The Great Freezer Cleanout: 2010

[Beth Wilson]

So today is my day to clean out the freezer. I just had to get rid of that frosty ice covering the racks.

I had 3 bags of rhubarb left (so I thought!) and had been saving them for some spring desserts. I uncovered behind the large turkey a nice little stash of 5 more bags of rhubarb. So now I have 8 bags of 2 or 4 cup measurements that are taking up more space than I thought!

I have been using the rhubarb to make Kerrys recipe of Amish Rhubarb Pudding but now I have alot more to use up, I am open to suggestions.

Found two bags of blueberries too but those will soon be used for muffins and pancakes. Of course, what started this was looking for some frozen vegetables, but all I found was some fruits, and an abundance of meats. Looking forward to some bar-b-q's!

[Kerry Beal]

Just tried to find my moms recipe for rhubarb cake - but I think it got lost in the translation to macgourmet.

[Beth Wilson]

That is the problem with computer storage of recipes! I still think back to grade 10 computer science when the teacher told us how great computers were going to make our lives, to keep us organized and give us free time to dedicate to a life of leisure!!!!

Still waiting for that easy computer organizing life they promised!!!

I am writing on paper and taping it to the front of my freezer an inventory of everything that is going back in. I wonder if there is an APP for that?

[Porthos]

I have been using the rhubarb to make Kerrys recipe of Amish Rhubarb Pudding but now I have alot more to use up, I am open to suggestions.

This may be too pedestrian but my mom used to slice up rhubarb, cook it up with some sugar and serve it as a fruit side dish so dinner. I really enjoyed it.

[Beth Wilson]

Finished the freezer defrosting and found 3 more bags of Rhubarb from last summer. I seem to have forgotten that we had 2 bumper crops due to the abundance of rain last year. I will try the "rhubarb stew"idea since there is soooo much.

I also found in the bottom a bag of beyond freezer burnt assorted fruit. I went on a fruit smoothie kick but only got through one bag of this great fruit before getting bored with them.

I don't usually compost in the winter so when I had this bag defrosting I decided to throw it in the back yard for the deer. This morning I see lots of deer tracks around the spot I threw it out. I wonder what the deer thought coming across cherries, melons and oranges in the dead of winter! Made me feel like it wasn't a total waste of good fruit.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Beth Wilson (log)

[Darienne]

The key to the freezer problem is accessibility and there is so little answer to that one. Something is either behind something in an upright or under something in a chest. And the best laid plans are followed for only sooo long and then chaos reigns once more.

If my DH had his way, his entire life would be one item deep in any given direction: fridge, cupboards, freezer, basement, drive shed, closets, you name it.

I have reorganized that chest freezer so many times, labeled stuff...no such thing as a label that will not fall off...magic marked...it comes off, rubs off, becomes illegible. And just one thing hastily tossed into the mix ends up the start of the ensuing chaos.

Got some free squared off pails from the grocery store yesterday, complete with handles. Maybe....

[Bonnie Deahl]

Freezer cleanout is a great thing...

Jenn, When i read your post about the dried fruits I thought about a Deepak Chopra recipe I have for making breakfast bars...so pulled up my file and am posting it here. I have made this with multiple variations and all of them use up dried fruits and nuts. Let me know if you try it out...

I am on the road with my job so these make good grab and go energy bars that are organic and tasty. I have quoted the book from which this comes and give credit to the authors:

Breakfast Bars

Adapted from The Chopra Center Cookbook, p.77

By Deepak Chopra, David Simon, Leanne Backer

12 Servings

2 cups organic rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or oat flour

1 Tablespoon flax seeds

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup currants or dried cranberries, or other dried fruit

1 cup sunflower seeds, pecans, or cashew pieces

1 cup coconut flakes

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

¼ cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the raw)

1 ½ cups low-fat vanilla soymilk, rice milk, or almond milk

¼ cup maple syrup (have also used Atkins maple syrup w/ Splenda)

¼ cup canola oil or ghee

¾ cup mango puree or applesauce (I prefer the applesauce)

Topping: 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with oil. Place all dry ingredients (rolled oats through sugar) in a large bowl. Using a wire whisk, combine the mixture well. Place all the wet ingredients (soy through fruit puree) in a large bowl and combine with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine gently using a rubber spatula. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and distribute evenly, gently patting the batter into place with the spatula. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the mixture. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool, then cut into 12 bars. Wrap individually. Breakfast bars are great as a breakfast on the run or as a handy healthy snack. They are moist and chewy.

Nutritional facts: Per 2 x 2 inch bar

Calories 339, Total fat 11.4g, Saturated fat 3 g,

Carbohydrates 50.9g, Protein 8.2 g

Notes: You can freeze these individually and take them out when you leave in the morning. Many of these ingredients can be found in health sections of your grocery or health food store. Vary the dried fruits or nuts to suit your tastes. You could use honey for the maple syrup also. All my gardener friends love when I share these…

Collected by: Bonnie Deahl

[Porthos]

If my DH had his way, his entire life would be one item deep in any given direction: fridge, cupboards, freezer, basement, drive shed, closets, you name it.

Your DH and I have something in common

I have reorganized that chest freezer so many times, labeled stuff...no such thing as a label that will not fall off...magic marked...it comes off, rubs off, becomes illegible.

We use Sharpies (sometimes referred to as a nalgene pen) when can be had at Target, WalMart, etc., to label our freezer food. It doesn't come off like other markers.

[Darienne]

We use Sharpies (sometimes referred to as a nalgene pen) when can be had at Target, Wal-Mart, etc., to label our freezer food. It doesn't come off like other markers.

We Canucks don't have Target...as far as I know...well, not in our fair small city...and I'll look in Wal-Mart.

[meredithla]

This is brilliant!!

Regarding ideas for using the various foods discovered in the freezer:

Whenever I come across a recipe online (often in this forum) for a recipe that includes an item that I know I have in the freezer, I immediately print it out and place it in a Ziplock bag with that item and leave in the freezer.

[meredithla]

Anyone have ideas for my dried fruit collection (apricots, cranberries, raisins)? A fine spring fruitcake??

Cheers, Jen

Maybe a moustarda with dried fruit.

How about granola? You could use any nuts you may have as well.

[iguana]

Freezer cleanout is a great thing...

Jenn, When i read your post about the dried fruits I thought about a Deepak Chopra recipe I have for making breakfast bars...

Thank you for the energy bars, they sound great; I am also considering this granola bar recipe:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/thick-chewy-granola-bars/

Also, granola is a great idea, thank you meredithla!

Reporting back on the pantry cleanout, I found the "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes" whole wheat bread to be gummy. My husband and I agreed that it was better (and cheaper) than storebought, but not as good as bread that required a little more effort. So I have been working through the whole wheat flour by making the ww bread from Baking with Julia-- truly an excellent recipe.

As for the freezer, I just got a big order of pork from a local farmer, so I am clearing out all previously frozen "industrial" pork. So yesterday we had pork tacos with slow-roasted boston butt (275, 8 hours). Today I found a half-pound of ground pork, so I made italian sausage for tonight's pizza. Next in my sights is some of the CSA produce that I froze over the summer, including several pounds of heirloom tomatoes, which will be made into marinara sauce, and lots of frozen broccoli. Tomorrow is zucchini muffins from frozen shredded zucchini-- also a Smitten Kitchen recipe, http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/summer-of-the-bats/. Naturally these will include ww flour!

Only 3.5 months until the relentless (in a good way) supply of veg from the CSA starts again-- better get eating!

Thank you all for the suggestions and inspiration! Just out of curiosity, who draws their freezer completely down and who is continually refilling as they are cleaning out old items? I am in the latter camp-- in the past few weeks I have added 30 lb pork, dozens of homemade sauerkraut pierogies, applesauce, chicken stock, etc.

Jen

[MelissaH]

I also ran across 3 bags of about 4 each chunks of oxtail - have no immediate plans for them (bought as I recall with the thought of making pho broth) - and if I make pho broth then that's more stuff going back in the freezer. So I welcome some ideas about what to do with them.

Braise them, shred the meat off the bone, and use for ravioli or other dumpling stuffing?

MelissaH

[Kerry Beal]

I also ran across 3 bags of about 4 each chunks of oxtail - have no immediate plans for them (bought as I recall with the thought of making pho broth) - and if I make pho broth then that's more stuff going back in the freezer. So I welcome some ideas about what to do with them.

Braise them, shred the meat off the bone, and use for ravioli or other dumpling stuffing?

MelissaH

Anna promised me if I took them over to her place - she'd make me some soup with them! Hope I remember to take them over tomorrow.

[BeeZee]

Tonight's dinner was polenta lasagne which had been mocking me from the top shelf of the freezer since it was put there in December. We had what was hopefully the last cold, raw day for a while and it was the perfect antidote!

[Kerry Beal]

One nice big fat duck breast made it out of the freezer today - but it's been slow going other than that.

[Porthos]

Finally cleaned out and defrosted our chest freezer. I found meat going back to 2004. So much waste - I took out 3 trash cans of spoiled food.

For reasons that aren't important to this discussion (read my faire blog if you're interested) it is now filled with the food that was still good (and we're eating from it) and 18 packages of recently acquired corned beef.

I didn't do a comprehensive inventory list but I did arrange things to catch my eye so they will get cooked.