End of year pantry decluttering
Posted by: SueEarlier this year - right before we moved to our new home up north - I went through all the canned goods. Because, while they have a long shelf life, they do have a “best by” or “use by” date. I brought up all the canned stuff from the basement that had 2012 “use by” dates. Letting my mind wander here…2012 seemed pretty far in the future when I bought the stuff. Yet here we are. How did time go by so quickly? I must be getting old. Anyway. Several of the items had 2011 “best by” dates. There was a can of pumpkin that was getting more than a few months past its best by date. I knew it was still good, I had used another can of it the previous month. And while pumpkin soup was a something I planned to make in the future, I didn’t know exactly when in the future. I mean, I’d just made pumpkin soup last month. So I did what I’ve done before, to extend “use by” time - froze it. Opened the can, dumped the pumpkin into a freezer container, and froze it. That buys me some more time. Oh, and I also wrote the “frozen” date on a return address label and stuck that on the container.
Which brings me to a little side note - somewhere, I had heard about using return address labels to put a date on containers. Previously, I’d used a Sharpie pen and written right on the lids, but that didn’t always come off too well. Or if it did, I’d end up trashing a Magic Eraser in the progress. Like I said, I heard about this fabulous use of return address labels somewhere - I wish I remember where, so I could give credit where credit is due. I had sheet after sheet of return address labels sent courtesy of charities I donate to. Problem was…we MOVED. (See first paragraph). But using my trusy Sharpie pen lets me use those labels to date my freezer treasures. And dating them IS a good idea, because really - what good did I do by freezing something to extend the life, if that frozen product ultimately gets tossed because I can’t remember how long it’s been in the freezer?
Back to the topic…I also had a can of Au Jus sauce that was creeping past its date. Opened it, freezer containered it, labelled it, and it’s in the freezer as well.
Then, there was a carton of chicken broth that was getting long in the tooth…I opened that. And…no. I did not freeze that. Instead, I went through the freezer and found several single serving packets of turkey lunch meat that I had frozen before they expired (because again, if I freeze it, I need to use it, or I just wasted food - and energy). Problem is, the meat start tasting, well, freezer-y after a bit, so no one wanted to eat them AS IS. But hmmm…in SOUP, well…that’s different. Went through the refrigerator and took out several carrots (free), an onion (also free) and several stalks of loss leader celery. Chopped all that up, sauteed in the dutch oven. Cut up the turkey, dumped that in that in. Added the quart of chicken broth. Cooked for awhile, and we had soup for two soup - and - sandwich meals. Note to self: smoked turkey makes the soup taste very smokey. Restraint - using less - next time would be advisable, although my husband loved this soup.
Oh, if you’re impressed by my memory of these things, since it’s now December…don’t be. I had written this down in an earlier thread. There’s no way I’d be remembering those details this many months later.
So here we are, at the end of 2012. And what’s on my agenda for the next week? Yes, pantry decluttering. Going through the big chest freezer and moving the oldest items into the kitchen freezer. Because I force myself to cook with what’s in the kitchen freezer (well, unless I have this irresisitable craving for something else…never mind). And going through the pantry - which is more daunting than it used to be, because the new house has a huge canning pantry in the basement as well as a pantry closet upstairs, and let’s just say I seem to have made it my mission to fill both. If there’s anything with a 2012 date (and I’m sure there is, and it’s more than one thing) that will come to the foreground of the upstairs pantry, and will find its way into a meal or several over the first month of the year. And as we stand on the threshold of 2013…those cans dated with the new year - the year that seemed so far away, once upon a time - will get moved to the front as well.