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You had to know my freezer would be crazy

Posted at 8:07 AM on November 13, 2008 by Sareen Dunleavy Keenan (5 Comments)

Here is our freezer situation. We have one with our refrigerator, but it is a bottom freezer. Great in so many ways except that it is a drawer. The whole basket and drawer approach limits my ability to pack tons of stuff in a small space. Then we have another freezer associated with "the beer fridge." Easier to pack full. And then... (I know, the energy situation) we have another dorm sized freezer that we use in fall and winter to hold the food to get us through the winter.

They are all full at this point. And there are times when I cannot turn down a good thing. This week I needed to find room for three pounds of fresh cranberries that someone else had no use for. I cannot turn these things down. Anyway. I always struggle with when to take things out of the freezer. Is it winter enough to be dipping into the winter food supplies? There is snow on the ground. Does that mean enough time has passed since I last ate a strawberry? These are tough decisions. But not as tough as deciding what gets to stay and what gets kicked out of precious freezer space when there isn't enough room.

Here are the leading candidates for strange things in my freezer:
Butter wrappers - you know, the paper around the butter. Great for greasing a cake pan.
Stale tortilla chips Crushed in a chili for salt, thickening and flavor.
Small baggies of red wine - When the wine is no longer great at your table, toss it in the freezer for use in braising.
Fish heads and poultry carcasses - Stock of course
Stale pieces of bread (moldy bits cut out if needed) - Bread crumbs or croutons.
Random free fruit - Like mulberries, concord grapes, over-ripe pluots and black bananas. Strange because of quantity or condition. I think this winter will bring a pluot margarita party? Who knows.
Several pounds of Hops - For use in beer. Not strange in and of itself, but when you only need a couple of ounces per five gallons - this is a large stock pile.

So when it comes time to put away a meal, or buy an animal, creative rearranging is needed. Some of these items get a long hard stare. Do I really need to have them around? Turns out, yes. Every time, yes. Just make room, find room. Everything has a place in our freezer.Now, if only I could take things back out of the freezer without feeling guilty. Pork roast for dinner tonight means one less roast I can count on when the real winter sets in.

Comments (5)

Sounds exactly like my freezer (except the hops, our loss). On a "what to do" day, finding a few unlikely orphans in the freezer and making a project of bringing them into the menu just feels like good, creative effort :-). Bravo!

Posted by Cher | November 16, 2008 10:19 AM

I hate it when those butter wrappers fall into the ice maker,what a mess when it gets caught in the dispenser.

I also really dislike finding out that one really does have to label things or the contents might be undefinable (sort of like labeling baby picture, what kind of mother would be unable to tell her babies apart.....groan....)

Hope you are well, Vera

Posted by vera schabicki | November 17, 2008 8:14 PM

Oh - Don't get me started on the baby pictures! One is very blonde and pale and the other olive toned and dark hair - does this help? no. I still cannot tell them apart. oh well. The baby books are empty too. My mother is upset, but I contine to tell her that these babies will just have to deal with the mother they have been dealt.

Posted by sareen | November 18, 2008 8:28 AM

This is our 1st year of having a freezer in addition to the one with the refridge. All summer I been "putting away" fruits & vegs. Now I too, have been pondering when is it acceptable to start using this food? The spartan in me says not until the last of the available fresh, locally grown items are gone. That means that thro Dec. I will still have squash. I do not have a root cellar, but can keep potatoes & onions in my basement for a few more months. Hopefully, I will not feel guilty in Jan. when I plan to start pulling items out!

Posted by Julie | November 21, 2008 1:45 PM

I am still stuck. I wanted some cream corn. Haven't gone there yet, but other food is slowly coming out of the freezer. Especially if no one knows what it is. I am horrible at marking items, so there are nights when we have no idea what is thawing for dinner. Yikes!

Posted by Sareen | November 25, 2008 12:34 PM