Eat What You've Stored

We've all read the stories from someone at the end of their life who wishes they had used the fine china, worn the pretty negligee, or skipped the occasional day of work.

Here's another thing that might be on your regret list: never eating the food you have stored.

I have taco soup in the freezer that I cleverly put back for good reason: the recipe made a lot of soup, and instead of getting thoroughly sick of eating it, I could store it so I would be appreciative some busy day in the unknown future.

It's still there. Have I had busy days since I froze it? Yes. How did I manage to feed the family? Chances are, we ordered pizza or I dashed to the store for something easy. Really?? What is the point of saving for a future that never qualifies as "busy"?

The other day, I used some red pepper that had only been in the freezer for two weeks. In fact, recently I used some cookies that had only been frozen for three days. Part of me was shocked: why did I save this if I'm only going to USE it?? But what is the crime in using something two days after freezing it instead of two months?

Using from your storage should be rewarding. This is the very purpose for which you are storing! The next time you are on a baking craze, you will know that future you will be appreciative. Future you will actually use the rolls, not hoard them. What if you made a cake for someone that went bad just because they thought it was too pretty to eat? You start to look like Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.

Instead of panicking as you eat the food in your freezer (What if I am in greater need sometime in the future and there's no soup in the freezer??), celebrate. You planned; you benefited. Might I suggest you serve it on your best china as well.

Be gourmet

I had leftover hotdogs, for which I bought a can of saurkraut. If you had told me when I was a child that hot dogs with saurkraut and grilled onions would be one of my favorite meals, I would have thought you absolutely crazy. Saurkraut was the only item that caused our mom to take pity on us kids. Not only did we not have to "try some, you'll like it"--we got to eat at a small table in my brother's room, over the hardwood floors, just to escape the smell.

So I bought a can of saurkraut for the dogs, but what I did not buy was hot dog buns. I had mental arguments with myself over this fact for two days. I considered cutting the dogs and stirring everything together: a dog/kraut skillet. I only had two hot dogs; if I bought hot dog buns, I'd be freezing five of them.

In the end, I served the hot dogs on hamburger buns I had in the freezer. I sliced them and then cut them, and arranged the pieces on buns, topped with the kraut and onions.

It was divine. It was gourmet.

I think restaurants do that: "Rats, we're out of hot dog buns. Well, let's just serve it on a hamburger bun and act like it's the latest thing, a creative leap forward in culinary art."

If I only had baby kale to put on them--then they would have been the most fashion-forward imaginable.

Nine days after

I have been very amused this past week. After a month of trying to clean and organize the food supplies at my house, I seemed to end as full as I had been at the beginning. Maybe it took me a month before the progress began showing; maybe writing about it was holding me back. In any case, this past week, the contents of my freezer have dwindled, I guess mainly as I ate the muffins. The refrigerator also grew bare, since it was the second week out from Produce Acquisition. Both the veggie and fruit crispers are cleaned and contents planned for (instead of mysterious buckets of maybe food).

Today I made biscuits, and tomorrow I will enjoy one with honey...first time in a month. My husband and I cooked out for just us two. Well, technically, I wanted to feed the college student one more time before the semester started, but she forgot and drove on without eating. However, I would usually buy something for us to eat and save the "freezer food" for company and some fancy cooking out occasion. But we were eating what we have.

I have a few other random observations.

I am learning to escape Food Panic. Have you felt this before? What if you don't buy butter at the store, and you are out at home but forgot to put it on the list? Then you get home and there are three pounds of butter. Or you are sure your family will starve if you don't have ten meals prepared for. I have noticed I make a lot of purchases based on a fear of running out of something.

This feeling is heightened Christmas Day, the only time in the United States when there is not a 24-hour grocery store waiting with any exotic ingredient you might need. A feeder of Food Panic, those grocery stores. What did we used to do when stores closed?

In the last week, I did not have queso fresca for a recipe (I substituted). Another time I ran out of colby (again, substituted), and today I didn't have American cheese for our burgers (I used Swiss). Granted, since all this seems to be a cheese theme, I did buy more cheese for the freezer. But what if we had to do without cheese on our burgers?

It would not be the end of the world. Really.

Today I considered the fact that my youngest daughter is starting school on Monday, and I will begin teaching in a couple of weeks. I am interviewing for a second job. Do I want to store up meals again? Am I content planning three days out instead of fourteen? Am I able to live in the busy season without Food Panic?

I was tired this evening, and my husband suggested we have peanut butter and jelly. I can't remember the last time I fed him pb&j for a meal. We have cherries on hand, so it would even be a healthy meal. I could make salad if I wanted to.

Maybe eating what we have is teaching me a little more contentment. I'll keep you posted.