I peered into the slow cooker, still teeming with leftover pork and sauerkraut.
“We can eat it again tomorrow,” I said, without much enthusiasm.
“We could,” said my husband, with even less enthusiasm.
“Or maybe we can freeze it. Can you freeze sauerkraut?”
We debated the pros and cons of freezing briny cabbage for about 20 minutes. (And yes, young couples, this is what it comes to, 30 years down the line — you spend entire evenings having conversations like this, meanwhile pretending Google doesn’t exist.)
We landed in Empty Nest Territory six months ago, when our youngest child left for college. Many changes, large and small, ensued.
We have much less laundry. Things stay (relatively) neat and tidy. I’m not constantly picking up half-empty water bottles, or waking to a kitchen littered with last night’s Sheetz debris.
On the other hand, there’s way more food. So much food. Mountains of leftovers, all the time. Fruit, rotting before we can eat it. Bags of tortilla chips, turning stale before we can get to the bottom.
It’s the oldest empty nest cliche in the book: I haven’t figured out how to cook for two instead of five. I’m still happily strolling the aisles at Costco, tossing mega-containers of spinach and pasta and organic ground beef into the cart, not quite comprehending that I’m no longer providing provisions for the entire French Foreign Legion.
In my logical mind, I know it’s just the two of us now. But my food mind hasn’t caught up.
I still want to have plenty in case someone wants seconds. Or, what if one of the kids comes home for dinner? (As they are 100, 500, and 2,500 miles away, this is unlikely. But possible! And what if one of them brings a friend? Or two? It would be awful not to have enough food.)
And of course, it’s important to have a full pantry. It makes me feel secure. Just in case one of those late-February early-March snowstorms comes along. Or there’s another COVID spike, or worsening chain supply issues. Or aliens abduct all the Chipotle workers and a chicken bowl is out of the question.
Also, cooking at home is good! I need to do it! It’s healthier, it’s cheaper, and although we wiggled through COVID Times with the excuse “We’re supporting local businesses!” we can’t go on ordering takeout six nights a week. It’s, as the kids say, unsustainable.
Still.
I opened the freezer the other day and was shocked to find it crammed with containers of leftovers. I picked one up and puzzled over its contents. Chili? Spaghetti sauce? My famous (but mostly unpopular) Caribbean chicken stew?
“I need to scale back,” I thought, squinting at a container that appeared to be a lump of gravel covered with shards of ice.
Or at the very least, we need to start chipping away at these leftovers.
I wonder: What wine pairs best with freezer burn?
Charlotte is a columnist for The Times. You can reach her at charlottelatvala@gmail.com.
https://www.timesonline.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2022/02/20/latvala-finding-recipe-cooking-fewer-mouths/6825236001/
2022-02-20 10:29:44Z
CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRpbWVzb25saW5lLmNvbS9zdG9yeS9saWZlc3R5bGUvY29sdW1ucy8yMDIyLzAyLzIwL2xhdHZhbGEtZmluZGluZy1yZWNpcGUtY29va2luZy1mZXdlci1tb3V0aHMvNjgyNTIzNjAwMS_SASpodHRwczovL2FtcC50aW1lc29ubGluZS5jb20vYW1wLzY4MjUyMzYwMDE
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Charlotte Latvala: Finding recipe for cooking for fewer mouths - The Times"
Post a Comment