Clean out refrigerator day

Today, November 15, is clean out your refrigerator day. I’m not making this up. There seems to be a day for everything these days.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, November 15 is this particular day because people will start buying food for Thanksgiving and the December holidays and now is a good as time as any to clean out the refrigerator.

About three months ago, I cleaned out my refrigerator — it was not pretty and I have managed to keep in sparse and sparkling.

In November 2006 I wrote a blog post for Circle of Food about cleaning out my refrigerator. I’ll share it with you:

Food Humor: Kitchen Chaos – What’s in Your Refrigerator?

At the end of every month, I somehow feel that a milestone has passed and want to conquer some project whether it be big or small. I looked at my desk and almost fainted. Then I looked at my other desk neglected across the room and had a panic attack. Thinking that the refrigerator would be a good place to start, I opened it. Ugh. The contents were not pretty and it was just as cluttered as the rest of my life but at least I wouldn’t have to decide to file or read everything. I’m embarrassed to write this but I threw away a carton of milk that expired July 27. Gross.

Here’s a list of what I tossed:

–Carcass of a rotisserie chicken
–3 eggs in a carton that expired October 11
–2 half empty cartons of shriveled cherry tomatoes
–very rotten cucumber
–½ bag of spinach dated during spinach scare
–½ bag of lettuce brown around the edges
–several mostly empty 32 oz yogurt containers with various expiration dates earlier in the month
–½ rotten banana
–unopened carton of vanilla soy milk that expired Feb 06
–Tupperware container with unidentified food source that resembled a Chiapet
–2 half empty jars of salsa one rimmed with mold
–jar of jalapenos with a mystery expiration date
–several restaurant doggie bags each with few bites of something now indiscernable
–Consorgio Jamaica Jerk 10 Minute Marinade expired/June 06/one third full
–Annie’s Natural papaya salad dressing expired Feb 06/one third full
–Trader Joe’s Ponzu Sauce half full, expired Feb 04
–San-J peanut dipping sauce no expiration date but smells funny
–Trader Joe’s peanut vinaigrette expired Sept 06 half full
–Assorted batteries expired
–Apple peach sauce no expiration date but has an odd smell
–Trader Joe’s Tuscan salad dressing expired Aug 06 mostly empty
–Kroger 100% grated parmesan cheese expired Feb 03 mostly full

As I was sharing this story with a friend who loves to cook, she was nodding her head vigorously the entire time. We both blamed it on Trader Joe’s because they have so many cool products, sauces, and dressings that it’s easy to buy some and use once or twice. Then they get pushed to the back of the bus as new items enter.

I guess I will have to break the habit of being a sauce queen.

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So, the burning question of the day is — what’s in your refrigerator?