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eat_it_all_upAfter my pantry cleanout last week, I had a good, long rummage around in my freezer. (This was much easier than my pantry expedition, because I was intimately familiar with the contents of my freezers after this past fall’s power cuts.) Two of the surviving groups of excess food in the chest freezer were various kinds of nuts and quite a bit of home-dried fruit. Nuts will tend to go rancid if they aren’t kept in the freezer, and I keep my home-dried fruit in there too, due to a very sad incident a few of years ago, when I carefully dehydrated persimmon slices from our trees to use in Christmas goodie packages, only to find in December that bugs had either gotten into the packages in the pantry or hatched out from within. Talk about a waste of both food and effort! I like both of these food groups (dried fruit and nuts, not bugs), but they don’t get used up efficiently, since they get buried in the bottom of the deep freeze. Time to switch things up!
I have oatmeal with fruit, yogurt, nuts, and seeds for breakfast almost every morning. My home-frozen wild-picked blackberries, my absolute favorite (and also FREE) topper, are long gone. I need to remember to maximize their season this year by braving the scratches to pick and stock up the freezer with them, around the time school gets out in June. I sometimes substitute in home-canned peaches, but those are one of the few canned fruits my kids will eat. Right now, in February, I only have 3 quarts left, and my first peach tree doesn’t come on until May, so it seems like a better use of that limited resource to feed the peaches to the kids. Once my home-picked fruit runs out, I often buy frozen blueberries or mixed berries for topping my oatmeal, both of which are delicate and expensive and have been shipped from afar, frozen, in a plastic bag. (Cue that obnoxious “strike” sound from Family Feud and a big red X.) Since I can’t stand waste in any of its forms, the energy embodied in those berries bugs me.
Meanwhile, I have bags of diced dried apricots in my freezer that cry out to be used. I was given the fruit, and was excited to put them through my dehydrator, but they got disappointingly over-dried. In their current state, they are hard, sharp little shards that I can’t negotiate before my caffeine kicks in. They’ve been hanging out in their Food Saver bags in my deep freeze since Obama was in office.
The breakthrough: I took out a mason jar and put some apricot shrapnel inside, then poured hot water over them to soften them. The softened apricots were a little tart for my taste, so I scraped out a couple of teaspoons of crystallized honey from a jar unearthed from the back of the pantry to sweeten them up a bit. (See what I did there? A two-fer use-up!) After an hour or so on the counter, I popped them in the fridge, and they are just as easy to use on my oatmeal in my fuzzled AM state as the canned peaches would be. In fact, I might not be able to tell the two jars apart before my first of many cups of tea kicks in. (I have found that if the apricots protrude above the level of the soaking liquid in the jar, they will darken, so if you try this trick, keep them submerged, if the appearance matters to you.)
And one further tweak to my morning bowl: I’ve got so many whole frozen nuts to use up, but I keep buying sliced almonds, because they’re easy and tasty. My neighbor Julie, who is a member of the Blue Diamond almond grower’s association, gets sliced almonds for me twice a year in large bags at a discount, but the cheapest food is the food you already have. And, talk about "not cheap"- I tend to run out of the sliced nuts before the next scheduled Blue Diamond run, and last month I actually bought one of the tiny bags of sliced almonds at the grocery store. Oh, the shame, the excess packaging, the ridiculous price per pound…! Plus, those nuts I already have in the freezer aren’t getting any better waiting for me to be struck by inspiration (or remember that they are there).
So: time investment to soak my apricots and chop my frozen almonds- about 10 minutes. This includes time to locate and wash the jars, rinse and chop the nuts (actually the longest part, because I did it by hand; I could have used the food processor, but then I would have had to haul it out and wash it afterwards, plus use electricity to do something I can easily do with a knife and cutting board). Oh, and label the jars. And incredibly, I cut myself while banging on the frozen block oftiny Chinese throwing stars apricot bits with the heel of my hand to break it up, so the time also includes swearing, washing the hand, applying a band-aid, and sweeping up the bits I spilled on the floor. That 10 minutes, and the lack of inspiration on how to easily prep them for use, is what has kept those apricots in my freezer since 2016. And that’s why I’m writing this blog, folks. I clearly need a kick in the pants to do the obvious.
What do you have hanging out in your pantry or freezer that needs to get used up? And what bit of prep would make that easier?
I have oatmeal with fruit, yogurt, nuts, and seeds for breakfast almost every morning. My home-frozen wild-picked blackberries, my absolute favorite (and also FREE) topper, are long gone. I need to remember to maximize their season this year by braving the scratches to pick and stock up the freezer with them, around the time school gets out in June. I sometimes substitute in home-canned peaches, but those are one of the few canned fruits my kids will eat. Right now, in February, I only have 3 quarts left, and my first peach tree doesn’t come on until May, so it seems like a better use of that limited resource to feed the peaches to the kids. Once my home-picked fruit runs out, I often buy frozen blueberries or mixed berries for topping my oatmeal, both of which are delicate and expensive and have been shipped from afar, frozen, in a plastic bag. (Cue that obnoxious “strike” sound from Family Feud and a big red X.) Since I can’t stand waste in any of its forms, the energy embodied in those berries bugs me.
Meanwhile, I have bags of diced dried apricots in my freezer that cry out to be used. I was given the fruit, and was excited to put them through my dehydrator, but they got disappointingly over-dried. In their current state, they are hard, sharp little shards that I can’t negotiate before my caffeine kicks in. They’ve been hanging out in their Food Saver bags in my deep freeze since Obama was in office.
The breakthrough: I took out a mason jar and put some apricot shrapnel inside, then poured hot water over them to soften them. The softened apricots were a little tart for my taste, so I scraped out a couple of teaspoons of crystallized honey from a jar unearthed from the back of the pantry to sweeten them up a bit. (See what I did there? A two-fer use-up!) After an hour or so on the counter, I popped them in the fridge, and they are just as easy to use on my oatmeal in my fuzzled AM state as the canned peaches would be. In fact, I might not be able to tell the two jars apart before my first of many cups of tea kicks in. (I have found that if the apricots protrude above the level of the soaking liquid in the jar, they will darken, so if you try this trick, keep them submerged, if the appearance matters to you.)
And one further tweak to my morning bowl: I’ve got so many whole frozen nuts to use up, but I keep buying sliced almonds, because they’re easy and tasty. My neighbor Julie, who is a member of the Blue Diamond almond grower’s association, gets sliced almonds for me twice a year in large bags at a discount, but the cheapest food is the food you already have. And, talk about "not cheap"- I tend to run out of the sliced nuts before the next scheduled Blue Diamond run, and last month I actually bought one of the tiny bags of sliced almonds at the grocery store. Oh, the shame, the excess packaging, the ridiculous price per pound…! Plus, those nuts I already have in the freezer aren’t getting any better waiting for me to be struck by inspiration (or remember that they are there).
So: time investment to soak my apricots and chop my frozen almonds- about 10 minutes. This includes time to locate and wash the jars, rinse and chop the nuts (actually the longest part, because I did it by hand; I could have used the food processor, but then I would have had to haul it out and wash it afterwards, plus use electricity to do something I can easily do with a knife and cutting board). Oh, and label the jars. And incredibly, I cut myself while banging on the frozen block of
What do you have hanging out in your pantry or freezer that needs to get used up? And what bit of prep would make that easier?
idea?!
Date: 2020-02-18 01:50 pm (UTC)I was wondering if you had considered snipping a small bit of the corner seal on the Press and Seal bag, assuming that's what you have them in, of the apricots and maybe pouring in some pear or apple juice with a funnel and then resealing? It'll infuse the dried fruit maybe a little quicker and then store in fridge 'til use? Of course if you have the adapter for the mason jars that would probably be easier. We use these bags for infusing marinades into roasts, etc. Easy peasy! If you don't have that, I believe I read that dried fruits, etc. better absorb heated liquids? Maybe that would help, and as Alton Brown says, I think it was him, always add flavor where you can and so use juice or broth when rehydrating foods.
I use the last crystalized bits in the jar of honey and brew tea for the day, using several bags in it to make it strong and then when serving dilute it to taste. We usually get the big jars as we use quite a bit but always seem to have some that becomes a bit crystally on me.
I'm all for hunting down food that overhangs or grows on public lands which leaves it free for those who desire to invest effort instead of cash for their food, yay blackberries!! My fave pie! Have you considered checking with the local fruit orchards or even those maybe not so local, that might allow you and family or friends to come glean their orchards for a small fee or free? There may be an organization you could even get info from if you didn't have time to search for yourself, maybe the county extension office?
I use small/med. boxes/crates to store and organize my frozen goodies so they become less likely to get lost. I do the flat frozen items and "file" them like with like. It seems to help me keep things better organized with minimal "loss" in the back of the freezer.
I loveeeee, loveee, love nut pies! Pecan, walnut, or almond tarts or galettes, or make some granola or pre-make nut crumble topping for cobblers, quick breads, or pies and keep on hand for a quick dessert, ice cream or oatmeal topping. We put nuts in/on everything and keep nuts out everywhere and everyone carries them with them for snacks. We buy them in bulk and freeze too. Great minds...
Be careful in your future "conquerings". It may be worth the extra spot in the dishwasher for that food processor or maybe the slap chop.
Take Care!! =0) z
Re: idea?!
Date: 2020-02-18 06:05 pm (UTC)Day by day on the shrapnel injury, you know how it is! ;) Just a widdle boo-boo, caused by my own boneheadedness, as most of mine generally are. The universe reminding me of the costs of being an idiot, the price of wisdom, and all that.
As usual, you are full of good ideas! I'm happy with the jar approach for my apricots, since it's easy to serve out of in the morning, but I'm definitely going to keep the idea in mind for marinating right in the bag. The less plastic waste, the better.
Alton Brown, one of my food heroes, has so many smart things to say! Some completely insane, unnecessarily elaborate things too, it must be acknowledged, but I salute a fellow nut when I see one. Good idea on using juice to marinate dried fruit. I've got to eat up some dried persimmons next, which I'm actually not that fond of, but some other fruit juice might help. Even just lemon and honey would make a difference, I think. Added flavor, yay!
Speaking of nuts, I'm not a nut pie gal, didn't eat them growing up and I think that may be one of the food types you have to be born to, but I'm definitely enjoying nuts themselves on and in lots of things these days. My DH likes them as toppings on chicken, veggies, baked goods- just about anything, really- and so I'm finding them to be really useful in dressing up things he might not otherwise be super-excited about eating. I'm developing a post about similar "helper" foods, that stretch, bind, top, or dress up things that need some excitement to "move" them out of the fridge.
Gleaning is great, too. My neighbor is an organic mandarin farmer, and we glean after his harvest some years. Last year I took a group of 4-H kids and we picked somewhere around 200 lbs for the local food closet. I love the concept! I do tend to be awash in my own fruit or that given to me by my dear mother-in-law from her trees, so it would probably be madness for me to seek more out, but I just wonder about the blueberry farm up the way... Sigh. This is exactly how I get myself into trouble... :)
Re: idea?!
Date: 2020-02-19 05:21 am (UTC)