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Challenge: Cook your way through your freezer (part 2)

Okanagancook

By Okanagancook
in Cooking

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
49 minutes ago, lindag said:

 

I don't think you're paranoid at all...with the kind of investment you have stored away, it seems prudent at the very least.

And, it's exactly what I'd do.

Me too.  We lost our upright freezer AND our fridge within a couple of months of each other 2 years ago.  Not fun.   So, @Okanagancook  I'd call you smart.

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

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Well to boot, our upright freezer was dead after ten years and our regular fridge done after eleven years.  All well known makes.

most reliable:  the beverage fridge for beer, wine and sodas. 

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

Well to boot, our upright freezer was dead after ten years and our regular fridge done after eleven years.  All well known makes.

most reliable:  the beverage fridge for beer, wine and sodas. 

 I have a freezer in the basement which has some food in it, mostly meat that has been there since before my husband died in 2011. It is very difficult for me now to access that freezer and I have lived in fear that it was going to go belly up.  So while I am up here my cleaning angel is going to empty it and defrost it. I may then find a way to store flour and bread in there. At least they will not cause the neighbours to think I have a rotting body in my basement!   I have had one 21 ft.³ chest freezer full of meat defrost for days before anybody discovered it. I can still smell it to this day. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted

When I closed my second restaurant I had about 200 pounds of haddock left, and neighbours (actually my now-GF and her now-ex) offered to store it for me in a spare chest freezer in their barn. At some point that spring somebody accidentally shut off the wrong breaker, and by the time I went around to retrieve some of my fish it had all liquefied. That was not a happy day for any of us. 

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
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24 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I visit my freezers everyday.  My new upright has an alarm on it I believe.  If the temp gets above 10F or -12C it alarms. Now that's a smart idea.

I was given an alarm but neither my son who is pretty tech savvy nor I  could figure out how to properly set it up. I knew it was a darn good idea and I probably should've found somebody who could have set it up.  I do think they are the answer as long as you are home.   Not so much when you're gone for long periods of time and your house is only checked once a week.  

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
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9 hours ago, Anna N said:

Not so much when you're gone for long periods of time and your house is only checked once a week.  

 

Technology is your friend.  Perhaps something like this?

 

http://www.absoluteautomation.com/fad2-deluxe-freeze-alert/

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Technology is your friend.  Perhaps something like this?

 

http://www.absoluteautomation.com/fad2-deluxe-freeze-alert/

 

 I would have to be a serial killer with multiple bodies to hide before I put out that kind of money for an alarm for a freezer. But then that's just me.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted

I've fallen off the wagon! Bought beef, beef, and more beef this last week.
I'll have to keep those on one side until I finish using what was already in the freezer...:$

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Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

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Well, the new chest freezer was to be delivered yesterday.  The truck arrived but the two fellows had no dolly....Me:  'where's your dolly, you can't get it down the stairs without a dolly?"  Driver:  'It's been broken for awhile so we will use straps".  Me: "that's ridiculous, they could rent one for you". Driver:  "yeah, not going to happen.". They decided they couldn't get the freezer off the truck until they delivered the other stuff preventing them from using their truck off load feature.  They reappeared an hour later, got the freezer at ground level, cut the bottom off the cardboard only to reveal a freezer with a big old dent at one end and a lid that was dented and bent to the point it did not seal properly.  They took it back and a new one is on order.  This was kind of fortunate because the new freezer is in fact bigger than my existing freezer and will not fit in the space we had cleared for it.  

 

Then I got thinking.....those boys are going to hurt themselves or damage my walls and/or new freezer.  So I called the store (this is a national hardware store) and talked to the fellow in charge of shipping and he thought they had a dolly.  "No, it's broken and has been for some time".  Silence.  Hmm.  I said either get it fixed pronto or RENT ONE or take a new one off YOUR shelves.  Don't send them out with the next freezer without a dolly.  He said he will look into all of this.  We'll see.  In the mean time I need to empty the existing freezer to the point where we can move it a couple of feet to make room for my big new freezer.

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

Posted
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lindag, not for immediate use.  This one is a spare so WHEN my older model conks out, I have somewhere to put my food.  It can be a few days wait around here for your preferred appliance to be shipped.

 

Although, it is very tempting to spread out the contents into two freezer for easier access but I shall resist! :cool:

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

lindag, not for immediate use.  This one is a spare so WHEN my older model conks out, I have somewhere to put my food.  It can be a few days wait around here for your preferred appliance to be shipped.

 

Although, it is very tempting to spread out the contents into two freezer for easier access but I shall resist! :cool:

 

You're clearly stronger than me.  It would be way too much of a temptation to resist.

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kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted

I am enjoying the new freezer; it's nice to have the luxury to put up all the produce and fruit I want and know I have room for it. Today, I've frozen four pints of blackberries, and I have peaches to peel, pit and slice when they soften just a bit. I've shucked 50 ears of corn and have them ready to cut off, and I have some purple-hulled peas in the fridge to shell tomorrow afternoon and freeze. Plus I have the bowl for my ice cream maker in the freezer, so I can make ice cream tomrrow for dessert.

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Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, lindag said:

 

You're clearly stronger than me.  It would be way too much of a temptation to resist.

That's the short road to having two freezers to empty...

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted

Pulled a bag of odd pieces of pork side rib left over from another BBQ in the spring.

Marinated with hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, 5-spice powder, soy sauce and sat in the fridge from yesterday.

Roasted in the oven while I worked in the garden. Steamed gai lan then quickly sauteed with ginger and drizzled with oyster sauce.

Supper was good!

                                                          59643d0a6a374_CharSiuRibs0411.jpg.c6769a67e07b2903e19b19844e03b392.jpg

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Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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  • 1 month later...
Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted
On 7/4/2017 at 8:51 PM, ElsieD said:

We lost our upright freezer

 

We lost a chest freezer full of food a couple years ago!

What a mess! :(

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted

I'm an extremist.

I got a very good deal on 80+ lbs. of quality chicken leg quarters back in early spring.

I've been working my way through the chicken in various simple ways along with green beans, spinach, etc. preserved from last years garden.

yummy.gif

 

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

 Since I started this topic and my freezer is now once again chockablock I think I need to  step up to the plate.  xD

 How could this happen?   :o

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

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Oh yeah, well I bought a second freezer so I would have a back up.  Plan was to move everything to the new freezer and leave the old one empty and unplugged until it was needed.

THAT'S ALL I'M SAY'N.  I will leave the rest up to your imagination. >:(

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Since I started this topic and my freezer is now once again chockablock I think I need to  step up to the plate.  xD

 

Indeed.  A whole new allusion for the idiom!

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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robirdstx

robirdstx

Posted
Posted (edited)

Several weeks ago, I got serious about the old stuff in my freezer and tossed the lot of it, most of which had expiration dates in 2014. So, here is my current inventory (highlighted items are staples that I am currently out of):

 

IMG_8030.thumb.JPG.fa03f0f3fcb907fa39da5704890f0108.JPG

 

This challenge has really helped me to get in control - there are only two of us; several well stocked grocery stores are within a few miles radius; and we have year round farmers markets and meat markets. We are fortunate.

 

Edited by robirdstx (log)
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My eG Foodblog - My Spring Break: By The Bay And Through The Pass
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