use real butter

I know that some people refuse to eat leftovers, and I have nothing but pity (okay, some disdain too) for them. I look forward to eating leftovers assuming the first time around was pretty good which is more often than not. I planned out our menu last week so that I’d have plenty of food to last until we left town. Well, we have plenty – or rather, I have plenty.

Jeremy left this morning for two back to back conferences on the east coast. I packed up some lunch for him and dropped him off at the park and ride. I make a point of trying to eat the things that need to be eaten first – things that will spoil versus foods that will keep. Jeremy is refrigerator-stupid for such a brilliant scientist and if left to pack his own lunch will either take the first thing within sight (perhaps a slice of cake even) or something like a frozen tamale while a salad languishes not eight inches away. So it’s usually left to me to finish things off accordingly and I was standing there this afternoon realizing that I have a veritable shitload of red beans and rice, and Chinese stir-fried rice to polish off before I leave on Thursday.

That’s when I begin to calculate shelf-life of foods in the fridge. Will the sausage in the red beans and rice last until we return? Will the pork in the Chinese stir-fried rice turn green? I hate to throw food out and these cannot go into the compost. I’ve forced myself to finish off too much food in the past when about to leave town – I won’t do that again. Makes me feel sick and makes me hate perfectly good food. It’d be nice to train Jeremy to plan food out too, but his brain doesn’t work that way (of course, it’s not a problem when trying to meter out white gas usage in the backcountry or how much paint we need to seal the deck or even how much more fabric I need to complete a quilt).

Anyway, no more new food for the next few days although there may be something interesting when I get to my destination. Still, there are always pretty things to look at around here and I found these while taking Kaweah for a nice 6-mile walk today.

September 11th, 2007: 8:42 pm
filed under off topic