Too Much In My Refrigerator!

After yesterday's post on trying to clear out our refrigerator and freezer before, hopefully, moving this summer, I did an inventory of what was in there. Holy Cow! I thought I'd been making progress but I found jars of pickled vegetables in the back corners that I had forgotten about, condiments of every sort, and other odds and ends that had slipped my mind. How we are going to reduce this to a single ice chest - because there is no way we can eat all of this before moving - is a challenge I am working on.

The first step was to find out what was in there.

The second step was to list it all out, in categories so it's easy to see what I have. It was a toss-up deciding whether to consider some things vegetables, fruits, or condiments on the list, but I tried to consider how I use them in choosing the category. The perishable part at the end of the list will constantly fluctuate, but is useful in meal planning. See the list below.

Please note that the reason there is so much alcohol listed is because we drink it so rarely it lasts forever!

The third step was to print this list and post it on the refrigerator door so it is right there in my face when I go to prepare meals.

The last step is to get back to planning meals and consciously include items from the list regularly. (See the meal plan for the next few days here.)


FREEZER

Starches
Durum atta flour
Wheat germ
Shortgrain brown rice
Vital wheat gluten
Rye bread
Banana bread
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat pitas
Raisin bread

Vegetables
Ginger – lots
Beet puree
Corn
Leftover stirfry vegetables

Fruits
Dried banana chips
Raspberries
Sharlyn melon puree
Prickly pear leather (candy-like)
Overripe bananas
Ripe bananas
Orange juice concentrate
Apple juice concentrate

Seasonings
Orange peel
Lemon peel
Onion soup mix
Basil-tomato puree cubes

Nuts/Seeds
Pecans
Pistachios
Flax seeds

Angel’s food
Cooked rice with a little turkey
Beef bone (organic, local)

Other
Coffee beans
Decaf coffee beans


REFRIGERATOR

Preserved Vegetables
Salsa
Bok choi sauerkraut
Pickled cauliflower
Pickled purslane
Pickled beets
Olives
Greek-style olives
Red pepper-eggplant spread
Pumpkin butter

Preserved/Dry Fruits
Dried cherries
Sultanas
Prunes
Prune puree
Limequat marmalade
Tangerine marmalade
Lemon syrup
Honey lemon syrup
Lemon jelly
Merlot candied Calamondin limes
Watermelon rind pickles
Sweet limequat pickles (Indian spiced)
Preserved lemons
Candied grapefruit pith
Blueberries pickled in molasses

Condiments
BBQ sauce
Ketchup
Mustard
Nayonnaise
Pickles
Sweet onion relish
Mustardy watermelon rind relish
Capers
Horseradish
Pickapeppa sauce
Raspberry chipotle sauce

Asian Condiments
Soy sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Vegetarian fish sauce (nuoc mam chay)
Thai red curry paste
Szechuan paste
Sriracha
Tamarind paste
Gochu jang

Nuts/Seeds
Toasted sesame oil
Peanut butter
PB/honey mix
Sesame tahini

Other
Soymilk
Maple syrup
Baking yeast
Sourdough starter
Ginger liqueur
Calamondin lime booze
Limoncello
Dessert wine

Angel’s food
Sesame oil
Pet vitamins
Pet prozyme

Perishable Produce/Leftovers

Lemons
Limequat
Lime
Bananas

Lettuce
Frisee
Chard
Red cabbage
Green cabbage
Carrots
I’itoi onions
Cauliflower
Radishes

Roasted beets
Leftover bibim bap