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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Yesterday I read Arkansas Patti's post about eating to empty the refrigerator (http://thenewsixty.blogspot.com/2009/12/eat-refrigerator-empty.htm). We are also in the the process of emptying the refrigerator, freezer, and any open pantry items. We will be leaving for Florida on December 28th. This chore is complicated by the fact that we are hosting my family Christmas party this Sunday. That means lots of food and I can't very well serve a big bowl of cornmeal mush just because I have an opened container with about a cup and a half of cornmeal in it that I need to use up.

Last night we had cornmeal mush (let's call it polenta) with a scampi made from the remains of a bag of frozen shrimp, a bit of garlic, the last couple of splashes of juice from a week old lemon, and the last of a jar of capers. Hey, it was pretty good. We're sure to have much stranger meals before we leave.

I have a dread fear of leaving flours and grains in the cupboards even though I transfer everything into airtight containers. (Pantry moths)*. And anyone who has ever worked where there is a communal fridge for employees knows what happens to items left too long--never by anyone who actually works there, or so they all claim--enough fuzz to knit a sweater and a matching scarf. Double yuk. Don't even get my started about the spills in the break room microwave.

On time when I got to work early, I went to put my lunch bag in the mini fridge on our office counter. There was a pink substance--could have been yogurt, could have been Pepto Bismal--oozing from the door down onto the counter and thence onto the floor. Now, here's the killer part...someone else had already seen this disaster because there was a self-righteously scrawled note taped on the door: "Is this YOUR mess????" Yeah, I'm sure that was going to get the culprit to mend his/her ways.

*Some people have told me they couldn't bear to spend time in Florida because of all the bugs, but let me tell ya Vermont has no shortage of buggy things!
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