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Throwing it away


mamster

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parisian herbes? is this by any chance the same thing as fines herbes?

my mother keeps EVERYTHING. She's got stuff that I'm sure is approaching 20 yrs old. Her fridge is packed full, and she lives alone. I'm pretty sure she has liquor that's over 20 yrs old. open bottles.

Born Free, Now Expensive

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my mother keeps EVERYTHING. She's got stuff that I'm sure is approaching 20 yrs old. Her fridge is packed full, and she lives alone. I'm pretty sure she has liquor that's over 20 yrs old. open bottles.

My parents, who I have never seen drink hard liquor and who barely drink wine, have a liquor cabinet stocked full of liqueurs & spirits. Some of them have to be at least 25 years old. (In all fairness though, many of the spirits my father uses regularly when baking.)

This is typical of them: ten years ago, they went on a Caribbean cruise and got a bottle of rum punch. I asked them for it, knowing that it would go undrunk, and they wouldn't give it to me. They finally relented about a year ago and of course it had gone completely bad due to the cream & eggs turning rancid.

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Not only do I get to throw out my old herbs/spices, which is pretty seldom as I buy the small containers at Penzeys...except Pariesian herbs, peppercorns, cinnamon (Chinese and Veitnamese thank you very much!)Thyme and bay leaves.....these are all used in bulk....I get to throw out my client's shtuff and buy new....AND get paid to shop at Penzeys etc.  I love my job.

Welcome to eGullet, Julie.

What is Penzey's?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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My MIL never throws ANYTHING out.

Sounds like my parents. Someday, when I visit, I'm going to blitz through their pantry and their cabinets. I've always wondered why my mother still has a jar of someone's homemade jam dated 1995 (and never opened BTW).

AHA!!! Now I know why lately I've been having dreams (nightmares?) of the kitchen cabinets in the apartment where I grew up -- that I left in 1970 and my parents moved out of in 1978! :wacko:

Jinmyo, Penzey's is a spice purveyor, in case you hadn't guessed. They are online HERE

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Not only do I get to throw out my old herbs/spices, which is pretty seldom as I buy the small containers at Penzeys...except Pariesian herbs, peppercorns, cinnamon (Chinese and Veitnamese thank you very much!)Thyme and bay leaves.....these are all used in bulk....I get to throw out my client's shtuff and buy new....AND get paid to shop at Penzeys etc.  I love my job.

Just a guess but, Shroom??

How sad; a house full of condiments and no food.

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I'm feeling virtuous. I took advantage of the sub-zero temps here today and hauled everything out of the freezer, onto the back stoop and defrosted. It is clean and tidy, with everything well organized (we'll see how long that lasts).

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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I'm feeling virtuous.  I took advantage of the sub-zero temps here today and hauled everything out of the freezer, onto the back stoop and defrosted.  It is clean and tidy, with everything well organized (we'll see how long that lasts).

Way to go, Snowangel! That's a monster job you accomplished. Virtuous you!

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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I have ancient stuff in my freezer that probably won't get thrown out until I move out of this house, just because they've become such an integral part of the freezer decor. I seem to have inherited my mother's "some day you will need it" sensibility. For me, throwing stuff into the freezer is like throwing stuff into the vault. There are a bunch of parmesan rinds for throwing into my next pot of minestrone (I don't particularly like minestrone, but some day I may make a batch for someone who does). About six jars of "local jams" from my parents' travels (I don't particularly like jam, but some day I may use it in a dessert...). Several end-slices of bread (you never know when you'll need to make breadcrumbs...).

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Did you find any long-lost "treasures?"

No long lost treasures (at least none like the top of our wedding cake; click on link in one of the posts I made on this thread earlier as it is a good story) because we'd had to make room in freezer for frozen stuff during kitchen remodel. But, I did uncover a few more unrecognizables. The trash bin is full. If it weren't below zero, my trash would be a wretching experience, I'm sure. Why do we save some of the crap we do? For that matter, why do we buy some of the crap we do?

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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I For me, throwing stuff into the freezer is like throwing stuff into the vault.

When I mentioned to Paul last night that the freezer was today's project, his words were "remember, it's not a safety deposit box."

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Did you find any long-lost "treasures?"

No long lost treasures (at least none like the top of our wedding cake; click on link in one of the posts I made on this thread earlier as it is a good story) because we'd had to make room in freezer for frozen stuff during kitchen remodel. But, I did uncover a few more unrecognizables. The trash bin is full. If it weren't below zero, my trash would be a wretching experience, I'm sure. Why do we save some of the crap we do? For that matter, why do we buy some of the crap we do?

I still have the top of my wedding cake in our freezer :blink:

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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I still have the top of my wedding cake in our freezer :blink:

You neglected to write how long you have been married...

coming up 5 years

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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twisting the thread a bit off topic:

last fall we returned from a vacation to find that the freezer had gone dead. upon investigating the reason, we counted ourself lucky the whole block hadn't burned down. anyway, the freezer was stinking, cause it was full of rotten vegetablesand meat - and litres of stock from veal, chicken, etc., representing many many hours of work.

really serious throwing away. :sad:

the upside of it was that i got rid of the strange bargains my dear wife will sometimes bring home!

christianh@geol.ku.dk. just in case.

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