I get excited buying vegetables and fruits at the Green Market with its beautiful abundance of natural colors and shapes – just think of the diverse shapes and colors of Heirloom tomatoes! This often leads me to over-buy. It’s not necessarily the quantity but the variety of vegetables that tend to crowd the refrigerator crisper. When Sunday comes all that remains in the weekend house refrigerator are odds and ends and snips and slices of various items. Taking a look right now I find one piece of corn, one yellow tomato, some leftover pretzels from movie night, a few slices of pumpernickel bread, one perfectly ripe apricot and a doughnut peach and a few miscellaneous pantry items. Finding a recipe for this palette of culinary treats is like winning the lottery – it’s probably not going to happen.
This is the time for an all-in-one cooking utensil like a skillet for a casserole or a big salad bowl for a “kitchen-sink” type of salad simply chopped and tossed. A home cook’s skill and the artistic touch come into play or my chef’s tricks might come in handy for you. Certainly it begins with how you shop throughout the week that determines how great this Sunday clearing-out-the-fridge dinner can be.
(The above dish is an example of odd and ends & this-and-that ingredient. I called it corn-nut milk mac with pumpernickel-mozzarella crust)
When we make pasta dishes there is usually cooked pasta left over -- I simply do not cook only a half box of pasta. I bet you have thrown out partially opened pasta boxes or made yourself feel bad with a disastrously cooked pasta dish made out of 3-4 different kinds of pasta. It’s a good idea to cook pasta and sauce separately so that the pasta can be used up in different dishes such as salad or baked casserole.
We always seem to have fresh avocado in the fridge since our daughter loves it. I keep the pit in the partially cut avocado and make sure it is stored in an airtight container such as Tupperware to prevent oxidation and darkening.
(Chopped & tossed greens, peach, avocado, tomato, greens with tortilla crisps/”croutons” with yogurt/basil dressing)
Yogurt is among my favorite foods and we purchase large containers in our household. Often there are several containers of different flavors and brands in the refrigerator. These miscellaneous bottom of the barrel yogurts plus the almost bottomed out fruit bowl makes a terrific light dinner dessert. Another use for a little amount of yogurt is a summery tart dressing concoction with THE addition of a spritz of refreshing lemon juice, also a great use for a few leaves of that favorite herb previously picked up at the farmer’s market. Doesn't basil always seem to come in too large of a bunch unless you’re into making pesto where you need tons. A few grindings of fresh pepper and a sprinkle of salt seal the dressing deal.
(pretzels and nuts make great crunchy additions to salads, olives peps up the flavor)
(this and that plenty for an exciting tossed salad bowl)
Salad Croutons – no need to make or buy these, just use the leftover pita chips from the prior night’s snacking party simply broken into pieces and then strewn over a salad. Do the same with tortilla chips, pretzels, old-baked bread and even salted nuts. In combination with cheese, crunchy snacks like that make a great crust in baked casserole dishes.
We made it a rule to dress our salads at the dinner table so that if we can’t finish the portion – which happens often -- I put the rest in a zip-loc style bag which keeps it crisp for a few more days. You can also store leafy greens refrigerated in the salad spinner or simply a plastic bag will do the trick.
Chef’s note on refrigerator organization
A crisper – the two to three drawer sections usually located on the bottom of your refrigerator is destined for vegetables. Bulby veggies such as onions and garlic should be stored separately unless you prefer a garlicky perfumed note to your peaches and berries.
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