Pictures From My Life- February 8

 Frozen Assets

I have always frozen things flat.  But this seems to be a "big, new idea" over at Food 52.  I did learn something from this post --to chop up onions, carrot and celery and combine in a freezer bag.  Easy enough to chop off a section of the veggies and be cooking in no time at all.  Mirapoix.  I may have spelled that correctly.

So many recipes begin with chop one onion...... and then move on to celery and a carrot.  And almost all involve parsley.  Before the power outage in October--I had rolls of frozen parsley in the freezer from my garden.  Just remove the rubber band, unroll and slice off as much as you need then roll up and band and tuck back in the freezer.  Good with cilantro but I am one who tastes only soap.  Genetics.

One Winter, years ago, I tried my hand at making (cooking) dry beans and then adding a chili flavoring.  I started with dry chilies.  I tasted and added and tasted and added.  Trying to get a complex but still delicious sauce to mix into the beans.  Some of these experiences were delicious. Others were too hot or too bland once the beans got mixed in.  But it was an interesting Winter. Would be wonderful if any were still stocked in the freezer.

Right now my freezer is half full.  There are still a few flat packages of meatballs in marinara. Homemade potstickers and commercially made potstickers from Trader Joe's and the local grocery. G likes them.  A pound of ground beef.  Five chicken thighs for the next pot of soup. Flat pounded chicken breasts to thaw and marinate with olive oil and rosemary (from the plant on the sunporch) and then grill.  A ball of pizza dough.  A half gallon of vanilla ice cream.  White and dark chocolate blocks.  I know there should be a bottle of vodka. Don't like.  One roll of parsley made from a bunch found at the grocery.  There should also be frozen blocks of buttermilk.  But I forgot to freeze the extra and it spoiled.  Oh and there is a pound or two of butter.

I read in the Food52 article comments--that cooked rice is great to freeze.  Defrosts and tastes freshly cooked.  Now that might be something to consider as we usually have Chinese take out leftovers but never any rice.