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new house rule.
it's the cheese.
since i work from home, i — in all my feminist glory — have designated myself in charge with the responsibility of homekeeping. this includes, but is not limited to, cleaning out the refrigerator once a week. it's not my favorite task and ranks up there with cleaning the bathroom. i detest wasting food and every week, i get an in-the-face reminder that, yes indeedy despite my best worm composting efforts, we are wasteful.
this week is no exception. i haven't gotten around to checking out the cheese drawer lately, mostly because it was so stuffed, it hardly opened. when i did wrestle it ajar, i found at least 10 types of cheese: hard cheese, soft cheese, in-between cheese. since i'm a vegan, it's not my cheese which made the task all the more "vivid."
all of it had to go. some bricks (i truly believe they could have been used for housebuilding purposes) probably could have been salvaged, since i know technically, it was edible (the blue came from mold, people), but i just didn't know how long it had been in there and i didn't want to guess.
therefore, a new house rule was officially enacted: my husband must call me before he goes hunting for cheese. a simple phone call to relieve the cheese and help us stop wasting. we're doing it for the planet and for the love of all that's cheesy.
photo credit: andre veron.
August 2, 2006 in contemplating., living green. | Permalink
Comments
Did I tell you that I pitched a fit the other night and threw away every single toothpick in the house? This story reminds me of that. For me, it was super annoying b/c I never use toothpicks, and they were all over the house. I threw them all out, figuring that the boy probably won't get to the store himself to buy more. Tee hee. I'm evil.
Unfortunately, in this household, the cheese drawer is all my doing so I only have myself to blame.
Posted by: jen your friend | Aug 2, 2006 1:12:58 PM
Hi Mipmup,
I share you feelings about not wasting food, even more of a challenge for me since I live alone, and I'm a food blogger! One thing that really helps me is a kitchen device called FoodSaver which vacuum packs the food in a plastic bag. You can keep cheese in the refrigerator for nearly a year, and it stays completely good. Then each time you use some, you just reseal it. It's perfect for saving things in the freezer, where they will literally stay good for years. It's an investment, (and yes, there is the issue of those plastic bags, but I re-use them over and over) but for me it's been so worth it. Actually I feel like it paid for itself by cutting down on the foods I waste.
I was sorry I didn't get to chat more with you at Blogher since I love reading your posts on that site, and I'm such an admirer of Jen, your friend.
Posted by: kalyn | Aug 3, 2006 6:10:46 AM
My cheese drawer never has a chance to get full - my husband eats it all! Unless there's a piece he doesn't like. Then it stays in there until I toss it out, or use it in a recipe. The worst for us is produce. We belong to a CSA, and we get too much, but they told us that if we go down to a small box that it won't have any fruit - how is that for blackmail! I am also worm composting, but I need to start regular composting too, and I need a real composter for my worms - they are outgrowing their box.
Posted by: Alice Q. Foodie | Aug 15, 2006 11:29:41 PM
alice, i am having the same problem with my worms. i think i need another box. i'm a little intimidated of traditional composting. have you done it before? i also just read a post (now i can't remember where) about bokashi composting, which looks intriguing.
to which csa do you belong? how do you like it? do you also go to farmers' markets? i go to the market every week, but i'd love to join one as a supplement. unfortunately, there just aren't many in the la area and the one that is available is way too expensive. it is a real drag. i did attend this event (i need to write a post about it still) and phil mcgrath of mcgrath family farm in camarillo said that they were going to start one. your comment reminded me to email him to find out when, when, when!
Posted by: mipmup | Aug 16, 2006 8:15:33 AM
