Homemade Ricotta
This is me and my pal Pierre A. Lamielle (wouldn’t it be cool to have the initials P.A.L.? I thought so too). He wrote a cookbook, then flew to Paris and got a big fancy award for it. Which he totally should have – Kitchen Scraps is bloody brilliant. It’s like no other cookbook you’ve ever seen – totally readable in bed, good for a laugh, each page a literal work of art. Stories, jokes, morals, humour. Whorehouses, the three bears, cupids, Roman soldiers with six-packs – it’s got it all.
So to celebrate I got a copy to give away for that happy event of days gone by we used to call Free Stuff Fridays. I figured it would only be fitting to make something from his book for dinner tonight, but Mike had a show, W has a birthday party (he got his first real invite from a kid at school – not a relative or friend of ours – sniff) and I went to get a sneak peek at the new CHAR CUT (it opens on Monday!) and then to judge the Lawson Lundell Celebrity Hors d’ Oeuvres Competition (a fundraiser for ATP) – which is my long way of saying there was no need to cook dinner tonight. And tomorrow night we have a fabulously cheesy dinner party to attend (don’t worry – you’ll get a full report) – so I had resigned to making a batch of brownies (not much of a let down, that) when I noticed instructions on how to make ricotta down at the bottom of a page containing a risotto recipe.
I’ve made mozzarella from scratch before, and pseudo-mascarpone, but ricotta has been on my to-make list for eons. I love how Pierre’s recipe fits in a little box – this is why we get on so well – he doesn’t use too many words. (And the words he does use are well-thought and hilarious.) Making ricotta is not at all complicated, nor does it require rennet tablets or other odd ingredients called for in other cheese-making processes, and I did it while unloading groceries. Dumped a 4L jug of whole milk into a pot and cranked it up as I unpacked, and when it came to a simmer pulled it off the heat, stirred in 1/4 cup of vinegar (you could use lemon juice, even – but Pierre says plain vinegar is the most neutral) and lidded it for an hour. Longer, in fact, because I completely forgot about it, and when I got out of the shower with 10 minutes before I had to leave and remembered the ricotta I ran down to the kitchen in my robe and scooped the curds out of the pot into a sieve to strain, not even bothering with cheesecloth. And it worked: I had freshly-made ricotta.
(They whey, by the way, is very nutritious – don’t dump it out, but keep it to use in pancakes, muffins, waffles etc. – I funneled it back into the milk jug and still had about 2 1/2L.)
So to recap:
Homemade Ricotta
Bring 4L whole milk to a simmer (190°F) in a large pot. Remove from heat, add 1/4 cup white vinegar, stirring only once. Put the lid on and leave it for an hour. Gently scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon into a sieve (Pierre suggested a cheescloth-lined colander, which would work too, but if you don’t have cheesecloth no biggie) – if you like, let it sit in the sieve overnight in the fridge to drain – you can leave it until it’s as dry as you like. Keep the whey in the fridge and use it for baking, soup, etc. Makes about 1 lb. fresh ricotta.
And now, as it’s well past midnight and I’m far too busy digesting far too many different types of animal (11 restaurants x 2 or 3 hors d’oeuvres each, and some I might have had seconds and thirds of) I can’t tell you about them all. But I do want to mention the ones that really stood out – the winners we chose, and the things I ate most of – chef Darby Kells from the Concorde Restolounge in Aspen Woods made killer braised lamb shank tarts with brandy soaked cherries and wild game reduction – the reduction takes him 3 days to cook down into an essence of meat with the consistency of maple syrup – and the lamb shank is braised at 250 degrees for a full 8 hours. Marvy. The Main Dish did cherry pink bacon with aged cheddar on grilled panini topped with cherry braised pork belly (AND HOW DID I MISS OUT ON SECONDS OF THAT?) chased by sour cherry ice cream floats. Dandy. Open Range made Mexican tamales with braised beef and cheddar, wrapped in banana leaves – open faced duck ravioli and espresso ice cream on flat, chewy chocolate chip cookies. But the most memorable thing I ate tonight was the pink lemonade cocktail (served in a shot glass) topped with a strawberry-mascarpone Swiss roll covered in Pop Rocks – yes, Pop Rocks! – created by Kristin, Mariah and Jenna of Trader’s Grill in the Marriott. It may sound hideous, but it totally worked – the sweetness of the cake followed by an intensely sour shot of lemonade, and the Pop Rocks – it was like the scene in Ratatouille when Anton Ego takes a bite and is instantly sucked through a wormhole to his childhood. They popped pleasantly in our mouths – not noisily, as they do straight – up – adding a sort of effervescence to the experience. It was fab. And so rare to come across something edible that was totally original!
So – it being the bleak midwinter and all (in Calgary, anyway), and my freezer once again overfloweth, I thought I’d start a new game next week – another rousing rendition of Name That Frozen Baggie. I really do need to reduce the contents of my freezer, and so thought we could have some fun with it – so next week I’m going to pull stuff out in the morning and post it on Twitter, and see if anyone can guess what’s for dinner that night…
And so for Free Stuff Fridays – for a copy of Pierre’s fabulous new cookbook, Kitchen Scraps, what’s in your freezer?
February 20 2010 12:43 am | cheese
Vincci on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:27 am #
What’s in my freezer? Assorted meats, half-finished loaves of bread, dumplings and other unidentifiable Chinese goods, three tubs of ice cream (that’s my mom for you) and frozen entrees for my sibbies.
Rebecca on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:35 am #
I just cleaned out the freezer the other day! Cleared out a few well-forgotten items and now have the most organized freezer…for a few days, at least. Contents: lots of chicken, breasts and two whole birds; homemade burritos for lunches; extra butter; several jars of herbed vodka syrup that (2 years later) I still have no idea what to do with; homemade pizza dough.
Laurie in Burnaby BC on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:37 am #
The centre of my freezer has one plastic container of home made pea and ham soup, one plastic container of home made beef stew, two plastic containers that I’m going to have to thaw to find out what they are (sort of brownish frozen stuff – might be meat, might be cake, might be meat-cake!)
No, they are probably some kind of stew or soup that I labeled on a wet container so the labels are unreadable. This week I made an Asian style stock from pork back-bones, and there are two plastic containers of that. On the left hand side is a whole variety of frozen veg; store bought varieties from spinach to edamame, and peas and beans from the garden last year. The right hand side has fish, from bones to make stock to meal sized packets of salmon and carp. The freezer draw has meal sized packets of home made beans, meal sized packets of chicken, meal sized packages of ground pork, and home made apple sauce in flat baggies (because they take up less room than any other method), and one bag of steel cut oats and one bag of oat bran(I buy them in bulk and keep them fresh in the freezer.) In the door is a stack of used baggies staying frozen so that I can use them again, then some frozen blueberries, and frozen unsalted nuts (I buy them in bulk, then keep them in the freezer so that they stay fresh) a can of coffee, some bananas that I intend to use to make banana bread some day, some frozen pastry (make more than necessary then freeze the rest so when you need some you don’t have to make a new batch from scratch) and some mysterious packages that I put in the door when I couldn’t identify them so that I could get to them later, and it isn’t later yet.
Katrina on 20 Feb 2010 at 3:15 am #
My freezer? Multiple chicken breasts, frozen singly, assorted packages of steak, either frozen in pairs (for when it’s bbq night) or singly (for using in a stir-fry), peas, chips, home-made pasta from a friend, soup, half a leg of lamb, home-made sausage rolls, stew, bolognese sauce, overripe bananas, toddler-sized portions of pretty much anything she ate without complaining, and lots of bacon in little bags. Oh, and passionfruit frozen yogurt and chocolate caramel mudslide icecream.
But – I’d really like to know how to use the whey. Do you add it to those things you listed above, or substitute it for something else? Does it substitute for milk? Yoghurt? Stock? Is it sweet? Salty? I’m really keen to try this. How cool to make your own cheese!
Angela on 20 Feb 2010 at 4:29 am #
Tons of fz fruit for smoothies or baking,pie crusts, Meat, bread and banana loafs.
Jennifer Jo on 20 Feb 2010 at 5:35 am #
My two large freezers and one fridge freezer are still, after eating out of them continuously for months, stuffed. It’s crazy. And you don’t really want me to list off EVERYTHING because it would take up too much space. Let’s suffice it to say that you can find veggies, fruits, grains, nuts, meats, and dairy in them.
Jan (Family Bites) on 20 Feb 2010 at 5:54 am #
My freezer is a tiny thing with not a whole lot in it but here goes: frozen blueberries, spinach, peas and watermelon. Some chicken legs, two steak and a bag of squid. Blueberry muffins, chocolate icing and vanilla icing. Oh..and a box of baking soda to hopefully keep it all fresh.
Katja | Driving Like a Maniac on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:02 am #
In my freezer there is homemade limoncello, coffee, quartered lemons, and chillies. Oh, and some grated parmesan cheese that belongs to my flatmate. This is the thing about living in Italy: (a) the freezer space is minimal and (b) making everything from fresh is so much better and easier than in the UK. In the UK I make huge batches of food and freeze it, but not here.
I’m very excited about the ricotta recipe. It’s one of my favourite cheeses, so I shall be giving that a go as soon as possible. I’m currently (as in: they’re in the oven RIGHT NOW) trying out your sweet preserved lemons as well – so many good ideas over here!
Karyn on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:08 am #
It’s summer here so there are lots of ice cubes in my freezer plus some organic meat, homemade ravioli (my toddler’s favourite) and some life-sustaining ice-cream which keeps my toddler’s Mummy and Daddy sane. For those days where sanity is a problem there is also an icepack that rests nicely on one’s forehead while lying on the couch :+)
June on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:40 am #
Too much for two people–several rib steaks, hamburger,rack of lamb,lamb chops,short ribs,pork shoulder, various types of chicken, scallops,shrimp, strawberries,cookies, bread, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pea soup,corn,peas,cranberries — you get the picture!
Jenn F on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:31 am #
A tiny freezer, but it has: assorted meat, almost finished loaves of bread and assorted buns that should be thrown out (flat hamburger buns from the summer!), lentil soup and borscht, chili, and veggies. But also some macarons that I bought from Costco that are pretty good, so I’m rationing them to make them last longer!
Roving Lemon on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:31 am #
Oooh, just what I need–another cookbook! (Most of mine are in storage right now.) We’re living in temporary accommodation at the moment, so my freezer is pretty empty, although it has recently improved from its rock-bottom status of a few weeks ago (two loaves of bread). It now also contains a container of tomato sauce, a bag of meatballs, and another container of (sound familiar?) chicken & white bean stew with pesto.
erin on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:42 am #
I don’t know what’s in my freezer – it’s packed to the rafters! It is minus one beautiful tortiere that we ate last night.
ladyloo on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:24 am #
Ground deer meat. Lots and lots of ground deer meat.
Kate on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:26 am #
Hmm. Coffee, ground beef, a package of ddokboki from Hmart (yum!), grilled eel (Japanese style), braised cabbage, frozen blueberries. Yum. Now I’m hungry!
Lauren on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:30 am #
Oh, that ricotta is stunning! In our freezer, there are packaged gluten-free breads and a couple of frozen meals, along with ice cream, dog food and some assorted random things =D.
Kristin on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:31 am #
I totally want to try that! I love ricotta and I just two jugs of whole milk. As for what it is in my freezer, well, that would take a while. Meat, butter, nuts, fruit we put up last year, homemade jams, and lots more.
JulieVR on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:31 am #
I’m loving the answers to this question!! Why didn’t I think of asking before?
Mary Ann on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:34 am #
My freezer is filled with wild game and fish from my husband’s fall hunting expedition, various hors d’oeuvres for last minute guests, steak, ribs and whole chickens purchased on sale, jumbo Mr Freeze from last summer (I don’t think those things ever go bad) and a large bag of frozen strawberries that I use for smoothies and the occasional Tia Maria strawberry sauce.
Erica B. on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:37 am #
We moved in 6mo ago so we’ve gone from completely empty to:
Chicken stock
a collection of past due bananas
bread odds and ends
leftover lemon juice
pumpkin
blueberries
raspberries
corn
tomato sauce
gf meatballs and sauce
an assortment of gf flours
missing link sausages in a couple different flavours
bison – ground, steaks, bacon, & stewing meat
chicken breasts
pork tenderloins
1/2 a DQ Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream Cake
Dana on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:40 am #
I have the top layer of my wedding cake, it has been there for 8.5 years. My parents recently had to throw the top of their cake away after 40 + years when they moved overseas. At a certain point, it is a bad omen to get rid of it.
JulieVR on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:42 am #
I agree! Mine is down there too – AND my parents’, which ended up in our deep freeze during their move!
A Canadian Foodie on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:44 am #
I have to freezer: an upright for meals and other freezer items I have made that are ready to eat, and the chest freezer with the ingredients and produce for cooking. In the upright, I have a couple of trays of dlamates, sarma (sour cabbage rolls), a couple of bags of pyroges (homemade), raspberry ice cream (Thermomix), freezer appetizers left over from Christmas (satay, turnovers, etc.) and Christmas cookies also left over in their cans still great for desserts, or for when someone comes for coffee. Then I have ice, beef broth, chicken broth, oxtail soup and tomato sauce. In the door, juices, pie pastry, puff pastry, and pizza dough.
Did you really want to know all that – or did you just want to see how badly we want a copy of this book.
The chest freezer I will leve for the next contest – but I will say that it is full of local produce.
Great looking ricotta, Julie.
How did it taste????
yoko on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:58 am #
What’s in my freezer? Mostly bread, ice-cream, frozen corn and broccoli, and Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas and desserts.
Aimee on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:58 am #
Congratulations to Pierre! I have yet to see this cookbook, but I loved his contribution to the blog aid cookbook.
Loving the ricotta. My mum used to make it all the time, can you believe I’ve never made my own? Sigh.
In the freezer:
a side of local Angus, beautifully butchered and sous vide
whole turkey (for a rainy day)
a loaf of your raincoast crisps
homemade applesauce
banana leaves (they defrost nicely; I use them to serve food on when entertaining)
a case of orange juice concentrate
nearly a months worth of homemade frozen meals:lasagna, stew, curry,
a few quarts of chocolate chip chili
slab bacon
Costco-sized case of Mr. Freezies, that DANNY bought, and we haven’t touched in two summers.
rhubarb, diced
butter
spinach
corn
bread
…
LM on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:11 am #
A pile of ground beef. I’ve been a grain/beef farmer for almost 20 yrs and I still find it difficult to eat something I may have pet or named or helped calve. Having the poor critter butchered and completely put into ground beef somehow makes it easier to consume!
Kathy H on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:18 am #
My freezer in the basement needs defrosting. So I’m trying not to add anything right now. There’s some homemade tomato sauce from last fall, some raspberry freezer jam, a bag of saskatoons, and a turkey carcass or two for future stock. And, of course, there’s a LOT of ice on the shelves.
Rose on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:19 am #
Wow! My freezer isn’t as exciting as most I’ve read here. (How do you save a half DQ cake? It wouldn’t last two days here!) Anyway, I’ve got lots of ready to use bags of blueberries from the Richmond farms here in B.C. Every summer we buy about sixty pounds, prep them and then use throughout the year. Also, a turkey, prawns and hamburger buns left over and which now don’t look too good.
Rose
Kathryn on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:20 am #
My deep freeze is pretty empty right now. I have a batch of some sort of lentil soup, some borscht, some curry and several loaves of The Big 16 bread (I buy 6 at a time at Costco and then freeze them so we aren’t caught short). I’ve got two ice cream maker tubs in there. Straggling Halloween candy from the kids. Some sad all-fruit popsicles that need to be tossed. A bag of pedialyte freezies for pukers.
I also have a bunch of Co-op bags wrapped around dirty paint brushes and paint rollers. When we are painting rooms or fences or doors, we freeze the brushes overnight rather than clean them at the end of each day. But somehow at the end of the project, it is easy to forget about them down there…
The leftover wedding cake? Ha! All leftovers were gobbled up long ago. I produced the last bit on our one year anniversary and my husband was incredulous. “What are you still doing with that?” “We’re supposed to save it.” “Why?” We ate it up.
A Canadian Foodie on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:22 am #
One more thing that is true, and really really funny. My parents moved to Edmonton in 1977 after 27 years living in their first married home in Red Deer. One day a few years ago, in the fall of 2003, to be exact, mom had us all over for dinner, and for dessert, she served an apricot pie. Homemade, as always. “How is the pie?” she asked, and I knew something was up. The filling was delicious, but the pastry was just not up to her usual standard, so I said basically that. She killed herself laughing and then told us that she had just cleaned out her deep freeze, and at the bottom of it found this pie dates 1973. It looked really good, so she decided to serve it for dinner. I was shocked and it was funny, but then i was worried about all of us getting sick and she was absolutely adamant that her pie was wrapped so well, it could last 30 years. Well, it did. It was really delicious, and no one got sick. I do have a great mom – and I am not sure what she was thinking – but this is a true story!
However, readers, do not do this!
Kelly on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:22 am #
what is there? pork chops, now whole chicken after a good ol Costco shop, beef mince, pizza for when I’m not at home, oh and some bread rolls, and puff pastry for when I will be making some yummy sausage rolls.
love the the sound of that cookbook – I’ll check it out!
KM
Les on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:26 am #
At this moment in my freezer we have:
bottle of vodka
stalk of ginger (for grating)
bag of peas
bag of corn
package of drumsticks
cup of leftover red wine
2 packages of spinach
leftover pitas
homemade chicken stock
homemade vegetable stock
homemade pasta sauce
package of basa fillets
bag of ice
carton of gelato
Vivian on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:34 am #
In my freezer “there be dragons” as in I haven’t got a clue about the contents filling 90% of the space! Its all vacuum-sealed though and should stay “good” for a decade..ha. Seriously, mostly meats (especially bacon), salmon and shrimp, a few slabs of pan desserts, single zippies of home-made buns or sliced bread, cubes of left-over lime juice, butter, puff pastry and filo…somewhere…in there. Oh, also ‘on stand-by’, the container for my ice cream maker. Phew.
Must try that ricotta recipe. Has anyone figured out if it is less expensive to make your own than to buy it? Guess it would be healthier too, without preservatives, etc. Thanks for the chance at Pierre’s prize-winning book!!
Alicen on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:50 am #
In my freezer, that we have been trying to clean out but it somehow is newarly as full as when we started, I have assorted cuts of beef, a giant box of chicken fingers, chicken breasts, a turkey, a ham, several loaves of bread in various stages of freezerburn. Then there are single serving containers of chili (my own version of lunch freezer meals), several bags of frozen veggies and fruit, and a few other odds and ends. Our old freezer died last year at this time and we ddn’t notice for a couple of days. So there is nothing in my freezer any older than 1 year (for now)!
I would LOVE a copy of Pierre’s cookbook. I love the stories behind all the recipes, so creative and well thought-out!
Anne on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:58 am #
lets see we have 3 freezers in the garage and they are all full! Deer, elk, moose, duck, goose, rough grouse, pheasant, beef, chicken, pork, lobster, prawns, crabs from Alaska, arctic char, pike and other assorted fish/meat in all different forms. Then there is the bread, veggies, fruit, all the convenience foods… stuffed potatoes, chicken breasts, dry ribs, chicken pot pies, pizza you name it we have it…
An assortment of homemade soups, chili, lasanga, pasta sauce, jam
Then there is the fridge freezer…. butter, drink mixes, hashbrowns
The kids joke that we could survive here for a year if needed!
Nancy on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:00 am #
I’ve come to the realization that if you USE what’s in your freezer, there is more room for other stuff! Who knew?? So in light of that discovery I’ve been keeping a tidy list on the side of the fridge with the contents listed…here’s what’s there now. (I sometimes fanticize I’m on that show where a chef turns up at your door and makes something out of what’s in your fridge – mine would be decent!)
- Beef tenderloin chunks
- 6 parmesan rinds
- 2 pkg marinated soy flank steak
- 6 catalina chicken breasts
- 6 Easy Orange chicken breasts
- Bag of large raw shrimp
- Bag of scallops
- Old Freezies
- Chocolate chip banana muffins (make a batch, freeze half)
- Gingerbread dough and sugar cookie dough
- 4 lbs. prime rib (on sale last week)
- Phyllo and Puff Pastry
- Caramelized leeks
- Home roasted tomatoes and red peppers
- Barefoot Contessa Parm-Thyme crackers
- Maple Pork Tenderloin
Whew. Guess we’d better get eating!
Tara O'Donovan on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:13 am #
May I say how much I envy the opportunities you have to eat such excellent food, and hob knob with such excellent people? Thank you for the wonderful recipes, and the wonderful posts. Although I only have a fridge freezer, I’m very fortunate to have it overflowing with grass fed beef and organic pork from my sister’s in-laws in Williams Lake. I need a deep freeze so I can put more in it! I also have managed to fit ice cream, bread crusts, quinoa, vodka, butter and ice cubes in there!
Love Pierre’s cookbook – he totally deserved the award!
bellini valli on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:15 am #
What’s in my freezer…Nutella semifreddo, Canadian peameal bacon, French Canadian pea soup, won tons, gnocchi, assorted meats, veggies, etc… lamb sausage and the liner for my Donvier ice cream maker.
Bonnie on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:28 am #
A few weeks ago my freezer was accidentally unplugged and not noticed for up to a week (maybe grandkids playing in the basement?) I wasn’t too upset about losing things that can easily be replaced like a turkey, beef, chicken breasts, shrimp, etc. but was devastated to fish out from the soupy mess last summer’s blueberries,grated zucchini, cooked Halloween pumpkin, a few trays of homemade burritos, and many unidentifiable baggies ( I just know they contained something good!). Lesson learned- now I check it every few days, just in case.
Tina on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:45 am #
A variety of meat, phyllo, a quickly dwindling supply of BC berries, peas and corn, ice packs for lunches, nuts, bread, turkey stock and bits of this and that as a result of much recipe testing.
Rose on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:50 am #
I’m going in. Will report back later. If you haven’t heard from me in two hours, please send backup.
Lindsay on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:52 am #
Hmmm… my freezer… let’s see… popsicles, meatballs, chicken breasts, cooked hotdogs, leftover pancakes, pork tenderloin, leftover pasta sauce, ripe bananas (for banana bread), and a few mysterious containers of stuff.
Michelle Stiles on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:04 am #
Thanks for the ultra simple cheese recipe. I have some milk that needs to be used up – and what a perfect way!
My freezer? Well, it is too small, but packed with tasty fruit that I hoarded all summer, lots and lots of blueberries. My inlaws living in Texas keep it full of peacans fresh from their farm!
Elaine on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:05 am #
I’m astounded at how many people have multiple, giant freezers. And I’m a bit jealous. In mine, I’ve got batches of biscuit dough (dill, maple, parmesan/paprika–I used up nearly half of the giant batch of lard I made the other day), as well as various stocks, chicken pot pie filling, blueberries, peas, porkchops, homemade sausages, wonton wrappers, coffee, crumble topping, drumsticks, mushroom empanada filling, cookie dough logs (lemon/chamomile shortbread, korova, coconut/choc/oat), pear/ginger scones, assorted roasted veg, and several types of sweet and savory pinwheels. Basically, I’ve got the food for a really fun party just waiting to be organized.
Erin M on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:19 am #
I’m stuck with a fridge freezer but I still manage to pack a lot in there. Just recently cleaned it too!
pine nuts
pesto
kaffir lime leaves
blue berries
black berries
raspberries
strawberries
peaches
a loaf of denman island ww bread
chicken fingers
bacon
grated cheese
gyoza (from grazing)
empty icecube trays
phyllo
bag of the veggie rejects(peels and brocolli ends) Use it to make veggie stock.
robyn on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:41 am #
A pack of veggie burgers, freezer burnt ice cubes, yogurt tubes (Leo prefers them frozen) 4 large Sockeye salmons, 2 Chars, 3 Rainbow trout, 3 packages of ground beef, 1 package of ground chicken and a few hamburger buns I swear I’ll eventually use but probably won’t.
OH! 4 bags of fruit – one bag of cranberries, one of blueberries, one of raspberries and one of peaches.
brenda on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:52 am #
We have lots of vegetables, chicken, steaks, pork chops and some chicken breasts. And some bacon.
Carol SB on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:57 am #
I guess, really, I keep time in my freezer. Everything in there is intended (!) to save me time; the apples are peeled, chopped and ready to go into the (You’re right, Laurie) frozen pastry I’ll roll out. It does save time: it also saves, I guess, the distilled essence of the season.
I have kept last spring: chopped rhubarb from my daughter’s garden. Nanking cherry juice ready to be made into “summer-in-a-jar” jelly. Saskatoons from dad’s farm from last summer… or is it the summer before?
The tomatoes we couldn’t finish in the fall, and how easy it is to run some hot water on one to peel it and toss it into soup, pulled pork, sauce…
Christmas is still lingering in there, and I do love me a cold shortbread cookie.
linda on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:05 pm #
balled doughs, flours, nuts, sugars, butters, scooped but not baked cookies for bake offs, cake layers for occasions- just need to be frosted, dark chocolate frosting for said cakes, cheddar biscuits that need to be baked off, herb biscuits, blueberry loafs, mini baked muffins, all kinds of chocolates, regular sized baked fruit muffins,yellow cake cupcakes- already baked, corn bread, galette doughs already rolled out…shortbread cookies & sugar cookies…
danzy on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:21 pm #
I know what’s in the upstairs one for sure…instead of finishing an assignment last weekend I reorganized it! Homemade chicken stock, blackberries & blueberries from the farmer’s market, Bombay gin, dill, kaffir lime leaves, thai chilies, icepacks, beef broth…
downstairs – raw dog food, 2 dead birds (from window strikes-make for really funny practical jokes on co-workers), ice cream maker, rhubarb from garden, fruit crumble topping (from JVR’s recipe), bread ends for recipe use, a cherry pie, beef ribs, chicken legs, bacon, peaches ready for a pie…
Elliott on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:21 pm #
My freezer: 11:16am 20 February 2010
1lb ground buffalo meat
1lb (approx) dough for Parkerhouse Rolls (from scratch)
1/2 gallon chocolate Haagen Dazs ice cream
20 cube package of Dorot chopped basil
1/2 bag of edamame from Trader Joe’s
1 bottle of Stoli (1/2 empty, or half full?)
1 bottle of Gordon’s vodka (for emergency only)
1 Trader Joes pizza margherita
1 Trader Joe’s chicken tikka masala
1 Trader Joe’s butter chicken
Lots and lots of ice
Doreen on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:26 pm #
my freezer is chock-a-block full… I know I’ve got a turkey, a ham, assorted meats: hamburger, sausage, steaks, lamb shanks, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, fish; peaches, freezer jam, cranberries and a whole lot of other stuff in there.
Barb on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:41 pm #
In our freezer:
tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced zucchini, shredded zucchini, strawberries, cranberries, tortillas, bread, hamburger, pork side ribs, boneless skinless chicken thighs, frozen yogurt, several loaves of zucchini bread without sugar (forgot to put it in), single hotdog buns, single hamburger buns, a few Christmas cookies left, several mystery containers
Ulla on 20 Feb 2010 at 12:44 pm #
My freezer if full of POTATO BREAD. I can’t stop baking it as it is simply so satisfying to make. The dough is light like a handful of cloud or something like that, greasy but not sticky. Slice it warm and slather butter on it and let it melt. Recipe is from the Harrowsmith Country Life magazine and I am going to make another two loaves right now!
Pierre Lamielle on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:12 pm #
Hey Julie!
What a fun surprise! Am I eligible for a copy?
We’re still in Paris, so I’m going on memory… Here’s what’s in my freezer
• Four potato chips shaped like each member of the The Spice Girls (with a bite out of Ginger Spice)
• The remnants of a perfectly preserved frozen Tyranausaurus egg
• Two pig’s feet in red Manolo Blahniks
• The last person who owed me money
• A Monkey head for stock, it’s teeth chatter every time I open the door
• My placenta (how long do those stay fresh if you freeze them?)
• A frosted ’88 Olympic PetroCan collector tumbler
• A slightly freezer burned relic that proves the unicorn was kept off the Arc for political reasons
• A bag of frozen peas
PS… if you like the ricotta, you can come over and I’ll make you some Gnudi!
PPS… when you heat up the milk, you can toss in a little bouquet garni of dried spices or some citrus zest to add some flava flav!
Kris on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:22 pm #
lOADS OF FROZEN RASPBERRIES! i HAD A BUMPER CROP LAST SUMMER AND COUKDN’T STAND TO SEE THEM GO TO WASTE, so I froze them…and I have yet to use a single one. Time to get on that.
Rachel on 20 Feb 2010 at 1:23 pm #
So I know very little about Pierre, but after reading that reply, I have concluded that he is adorable. Our freezer consists mainly of frozen (obviously) fruits and veg, raw meat, raw seafood, spices, batches of pizza and bread dough, butter, granola, buttermilk in ice cube trays, citrus zest, chilies, breadcrumbs, packages of coconut, leftover baked goods, samosas and perogies, and surely some things that I’m not aware of.
Robin on 20 Feb 2010 at 2:35 pm #
Lots of chicken stock and bones for making more, bread, bagels, a couple of steaks, ham bone, leftover turkey from Christmas (yes, I need to use that), bags of cranberries and other berries, yeast, coffee, sesame seeds, bacon and ice cream.
miss v on 20 Feb 2010 at 2:52 pm #
oops… was i suppose to save the top of my wedding cake… i clearly remember eating it on a flight to paris… about 10 years ago!
freezer contents…
chicken, salmon, beef, eggo waffles, blueberries, corn, pastry, wontons, spaghetti sauce, veal stock, hot peppers, weird leaves for thai dish and something wrapped in tin foil that looks a wee bit rude
bridgit on 20 Feb 2010 at 3:07 pm #
Funny, we were just checking out “our” freezer. At our friends house. See, they have a big chest freezer that was mostly empty, and we had an overflowing garden and no chest freezer, and our friends are good sharers. In there we have (from our garden):
green beans
shredded squash
sliced squash
beets
zucchini muffins (ok, not totally from our garden…)
In our freezer: nuts, seeds, fruit, chicken backs, turkey neck, salmon, butter, bread dough.
Joanna on 20 Feb 2010 at 3:44 pm #
I have some pitas, ice cream, and an array of frozen vegetables. Not super exciting but hey, I’m a poor college student. At least it’s not all frozen dinners!
Amy @ Dinner In Real Time on 20 Feb 2010 at 3:48 pm #
I’ve been actually trying to replenish my freezer. It’s been a little barren.
I now have some wonderful chicken dishes (chicken divan, a Tuscan chicken and white bean stew, chicken enchiladas) plus some different bread and pizza doughs, homemade chicken stock, chili con carne, and cooked pinto and white beans in 1 cup portions. I also have a sample packet of these preprocessed pb & j graham cracker sandwiches that I’m hoping my younger son doesn’t find for fear he’ll go to the dark side.
Mama__B on 20 Feb 2010 at 4:13 pm #
Our freezer has a lot of the usual in it. Various cuts of pork, beef and chicken, veggies, bread… Plus peaches in light syrup that I did last summer when they were perfect and $5/basket, as well as bags of frozen Roma tomatoes. The strangest things, if you could call them that, would be the duck and the goose breasts, feathered wings still attached. Our friend and pastor is a hunter and generously shared the bounty of his last trip with us.
angiebean on 20 Feb 2010 at 5:15 pm #
I have freezer envy! Wish I had more freezer space and some of the interesting meats/fish in mine.
Here goes: ice cubes, vegetables, waffles, pancakes, chicken patties, hamburgers, chop-meat, steaks, beef ribs, pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, pot pie, ice pops, crushed candy, coffee, meatballs, ice packs, blueberries, ham, ice cream, pizza, and the light bulb.
Sarah (Calgary) on 20 Feb 2010 at 5:27 pm #
I am getting some good ideas of what I might want to have in my fridge instead of: 6 frozen beer glasses, 3 packs of browned ground beef, 6 packs of grated mozza for pizza, fresh sliced peppers, berries and quartered bananas for smoothies, 2T balls of cookie dough, parmesan cheese, 3 containers of pea soup, coffee, 2 1/4-lb packs of bacon and yeast.
Cheryl on 20 Feb 2010 at 5:58 pm #
What’s in my freezer? Too much to talk about. And sadly not enough that I use. Still working through the pork we bought at the Sunterra sale and last summer’s swiss chard.
Yay for Pierre!
Haruko on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:06 pm #
What’s in my freezer? Mostly raspberries, assorted fruit from the summer, nuts (to prolong its shelf life), and leftover chilis and soups that I always make double batches of, mini bagels, perogies from the farmer’s market….
piccola on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:09 pm #
I’m on the road right now, without a freezer to my name, but at home…
Mine: chunks of bananas (for smoothies), chunks of mangoes (for eating frozen), veggie burgers, veggie dumplings, cooked black eyed peas, one serving of chickpea-kale stew, whatever Montreal bagels are left from my last trip, one bag of mixed stir-fry veggies, two Lean Cuisine veggie pizzas.
The boy’s: spicy beef burritos, pizza pockets, mini pizzas, super pack of chicken breasts, super pack of pork chops, bacon, beef stew, chicken wings, banana Melona bars.
Shared: ice cubes, veggie chili.
jacquie on 20 Feb 2010 at 6:28 pm #
wish i knew …..
homemade applesauce, assorted fruits picked fresh in the summer months, fish, turkey, ice cream (of course), homemade bread, ravoli, meatloaf ……
Laurie in Burnaby BC on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:04 pm #
What fascinting reading! I’m surprised by how many people freeze over-ripe bananas to make banana loaf. I meant my post to be an entry for the book, but alas, I think Pierre wins, for the monkey head if nothing else!! I have only a fridge-freezer, which is why I have to keep it so organized, otherwise I’d have no chance of finding anything. I forgot to add that I have grated good parmesan, romano, and asiago cheeses in the freezer door.
glenda on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:10 pm #
I am amazed at the people who can itemize in detail what is in their freezer! Mine is more of an archealogical dig….unexpected surprises and containers with unidentifiable contents! My latest find was an unmarked baggy that turned out to be thai peanut sauce, great over noodles with some veg and meat. But I have no idea what was in it or what recipe I used…arrrg!
Looks like a fun cookbook. I saw a right up on the award in our local paper.
Margaret on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:32 pm #
3 tubs of turkey gravy, hamburger, tub of pea soup, turkey carcass, 4 chunks of ham for soup base, frozen berries: blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, plus bags of apples for pies, salmon, halibut, red snapper (hubby is a fisherman) bread, two kinds of ice cream, 2 turkeys, chicken breasts, tiger shrimp, bread chunks for turkey stuffing, homemade muffins that we eat for breakfast every morning, 8 pkgs. spinach for quiche, 8 pkgs. butter, pork tenderloin, 3 pkgs. baby back ribs, 3 pkg. bacon, frozen bananas, herbs, peas, corn, pie dough, pecans.
Heather on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:44 pm #
About a billion pounds of chorizo sausage that my husband made with some friends (one is an Italian, and has all the proper sausage-making equipment). I don’t like sausage more than once a month, so we’re on year 2 of the sausage.
What WAS in my freezer? A fillet of steelhead trout (currently sizzling in frying pan), some perogies (currently boiling) and some veggie odds’n'ends (currently simmering with two chicken necks/backs in the slow cooker to make broth). Pretty good progress on emptying out the freezer, I think!
Donna on 20 Feb 2010 at 7:44 pm #
My freezer is jammed with good intentions. Lots and lots of raspberries from my MIL’s garden. The last eighth of half a cow (Shorthorn – raised just south of Calgary), a large turkey and a box of chicken breasts, ice cream, some frozen veges , fish, frozen juice, Bread trimmings from tea sandwiches, saved for dressing – curries my son made and says he will eat, a pie or two, frozen fruitcakes, etc. I have a large chest freezer bought from Eatons’ in 1974. Lots of stuff – time to defrost it soon.
Anonymous on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:00 pm #
Pierre’s my kind of guy! What a sense of humour. We have a years supply of salmon, halibut and sea bass, caught off Ucluelet and packed by Fishfull Thinking, lemon/ herb butters, saskatoons, cranberries, blueberries, cheese rinds, meats, casseroles, soups, lemon zest and juice, tomato paste chunks, coffee, nuts, cooked white, brown, wild rice, microwave containers of leftovers to pack in lunches. (Juice, ice cream…the usual, but no monkey heads or gnudi)
lovetocook on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:01 pm #
oops! that’s me – above being anonymous
sharon in oregon on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:17 pm #
Dog food – my husband adores our dog and buys good ground beef in bulk, then adds vegies to it and makes up patties for the dog, freezing them individually. I have not yet mistaken regular patties for those of Rockford’s (the prince-dog) but maybe someday…
I will enjoy the book if you pick my name – otherwise, I think purchasing it will still make me happy.
ilovealbertabeets on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:20 pm #
Thanks, Pierre, I spat out my tea thanks to the placenta comment.. and thank you also for the ’88 Olympics cup reference, lol.
Tangent: I was at Dairy Lane last weekend and there was a guy there dressed head to toe in his original ’88 volunteer outfit. Turquoise and pink Sun Ice Jacket and snow pants, matching toque with pink and turquoise pom poms, and his entire Olympic pin collection on the scarf. It was epic.
Anyway. Freezer..
tons o’ chard from the garden.
udon noodles.
pierogies of course. I wish I could say they were handmade.
12 pies worth of handmade pie dough, arguably the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received.
pucks of basil pesto and cilantro thai-style pesto from the bounty of summer.
Saskatoons picked from a secret location in the city.
Rhubarb.
Veggie bouillon base from 101 Cookbooks recipe (so much easier than making stock..)
Apricots from the Similkameen Valley. We treat these like gold.
Ginger which I grate directly into recipes from frozen with my microplane.
molly on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:36 pm #
Oh, man, how i love homemade ricotta…
As it happens, i have a double batch of lip-smacking homemade meatballs in my deep freeze into which went, drumroll please, a cup of ricotta. (Also frozen spinach and berries galore and unidentified fish I wish I hadn’t bought and those smashing little chinese sausages which I wish I’d bought more of. Also, ginger/garlic ice cubes. Of course.)
And I heart that book something awful.
AL on 20 Feb 2010 at 8:40 pm #
What isn’t in my freezer…. I neglect to label, yet wrap and seal quite well, sometimes too well. If I had a real freezer, a DEEP freeze! I suspect I would need to start labeling. At the moment I can determine there are vast quantity of bagels from Mt.Royal. Oh, and I can see a blue ‘deep cold’ ice pack.
Megan Gordon on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:12 pm #
Awesome! I was hemming and hawing about signing up for a class on moz. and ricotta at home, and I think I may just hold off now. Thanks for such a clear, beautiful post. Who knew it was so easy?!
DJ on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:13 pm #
Well Julie, I too need to play the game of “What’s in that container”. My husband and I have been talking about it for awhile so I guess it’s time.
I am guessing that we have alot of bags with one bun or chicken breast or hamburger in it and probably some iced up, freezer burned leftovers. I would love a copy of Pierre’s book – I am known to buy books just for the artwork and I love the artwork in Kitchen Scraps!
margo on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:23 pm #
Off the top of my head… ginger, nuts and seeds, ice cream, meat of all varieties, leftover birthday cake, bread from our favorite bakery, Big Cook meals, muffins, fruit and berries, Bles Wold yogurt… we have two upright freezers (MUCH easier to organize and keep track of stuff!!) and we’re trying to learn to be better users of our freezers; we tended to let a lot go to waste!
eroica on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:27 pm #
EVERYTHING! Homemade sausage, garden grown raspberries, forest foraged blackberries, Peter Reinhardt’s pizza dough, stock, duck fat, egg whites….
Sherry on 20 Feb 2010 at 9:53 pm #
On the top layer of my deep freeze I have 3 bags of Shanghai steam dumplings, fishballs, steam buns, sesame balls and prawns (just got back from Vancouver – Olympics). Next layer, some chickens from the Hutterite Colony and boxes of frozen yogurt tubes. Finally, some mysterious plastic containers of broth or someting, I need to start labelling things.
RMB on 20 Feb 2010 at 10:22 pm #
In the deep freeze, many make-ahead meals ready for those busy week day dinners, bread, tortillas, phyllo, fruits & veggies, chicken stock, Coco Brooks pizzas.
In the fridge freezer, coffee beans and assorted leftovers.
Tim "what's that smell?!" C. on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:22 pm #
Before I list my items I must comment on the others!
How can you leave a curry in the freezer? Or !/2 a DQ cake? Tiger Shrimp? Or a Turkey?
Mam, or Woman, I’d convert the curry into a meal for 6, the cake into a kids’ b-day party and the tiger prawns into a green curry in coconut milk, and jasmine rice – hmmmm. The turkey – I suspect it is the missing Canadian competitor in the Vancouver olympics – and it might just have the schmutz to get us some more hardware!
Also, Pierre, I’ve fondled your book a number of times, but got hauled away to the Munsch section!! And you took my joke – I also have a body in my freezer – a snowman hiding from the olympics!
My freezer has a lot of crumbs, and single packages of things. It has way too much plastic, not enough brown paper, and the concentrated juice drippings that stick to other things and they spread the stickiness ot other things!
It’s always a treat to teach my children about time using the freezer. It one effective place to teach months and years to children!
I love it!
I’d love the book – to inspire me and my cooking skills!
Proost!
Elizabeth on 20 Feb 2010 at 11:24 pm #
I used to have lots of pre-cooked food in the freezer — mostly soup, but occasionally casseroles or stuffed eggplant — but we’ve done a good job of eating that up these last few months. Time to go on another cooking spree! Come to think of it, that would also be a good way to use up the frozen vegetables that are the other perennial inhabitant of my freezer; right now I think I have broccoli, green beans, butternut squash, garbanzo beans (I pre-soak them in quantity and then freeze), and brussels sprouts.
The chocolate, nuts, and orange juice tend to make it out of the freezer and into our stomachs with a lot more alacrity than the frozen vegetables and leftover casseroles. Wonder why.
Natalie (GA) on 21 Feb 2010 at 7:09 am #
Just did my first ever meal swap with friends. You make one meal for 7 and then get meals from 6 others. So, I have 6 yummy complete meals in the freezer! yeah!!
Kathy on 21 Feb 2010 at 8:02 am #
My freezer contents are vastly similar to everyone else’s — grassfed beef (approximately a 1/4) from a farmer near Rimbey, a turkey, chicken, fruit, vegetables, freezer jam, juice, and assorted mystery leftovers.
JulieVR on 21 Feb 2010 at 12:18 pm #
Wow – LOVE reading about everyone’s freezer contents!
To answer the whey question – it’s not salty, nor particularly sweet – it’s just slightly tangy, like yogurt – after scooping out the ricotta it looks almost just like regular milk, with the occasional floaty bit of cheese (but not soured, so don’t gag!) – when you sit the colander in the bowl overnight you’ll get more, and that stuff will be more clear, but still as useable! try adding a bit to smoothies, too.
Lynn on 21 Feb 2010 at 12:21 pm #
My freezer is also a ‘what surprise will we find today’ each time we open the lid. Veggies, chicken, pasta, margarita mix (need to use that soon), spagetti sauce (the way my mom used to make it with a cheesecloth bag of spices) coffee and other assorted quick fixes for dinner.
Pierre’s book is definitely one I want on my shelf.
Alishah on 21 Feb 2010 at 12:53 pm #
Goodness, my freezer, well I have 5 of them, one of which is in the UK and the other 4 of which are in my home in Richmond hill. In the UK it’s pretty much chicken breasts, steaks, stewing beef, shrimp, mixed seafood, salmon, a whole trout, home made croissants (both original and chocolate) cauliflower cheesebake, bacon chicken drumsticks and bread.
Back home, well 1 freezer has a turkey, another has king crablegs, strawberry freezer jam (home made of course) a large sea bass, frozen veggies and frozen indian food, the other freezer has mostly bagels, soups (lobster bisque, muscle bisque, brocoli, etc all home made) breads (frozen parathas, etc) and probably a few surprises, and the freezer in the kitchen has frozen juice, fillet mignons, chicken, frozen foods in tupperwares, home made ice creams, some ben and jerry’s, some hagen daiz, ice cubes, frozen fruit for smooties, ground beef, more frozen seafood and a few more surprises like spices, coffee, breads of all kinds and mysteries.
We definitely are trying to empty them out, doesn’t help when relatives keep coming over with food that we need to freeze, with only 2 of us, or 1 most of the time in the house, we can only eat so much before it all needs to get frozen or thrown out. We really hate throwing food out!
Robyn in Mountain (Ontario that is) on 21 Feb 2010 at 1:23 pm #
Hmmm, well there are shrimp, spelt pizza dough, walnuts, almonds, pecans, coffee beans, assorted berries and mango, vodka infused spiked ice (way too sweet), peas, sweet potato pancakes, ezekiel English muffins, lean Italian meatballs, ice cream, and the best little dessert when you feel like a wee something So Delicious Minis coconut milk sandwiches. I really don’t freeze what I cook.
Cheers!
Anonymous on 21 Feb 2010 at 1:40 pm #
Good question! The above-the-fridge freezer has go-to stuff like nuts and seeds for baking, Rustic Sourdough Bakery multi-grain bread (for toasting), chicken boobs, shrimp, grated parmesan, beer mugs (never pour into a warm glass is the theory at our house) and frozen berries for smoothies. It also has a zip-loc full of the bi-weekly production of Saskatoon sourdough pancakes (thanks for the starter, Julie!) that I microwave and eat in the car on the way to the gym/pool. Oh, and some rhubarb from a friend’s garden, some M&M’s with my husband’s picture on them (long story) and always-empty ice cube trays. Downstairs freezer? Not sure, but probably some chili and some covered-in-freezer-burn bread.
mmac on 21 Feb 2010 at 4:18 pm #
Didn’t mean to anonymous. Previous list was from memory. Also discovered wheat germ, flax seed and frozen veg when I took a look. And cooked bacon waiting to be crumbled into something.
Georgie on 21 Feb 2010 at 5:36 pm #
nom nom nom raspberry sorbet – first foray into my new ice cream maker – having the parentals over for dinner tonight =)
who cares what the rest is (small packages of assorted meats mostly) – the raspberry sorbet is the star =)
rea on 21 Feb 2010 at 7:02 pm #
assorted nuts
assorted fruits
coffee
dried cherries
cherry pie filling that is the fucking bomb, if i don’t mind saying so myself
chocolate in a variety of forms
tart shells
assorted dim sum (gyoza; shanghai buns; spring rolls; bean paste soft buns; etc.)
assorted vegetables
a bunch of seafood
chicken stock in 2 cup ziplocs
pita
mole sauce
Joanne on 21 Feb 2010 at 7:36 pm #
97 comments? You can tell everyone wants Pierre’s book! My freezer now contains my brand new (at least to me) used ice cream maker container and some freshly-made peach frozen yogurt. I hope to do your berry thing in the summer with it.
Jodi on 21 Feb 2010 at 9:55 pm #
1/4 of a grass fed steer, 1/2 a lamb, a 97 cent/lb turkey (thank you Safeway) and a big bin of blueberries.
Denese on 21 Feb 2010 at 11:04 pm #
We have an upright freezer. The friendly front row holds chokecherry juice intended for cordial pie, Evans cherry juice for drinking or for aforementioned pie, plus bread and the requisite nuts and frozen raspberries. In the shelves of the door one-cup containers of buttermilk prop up surplus garden seeds from last year, awaiting spring.
Behind that front row is a different story. There are containers slowly becoming encased in frost and ice and that ice is inching forward every time the door is opened. I am confident that this is how glaciers are created. I could be the sponsor of an award-winning science fair project.
Joni on 22 Feb 2010 at 7:51 am #
Loving this question! In my freezer right now we have countless packages of beef from a grass-fed organic cow we just bought a good part of, marinated salmon, shrimp, other frozen meats, tomato sauce and pureed tomatoes from last year’s garden, homemade bread and muffins, peas, corn, Buttercream Bake Shoppe cupcakes (the perk of having the business in the family – we always have some on hand when we get a hankering… which is often!), Nasi Goreng, Broccoli Soup, Stew, leftover Christmas cookies, gyoza, tortillas… whew! That’s all I can think of from memory, but believe me, there’s much more.
Oh, several litres of frozen oil which was reserved from the one and only time we used our turkey deep fryer. It seemed like a steal when purchased on sale until we realized how much oil it took! Hence, a load of oil taking up space in my freezer, likely to never be used again.
Jill B on 22 Feb 2010 at 11:59 am #
Because it’s shared (with my roommate), I can only guess at the full amount/list of items in my freezer. I’m sure it has various frozen weight-lossing dinners (a la her), and various frozen-in-a-cottage-cheese-container dinners (a la me and growing tired of lentil soup long before the batch is over). Frozen veggies (I seem to remember 3 bags of lima beans, but no peas – what’s up with THAT?), frozen fruits, packages of phyllo (as I can’t seem to remember that there is already some at home when I find it on sale), persimmon pulp from my grandma’s trees – carefully transported 500 miles in a cooler for my nostalgia, and quart bags of assorted cooked beans – ready to defrost and replace canned beans in recipes (or “whatever is accessible” meals).
Barb on 22 Feb 2010 at 2:18 pm #
What’s in mu freezer? Well, ahem, let’s just say it is well stocked for any spontaneous idea I come up with. (I hate it when I have an impulse and find out I don’t have all the ingredients!)
Barb on 22 Feb 2010 at 2:38 pm #
By the way, what are you planning to do with the ricotta?
Lex on 22 Feb 2010 at 4:00 pm #
My freezer is a mess and currently contains: a large frozen turkey, an ice cube tray filled with minced garlic, pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves, noodles, 2 cans of OJ, a couple of ziplock bags filled with braising liquids, delmonte frozen juice pops, a can of goose fat, a block of shortening for baking (rather than cutting it in, you can grate it in quickly & easily if it’s frozen), bacon and some chicken and beef stock.
Chelsey on 23 Feb 2010 at 1:17 pm #
I’ve got roasted peppers, and pumpkin. I think I may make that pumpkin soup with rum (or whatever it’s called) in the blog aid book I just got! By the way you did a fabulous job on it with all your friends
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Maple Syrup | dinner with Julie on 06 Mar 2010 at 11:38 pm #
[...] pancakes, whether I actually make them or not. And this (almost) spring, I have all this lovely homemade ricotta to make use [...]
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