I actually like the veggie!!! Go figure.

Cottage cheese fits that category as well.

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

And I thought my apartment had a record for growing fuzzy blue bread... :) too funny. I had to learn how to shop when I moved out, as I went from a family of five (with two brothers) where nothing went bad in the fridge to, uh, just me eating it and... well, as you note here, it makes for some interesting experiments!