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@rotuts, what do you think of it? I have been unimpressed with the bourbon barrel aged wines. I like many wines; I generally like bourbon; however, the combination has left me cold.

I've said repeatedly "I don't want a counter-depth fridge, I want fridge-depth cabinets!" (ideally with pull-out drawers, sliders, etc rather than just empty boxes). Our big French-door Kenmore has given up the ghost within the past few days, sadly, so I was just in town getting a stopgap fridge. A stepdaughter's boyfriend's parents (!!) had one they were willing to give me for free; they'd gotten it from their daughter's workplace (they'd downsized) and were keeping it as a spare for one of their rental properties.

Can mashed potatoes be frozen? Can @Chufi's stamppot be frozen? I read somewhere on eGullet folks mentioning that they avoided potatoes for food destined for freezer. What happens to potato? Sweet potato too?

Okay, y’all are being just too nice to me. Haha! Thank you.

Thank you! It seems so simple, just four times everything, but it doesn’t actually seem to work out that way. I get flustered and do some major cussing at some point during the prep or cook or when filling the plates. Or all three.

over on the Tj's thread . https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155097-trader-joes-products-2017–/page/69/#comment-2462102

Having lived with a counter-depth fridge for a few years now, I can say there's some truth to this, @weinoo. For the most part, the fridge is large enough but the produce drawers and freezer compartments are annoyingly 'short' compared to a deeper fridge. It would be better if those compartments could be magically deeper or even if one were wider and the other narrower. Even though it's 36" wide, the lack of depth can be occasionally frustrating. We decided to hold on to the original fridge, which is in our garage along with an upright freezer. Seems like a lot of refrigeration for just two people, but we make pretty good use of it. 🙂

This is a new arrival @ MyTj's ; https://www.joshcellars.com/products/josh-cellars-reserve-bourbon-barrel-aged-zinfandel?srsltid=AfmBOorYGfWNBT2wNtUxQSAOUkiWsTC1kHCOjhD54G3pSUr6w3vfPG7W and it seems to be selling for around $ 26 - 27 US Bucks its $ 5.99 at my Local TJ's. they are getting 50 cases . its prominently features . It a higher octane Zin , 15 % I tried it . its a '21 vintage , and you can tell its older , as it has a bit of an aged ' rim ' to the wine when you look at it. it has a very pleasant Zin flavor , good body , no benzine , dry but not bone dry . its a very nice slightly aged Zin , w a table wine price ( @ TJ's ) wondering about the massive price differences : Im betting there is too much of this wine @ the winery , and it might be aging too fast for the amount there and the chosen price point @ the winery , and elsewhere . I very much like Zin's , and this is a cut above table wine Zin's , around 5 -- 15 USD , Im going to get a few cases . look for it if you go to Tj's from time to time.

Improvised chile verde with leftover carnitas, leftover salsa verde, and roasted chile Poblano. Jazzed up with bird chiles, garlic, cilantro, Mexican oregano, fish sauce, and grated Parmesan cheese. Sliced radish for crunch. Tasted good and made room in the refrigerator - double win.

Hi Patti, glad to see you! The other day I was looking up something or the other and there you were. Then I thought about how much I had enjoyed your posts. Today, I am reminded how much I enjoy your posts!

What a wonderful thing you’re doing! I’m impressed how appealing everything looks and sounds. As someone who mostly cooks for one and has banished much of my larger cookware to the garage, scaling up to 24 servings would be quite a challenge!

I haven't met Kerry, but Luis is amazing - I'm not surprised. Attended a class with him in May. I'm sure you're amazing too, Kerry.

Picked up frozen mini vegetable soup dumplings today. I don't recommend them, they were tasteless and gummy. I did microwave per pkg directions. They were sampling the stuffing flavored potato chips, which were tasty!

My first food related job was at age 15, waiting tables and the counter at a "family restaurant" that specialized in burgers had homemade ice cream. We had to wear old fashioned blue waitress dresses like the ones the girls wore on Twin Peaks (but without the hats). We also had to wear white aprons that tied in the back with big fluffy bows. The gross old guys that hung out at the coffee counter during the day would always lean over and untie my apron strings and make comments. I was 15 for Pete's sake. I quit as soon as I turned 16 and was old enough to work at the movie theater in town. Next food jobs were all in college. Freshman year I worked in the largest dining hall on campus, running the same industrial dishwasher that @rotuts has described. It was hot and messy, but I did not mind it. That summer, I stayed at college and waited tables at a diner in town. It was fine. I don't remember much about it to be honest. Sophomore year, I worked in a dining hall again, but this time in the vegetarian dining hall, doing all the prep work for the salad station. I liked that job. The work area was chilly and I was by myself. Junior year, I moved into a dorm on campus that had its own dining hall for residents of the dorm only. I was the vegetarian lunch cook. I was not allowed to pick the recipes, just execute the dishes that had been decided upon by the chef. I worked alone on the food though. I remember that a lot of the recipes were from the Moosewood Cookbook, but scaled up. That was a crazy dorm and a wacky time. The dorm (and the dining room) always smelled like pot. People used to chant my name while coming through the lunch line to get food. 🤣 The chef in charge was always hung over and screamed a lot. Luckily for me, he would come in and start the meat entree after my vegetarian food was in the oven and I had cleaned up, so we did not interact much. After that experience I moved on to office work for the rest of my working career.

I've been taking pictures but keep forgetting to post them the next morning. Here are some from this past week. Ricotta, spinach and arugula malfatti with roasted beet sauce, toasted pine nuts, and roasted broccolini Asparagus, shiitake mushroom, bell pepper, and cashew stir fry Tonkatzu chicken with smashed cucumber salad and rice Braised cod with cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, and basil Miso salmon bowl with roasted bok choy and napa cabbage. There's some broth and noodles buried under the fish too

Darienne, you have touched on a few of the many dilemmas I have. I know I’m not helping any vegetarians with my meals. I know my meals are too carb heavy, but I try to add fresh ingredients when I can. A lot of my meal choices have to do with affordability (for me), my cooking skill set, and my desire to give someone a truly filling and satisfying meal. I often put too much meat in the recipe, or I make these gigantic servings. The large servings are actually because of my hope that even the biggest man could feel sated, and maybe those with smaller appetites might get two servings out of the entree. Today’s meal is going to be a chicken cobbler recipe that uses Cheddar Bay biscuit mix in the topping. Broccoli and a cutie will be the sides.

Dear Patti, You are for sure an angel in human form. I'm exhausted just reading about and looking at all the meals you have put together. I wish I could be of some use to you in your endeavor but I have no experience in this area. I'll follow your blogs an perhaps I be able to come up with some ideas you can use. I see that you use a lot of ethnic based dishes: Hispanic, Italian, Southeastern dishes, Chinese, etc...? In our local hospital I was served several Indian dishes (I asked for a vegetarian diet in the hopes of getting some food I could eat...but beyond a rare leaf of lettuce, there was nothing. I did receive a lot of good chickpea curry dishes. However, I got Ed, my husband, to bring me in a big salad every dinnertime so I could survive.), but in Ontario Canada we have a considerable East Asian population and we eat a lot of Indian food at home. I can understand how using fresh ingredients is a major problem in making prepared meals. Good luck to you in this wonderful and generous path you have chosen.

Thank you, but I’m flailing sometimes when I’m trying to quadruple a recipe. Someone with more experience wouldn’t have so many “character building” days!

I’m not sure what just happened, but if I could delete this I would.

Ohhhh ok I see now. (thanks for copying/pasting--I don't have Instagram). Wow, you are doing a LOT. So admirable.

Thank you, Shelby. And I will definitely be perusing that topic! The community fridges are public refrigerators with a “take what you need, give what you can” motto. The rules for prepared food donations are that you label the food with the date and what it is. They really want you to list possible food allergens. At first, I was listing every ingredient used in the recipes, but the fridge I am donating to does not require that. The budget is all mine because the donations come from me, although occasionally the people who manage this particular fridge get food rescues and offer some of it to me to use in my meals. They’ve given me some ground turkey, ground beef, chicken breasts, and blocks of cheese. I provide the packaging. To give some background, I’ll copy and paste from my Instagram: “In 2021 I kept seeing posts on Facebook about Lafayette’s Community fridge and pantry. The way they work intrigued me because it seemed like such an easy way to do something helpful. At first, I dropped off pantry items, the kind most people give when there’s a food drive. But it was the idea that you could bring cooked items, even leftovers (good leftovers), that led me to making food specifically for fridge donations. From the fall of 21 through April of ‘23 I made over 500 meals. Eventually, something must’ve changed with the management (volunteers, all) and as they stopped promoting it, I stopped cooking for them. But now, the community fridge in Lafayette and Abbeville have been adopted by The Foodies of Lafayette and they are coordinating with restaurants and other businesses for donations, food rescues, etc. So now I’m back, and ready to cook! By starting this page, I hope to encourage others to participate!” In May of 2025 I learned that a Facebook group called Foodies of Lafayette had adopted two community fridges and they were collaborating with restaurants and other food rescue groups to keep the fridges stocked. And then I learned of another community fridge that was connected to a church that has a strong mission to feed others. I decided to get back in the game and sort of adopted that fridge as the place I’d take my donations. I’d been looking for volunteering opportunities, but this one spoke to me. (Isn’t there a preview option before submitting posts? I’ve forgotten how to work eGullet!)

@patti Welcome back . What a wonderful project . Fine looking food . looks to me that you"ve got this this down , pat .

Patti it is SO good to see you! I definitely remember you and always loved seeing your cooking (and your gorgeous Christmas decorations ) And I think what you're doing is wonderful. I'm very interested in this and I am certain that others here will be, too , and will also have great feedback. I'm impressed with the variety that you've made. I imagine coming up with new ideas each week can sometimes be challenging. (reading this on a growling empty stomach was not smart on my part) I have a few questions--and forgive me if they are dumb ones but I'm not sure about some specifics about how food pantries work. Does the pantry have specific ingredients and budget that you must work with/use each week or do you choose the ingredients yourself and it must be under a certain dollar amount? Do they provide the packaging? Do other people volunteer and do the same thing for the other days of the week? Are there ever any gluten-free options or other types of options for folks with dietary restrictions? Just questions I've thought of off the top of my head. While it's not exactly the same situation, I thought of this topic right off the bat --Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens. It might give you some helpful ideas. I can't wait to see more and tag along with your weekly updates

Hi, All! I’ve been away from eGullet for several years, so many of you may not remember me, but perusing current postings, I see many familiar names. 👋 I’m posting because I’ve been doing some cooking for one of our local community fridges, and I need help! Once a week I prepare and package meals for the fridge and my goal each week is 24 meals. While I often achieve that goal, a few times I’ve missed because I’ve miscalculated amounts and/or I make my serving sizes too generous. Also, I don’t get specific critical feedback, and sometimes I need it (she says before actually receiving critical feedback). My idea is to first share some pictures of meals I’ve prepared so y’all can see what I’ve done and then to post more in a sort of weekly blog about the meals each week. Any interest? I know many of you will have great ideas and guidance and feedback. Last week’s meal was a bagged lunch of tortellini soup with Italian sausage and spinach, accompanied by cheese toast. Sheet pan lasagna Sheet pan lasagna, cuke salad, buttered toast. Pasta salad, roasted sweet potatoes, buttered toast. Baked penne, salad, garlic bread. Corn salad Pulled chicken sandwich Pulled chicken sandwich and corn salad. Ham fried rice. Ham fried rice. Tamale pie, salad, dressing. Pork jambalaya, white beans, coleslaw. Chicken fried rice. Baked chicken thigh, baked potato, peas, buttered toast. Baked chicken spaghetti, two ways, broccoli, garlic bread. Red beans & rice with smoked sausage & ham, cornbread, two boiled cookies. Chicken fried rice

And I haven't been there but from the videos and photos I've seen, it is a gorgeous place!