what they all have in common
Stamped: October 22nd, 2005 | Toggle Similar
Tagged: dates of yore, food.
The one thing all of my exes have in common is their equal disdain–ok we can call it outright fear–of with what I might cook. Let's just say I am not one to throw anything away…ever. It is probably why soups and stews are my favorite things to cook. I have never been one afraid of a wilted carrot. Nor a little mold that can't be sliced off. And onions, garlics and potatoes sprouting are perfect for braising. Give me leftover rice from Chinese takeout and a week later, I'll give you rice pudding!
Now, please know, I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN SICK FROM MY OWN COOKING. Nor has anyone else for that matter. And if you weren't privy to the rotting food in my fridge, the molding bread in my cupboard (hey, croutons!), or the rock hard brown sugar in the pantry from eras bygone–you would never guess by the taste of my concoctions. Some of my greatest culinary achievements were scrounged together from leftovers, we'll call them matured vegetables, and perhaps some fermented fruit. You know that moment when wine becomes vinegar? Well, hey, what about salad dressing?
One of my exes avoided the fridge entirely. Another regularly cleaned it out when I was away at work, and the other just hovered and sniffed whenever I journeyed to the kitchen. And, oh yeah, the other thing they all had in common, despite their preoccupation with freshness–which let's admit it, is greatly overrated–was that they would all eat anything I put in front of them.
Funny, that.
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Not wishing to worry you, but you sound like my mother. You are describing her kitchen. How many times did I hear, “Oh, just cut that mold off - it’s perfectly fine.”
And her pantry/closet thing? You open the door and out spilled cans and boxes of things from the late 50’s, early 60’s. In that sense, Mom was very retro.
But eating at Mom’s place always gave me the willies!
I can’t wait until Pauly and AJ read this.
I’m laughing my ass off already, just thinking about how freaking neurotic those two are.
This is an on-going battle in my parent’s house. My Dad subscribes to the Casey school of cooking (which he puts down to his childhood experience of rationing over here during and after WW2) but my Mum, who comes from a medical and therefore fairly hygiene-aware family, was too young to remember rationing so throws things away the minute they go past the sell by date or wilt.
I inherited a bit of both. I finally finished a bottle of cooking oil last week that had a sell by date of November 2003, but regularly buy lots of fresh veg, only to throw it away unused a week later because I haven’t been at home to cook it.