Cleaning

Yesterday I cleaned the refrigerator. I was embarrased. I found some really disgusting things way in the back. The freezer was not a problem as it keeps things at minus ten degrees but the other side was. I found a dozen eggs with a use/by date of September 2009. I know that eggs can go weeks beyond their date but those went into the trash.
The apples, cabbage, potatoes, and turnip were fine. They have been in there a long time but thirty-one degrees seems to prolong their life. I found yoghurt, chicken broth, pizza sauce, and ricotta cheese that I didn't even know that I had. Each of them displayed a wonderfully colorful flora inside. Most of them went to the trash but I will try to save the ricotta as it had no flora and the plastic on top was still intact. I pay extra for aged parmesan and asiago and may have discovered a new taste sensation, aged ricotta.
I have got to get out of the habit of chops and stir-fry and pasta. I need to get back to serious cooking. It sometimes seems to be a waste though. Cooking for one is not as easy as it sounds. It is complicated to cook a good meal without having so many leftovers that I feel guilty. I find it almost impossible to throw food out. I can remember times when there was no food. I can remember mayonnaise sandwiches and mustard sandwiches. That is probably the reason I stock so much pasta and canned plum tomatoes, onions, and garlic. My favorite dish is plum tomatoes over elbow macaroni. That is where the aged asiago reigns. It was a dish that my Mother used to serve when times were difficult and it has always been a treat for me. She also made American Chop Suey that the neighborhood would flock to. No matter how sparse the larder was, there was always room for at least one more at her table. I have tried to duplicate that dish and have never been successful.
My Brother would give me a kidney. He has her recipe for American Chop and her meatballs. I have tried to get them from him. His eyes glaze over then he starts nervously looking around for an escape from the room. The only way that I will ever get them from him is if he slips them into my casket.
So I will venture back into the world of butter and cream and broths and gravy. I will have leftovers bulging out of the door of the refrigerator but it will be worth it. Food is presently my smallest expense and it deserves to be treated with more respect. The last time that I was at the grocery store I noticed that they had flap meat and shortribs. MMMMM, homemade hamburgers and baked beans. The beans will be B&M as I cannot even come close to duplicating their taste and convenience. They are the best alternative as Esther Friend's beans are no longer on the market.
I should eat more fish but the fish out here seems tired and elderly. I once lived near New Bedford and got accustomed to fish that was still trying to spit out the hook. I miss living near the ocean. Perhaps some day.