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Ms. Frigid and the FridGenie
October 10, 2007 | 42 Comments
This is not the script for some steamy novel. It’s the peek into our fridge, that our sweet friend Madhuli requested. Honestly, we were baffled. Why would someone want to see the recesses of the cold cave where we hide our leftovers, and things we don’t wish to deal with right away?
Plus, I found out the hard way what a peek into someone else’s refrigerator can entail. I once shared accommodation with someone who kept the fridge so filthy and smelling so strange, that I was terrified to open it to retrieve the bottle of water I was compelled to keep in there. So I’d rather not look at what someone else has in their refrigerator, ‘cos the next time they offer me a snack at their home, I may not want to touch it.
Then there’s the story about my aunt, who gave a boy science lessons. His mom, Mrs. C, one day came to my aunt’s home with a container of meat curry from her freezer. She asked my aunt if she could store it for “some time” since she was going on a trip to Kuwait. This was 25 years ago, when refrigerators in India had tiny freezers. My aunt agreed, made space in her freezer, and kept this container in there. It sat there for months and months, and my aunt, from time to time, wondered what she should do with that container of meat curry.
She needed the space, plus she began to wonder if it was worth keeping, ‘cos who would want to thaw and eat a curry that old? She tried to find out if Mrs. C had returned, but got no news. Then one fine day, FOURTEEN months later, Mrs. C showed up, asking for her curry, and my aunt breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t thrown it away.
Was she actually serious about consuming a curry that was frozen for a while in her own freezer, and then for 14 months in someone else’s freezer ??
Have you wondered for how many months something must have resided in a restaurant freezer and how many times it was thawed, frozen and re-thawed before being served to you? Ignorance is bliss, sometimes.
Then, maybe, there are some people who don’t have such hangups about refrigerators. So I thought, what the heck, I’ll use this opportunity to sort out the fridge, then take some pics and show everyone how neat and organised we are. I opened the refrigerator and looked – as in not glanced perfunctorily, but peered past the rows of things and paid attention.
Holy Frijoles Batman!! This fridge will take weeks to sort out. It’s not filthy – not by our standards – but it has way too much stuff.
Look at it from Frigid‘s perspective. She’d be egging Madhuli on to give us a quick kick in the pants. She’d want us to be shamed into getting our act together. That’s ‘cos Frigid is so crammed to the gills, she can hardly breathe. Soon, if we don’t change our ways, she’ll be madly humming in frightful dementia. It’s true. If I want to put in another bowl of something in there, I’ll have to do some re-organisation.
This is how our fridge normally looks.
The top shelf has a tray of lasagna and containers with random stuff like pickled ginger, pickled jalapenos and adobo chillies in sauce. These are the things that you use a bit of, and dump in the fridge, ‘cos you just need a teeny bit for a dish that you don’t make very often. When you find them next, they have fur on them. You get another can of whatever it is, use a tiny bit, lather, rinse, repeat.
Then there are several cartons of eggwhites and jars of tomato chutney.
There are atleast 14 bottles/containers of pickles/chutneys/achars/spice powders/condiments in the fridge’s main compartment, plus one jar of coffee beans. We found that in the freezer and brought it to the fridge. Neither of us remembers how old those beans are, ‘cos we very rarely drink coffee. We rarely use most of these condiments, ‘cos more often than not, they are hidden behind other containers. The one we prize is the lemon pickle. (It’s towards the bottom in front of the milk cartons) next to the yogurt container. Behind the milk cartons are three types of flours for baking.
The drawer (right, middle) has ginger, curry leaves, dry dessicated coconut, chillies.
The watermelon above it is from our garden. There’s another waiting to be picked, but there’s no place in the fridge.
The fridge door has a bunch of old spice mixes that are past their prime. We mostly cook adding individual spices based on our mood, and don’t remember to use these spice mixes. There’s also some ancient vegetarian Tom Yum paste, toasted sesame oil, and Tahini. Plus bouillon and some more pickles and condiments. The two squirt bottles have lime juice. In the bottom are coconut milk powder, oat bran, wheat germ, and an unmarked bottle with some mystery grainy ingredient. We can safely get rid of 50% of these jars without missing them. What we do relish immensely is the Bittergourd Pickle from Pel – towards the middle on the right, with his handwriting on the lid.
The true nightmare is our freezer. I had to push some things in so that they wouldn’t fall out when I was taking a picture. The next time we buy a fridge, it had better have a freezer drawer at the bottom.
On the positive side, I unearthed some hidden goodies – like a frozen pizza. :dance:
My rough guesstimate is that there are about 30 packets of frozen stuff in there, including a load of berries from our garden. There are atleast 10 containers of spice pastes and things pushed to the back. There’s a jar of sunflower seeds and another of pumpkin seeds I knew I put in there at some point, but cannot reach. Looking for them will result in an avalanche on our kitchen floor. Besides, there are the cheeses, caramelised onions, fruit icecubes and other things we have forgotten about.
I’m convinced, there a FridGenie who makes things breed and multiply. I saw a gazillion packets of frozen fava beans and edamame in there. We bought them several months ago from a specialty store, and have consumed enough to be down to the last stash of each. We get neither in our regular grocery store, so it’s not as if we buy some each time we go grocery shopping.
The more things we cram in the freezer, the less efficient it becomes.
Forget about collecting ice in the ice tray (top left). It’s full of packets and containers.
You know it’s out of control when you have to dilute your margarita with cold water instead of crushed ice.
Then, there’s the blessed freezer door.
It’s got nuts, seeds, spices like turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala. Don’t forget the two jars of rasam powder and one jar of sambar powder. When people visit us from India, they always bring these two spice mixes, even if their suitcases are about to come unhinged. We don’t make these dishes often, and when we do, we grind them fresh, so these rarely get used.
Is there some form of tutoring people in south India receive when they apply for their visas?
“Rule #352: If you visit people abroad, make sure you carry atleast 10 ounces each of sambar and rasam powder. Without a daily dose of sambar and rasam made with YOUR powder, they will wither and die.” :rolleyes:
This is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve got a pantry that’s just packed with stuff we can no longer keep track of, and a spice shelf bursting at the seams.
If you’re thinking, “What’s all the fuss about? My fridge is like this too. It’s normal.“, well, ‘normal’ does not translate to efficient and stress-free.
Two people who like to fix quick meals and cook no more than two or three times a week don’t need so much stuff. Plus, it makes no sense to open your fridge and battle to reach things you really need, and refrain from opening your freezer ‘cos something will fall on your toes. Growing up, my home had a refrigerator half this size, and we managed fine.
So here’s the deal. For the next month (or two), we aren’t buying any groceries, besides fruits, tea, milk and things like chillies, ginger and garlic.
No veggies, no bread, no grains, no flours, no lentils, no spices. We didn’t plant any fall veggies this year, so our veggie garden is closed for business. (We have close to a hundred pounds of crookneck squash to consume, so that’s going to be fun). Let’s see how our freezer looks after a month. And let’s see if we can make a dent in our pantry.
Our stash of nuts is disappearing too fast for our comfort, though.
The day before yesterday, there was an innocuous-looking post on Aroma! titled ‘Microwave Masala Peanuts‘ .
That same evening, J made a cup of them. They were gone in four, maybe five minutes. Then yesterday evening, he made another batch, with cashews. This time he got smart, and made just 1/4 cup. They were gone in 60, maybe 80 seconds.
Both times, we had just finished dinner. Today it’s microwave masala almonds. Be warned, you’re going to clean your plate. So make sure you make just how much you are supposed to eat, ‘cos it’s impossible to stop once you pop one in your mouth.
Has anyone heard of a Masala Nuts Anonymous for addicts? We’re going to need it soon.
- B.
Filed Under: fridge, MUSINGS, refreigerator, vegetarian recipes
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42 Comments
No, but have heard about FRI-G-ED Nuts.
I shudder when I look at my fridge and shut the door and order chinese take out.Amen
Nice looking and very neat fridge, given the amount you guys cook and all the bounty from your garden!
As an owner of a fridge with a freezer drawer, let me tell you that it has *less* space than you have there. My neighbor was keen on a fridge like mine till he saw that it has less space in the freezer than the double door fridge or the other kind like yours.
And seriously, how much do you cook at a time, if you only cook 2 or 3 times a week?!!
Have you tried canning stuff instead of freezing? That won’t need refrigerator space.
canning is sill very intimidating to us. plus, we don’t have those bulk quantities to make it worthwhile. we cook for about 3 meals for two people at a time. and we eat a lot of bread topped with odd things.
– b.
So she came and asked for her curry 14 months later? :no:
Dear golly !
Could not agree with you, ignorance is sheer bliss in some cases and well your fridge and its contents look good. I loved your title for this post too :laugh:
That story about Mrs. C is unbelivable. At the same time, you are right about restaurants thawing and serving curries. I’m a restaurant food lover, but I’ve never thought about this. You say that you didn’t organize the fridge, but it looks pretty neat to me. Wow…your freezer is full. You should see mine. I hardly have 6 to 10 items inthere. Nice post and thanks for giving us a peek into your cold cave.
that was nice to know. enjoyed the peek
Fridge and Leftovers!! My Fridge is half full of them
I have to use and clean them up before i decide to get fresh grocery to stuff and make space for that ! :tongue: And yeah i hate people who keep their fridge filthy :frustrate
Hmm.. the freezer looks pretty much like mine!
“For the next month (or two), we aren’t buying any groceries, besides fruits, tea, milk and things like chillies, ginger and garlic.No veggies, no bread, no grains, no flours, no lentils, no spices.”
I am by hearting it…
Fun post
sharing a fridge can be a pain! My friend suffered through it a lot when she was sharing an apartment!
he he, and i agree with “cans of things which you rarely use and then just store away”-because i cook just for one person, its even bigger problem for me, hence no cans as far as possible.
So you cook “quick fixes and only two to three times a week”, and still you manage to post almost everyday and feature elaborate dishes
wonderful! but this much for two people?..don’t believe on things being in market???…
well I think all that stuff will feed an army :laugh:
Wow! First of all I’m so glad that it isn’t just me who barely has room for leftovers what with the jars upon jars of pickles and powders. Second, didn’t you two hear about the recall on Pel’s achaar de bitter-gourd? Apparantly, even taking a whiff of it causes inexplicable cravings for radishes sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar! :dance:
wow….I think your freezer is very neat! My fridge is generally very empty. I do the no-groceries-for-a-couple-of-weeks every so often and get rid of things lying around in the fridge…but as for the freezer, I’m scared to even look!!
Whoa! Your freezer is actually spilling over!! And the Mrs.C story…unbelievable! :no:
Interesting Bee. viji
the story of mrs. C is hilarious… she really asked for her curry after 14 months??? holy $%£!&*…
my amma has tiny mini fridge back at home she always had atleast one empty shelf. thats one skill i would love to learn but i don think i will be really successful when it comes to implementing
and don’t buy a freezer with drawers coz it has much less space than the one w/o drawers. speaking from experience :nono:
We always had a big fridge at home… and mine’s still too small… had to fight with S for this 320 litre 2 door… he thought 250 is going to be enough!!
Amma’s got a 400L and a 275L… I wish I wish
Lovely neat fridge…
If that is overflowing, then you shud see my freezer. And I dont even have a garden
Your fridge is v tidy, and Mrs C is incorrigible!
LOL!!! You know, yesterday I updated that post saying “hey, you can also use all kinds of nuts too” and here you are with Cashews and Almonds. They are addictive, enjoy!;D
Your freezer looks exactly like mine!! Jam packed with veggies! My Fridge has too many Apple juice bottles, lunch meat and cheese for kids school lunch!! I wouldn’t dare post!!:D
Great post, Frigid is hilarious!
What a delightful,amusing story Bee!lovely, your fridge looks good enough to eat
:laugh:
Mrs. C’s story?? no ways…. now i dont feel like having restaurant food….
14 months….
but then, i better not laugh too hard, who knows what’s sitting in my freezer for the longest time
I think you two make use of each and every inch of ur freezer…
Ask your fridge ginie to atleast reduce his production…
my freezer is worse. stuffed like hell. when ever I open, I am sure of something to fall either from inside or top of the fridge.
It was a good read.
I hope your aunties friend didn’t eat the meat curry
When i saw that lime pickle in your fridge i was drooling. It looks so delicious. Plain rice and that pot of lime pickle and curds that is what i need now. I would sit here and enjoy it. Simple and delicious. Alas i don’t have that delicious looking pot if pickle DO I NOOOOOOOOOOO
Bee, if u can read malayalam written in english, here is what I felt..” aadyam chiri vannu….freezer kandappo surprised aayi, wondering why u freeze these masalas…but then while reading all the comments, i had a doubt, if I am not cooking at all as mine is not stuffed….I still have that mind block when it comes to freezing though i am making an attempt
Shn
But for the amount of cooking you guys do, I dont think this is overflowing at all!!
That is one neato fridge – freezer and all! My freezer has a big block of blue cheese that is atleast 3 yrs old…that I am still loathe to throw away ’cause it cost a bomb. But, boy – it is one stinky cheese
hno:
I have started the ‘no-groceries’ kind of rule too and have been on a no-beans thing for 4 months now, and still have 5 kinds of beans in the pantry (not counting dals of course)! No making-new-pickles-till-you-empty-out-old-jars rule too – but that was easy – I gave away those that I hadn’t opened in 2 years ( :secret: except the lime pickles…)
Ok, I have a way of helping you out a lil bit: send across those bottles of two spice mixes my way!
Oh and some of that squash too..and oh….. :devil:
Your fridge is so neatly arranged! My dad hates things stashed in the fridge…his view is ‘make only as much as required and finish off the same day’….of course, no one really follows it :secret: He calls refrigerators ‘Pandora’s box’…you never know whats coming out of it :laugh:
I loved that part about people from India getting masalas and stuff…so true. I have a cupboard full of unopened packets which i think will last me for the next 5 years
What, no ice cream in the freezer?
:tongue:
Oh, or do I see two tubs??
Nice post. I wouldn’t dare!!
I’d be scared to death to post pics of my fridge
…your’s looks so neat.
The first thing I did was…no prizes for guessing
….clear my frig!!!
I mean the fist thing I did on reading this post…
Wow…Ur fridge looks so neat……..Looks very organised bee
i feel much better about my freezer after seeing urs..actually it is just like urs..perhaps a little more packed :embarrass
B if I had experiences like you I would never have tagged anyone for the MEME.Hilarious. Thanks for being such a sport and taking up the MEME immediately! :bow:
Am still drooling over the lime pickle :tongue:
14 freaking months :no: – did Mrs. C lose track of time? Your aunt was incredibly nice to keep it – I’d have thrown it out without second thoughts.
I’m with Manisha, don’t get a fridge with drawers they have far less space than my open fridge had. My goodness having seen your neat and tidy fridge I’d be ashamed to show you mine. My daughter was actually climbing in it (we discovered last week)to reach things, she’s under orders not to climb inside the fridge anymore but it certainly explains those footprints in the butter! And with two hungry kids forever taking my cheese and fruit and getting bottomless glasses of milk constantly, it doesn’t take long for it to get messy.
hey bee and jai….i guess i too am from the club that’s paranoid about a) my fridge and being judged by what’s in it
b) frozen – thawed – refrozen food and worse landing up on my plate….
cant believe mrs C asked for her curry…..!! :no:
Bee: Thanks so much for your comments on my Chakalaka piece on Mahanandi! I have been ogling your photos from time to time. This fridge post was HILARIOUS!
I totally hear you about the unwritten rule about spice mixes from India. My sis and I used to call her freezer the MTR library..much like a video library, we had a sequence of all the MTR mixes accumulated over the years.
If you’re familiar with traditional Tamil Iyer households, you’ll see teh irony in my case. My grandmother is a very orthodox “madi” person. And back home, even now, we literally only use the fridge for fresh, uncooked vegetables, yougurt, butter and milk. Cooked food is a no-no. She would despair on seeing mine!
Have you visited fridgewatcher.com? This reminded me of your post.