Freeze! It's a challenge from Egullet

When a challenge from Egullet to go cold-turkey on grocery shopping landed in my in-box, I found myself answering the culinary call-to-arms out loud:

"Do you spend $100 a week on groceries?" YES!! "If so, we have a plan to put that $100 back in your pocket quicker than you can say 'stimulus.' " ALL RIGHT!! "Join me in a week without shopping, as we feast on the bounty of our refrigerators, freezers and pantries." I WILL!!

The idea is to forgo your grocery shopping for one week and pocket the savings. Instead, forage in your pantry, freezer and refrigerator to piece together meals from the long-forgotten bounty: the hodgepodge of frozen pork parts, the half-empty box of macaroni, the unopened jar of salsa.

Think of it as the ultimate Top Chef quick-fire challenge with Rice-a-Roni and canned tuna. I’m a bit of a freezer junkie myself. Right now mine is home to several dozen stray cookies (household baking rule: half the batch must be saved for later), homemade pasta sauces (re-warming instructions included should my husband feel the sudden urge for spaghetti), and a growing collection of chicken livers (I suppose for last-minute Tuscan chicken liver crostini, but I’m not really sure).

Full steam ahead for a week of shortbread crostini a la Bolognese!

And be sure to check out Egullet's post regarding "some simple rules” to abide by. Hmmm. Could they be concerned I might eat that frozen brisket from 2002?

--Jenn Garbee

Comments

[Steven Shaw]

Hey there. I just wanted to let you know, further to this piece from February, that we are going to do another eGullet week without shopping starting Monday. We're hoping to make it a much bigger and more heavily publicized event this time around, on account of all the coverage and interest we stimulated with the initial effort. When we launch, we'll have a special URL: egullet.org/dontshopnow -- at the moment this will only lead to the February topic but when we go live it will lead to the current one. Stay tuned...

[Missmlss]

I love this challenge, and have already started it myself this week. The only big difference I have seen thus far, is the big void left by fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, our weekly family trip to the farmers market has developed from a simple trip for fresh items, to a community bonding experience. We will miss today's visit!

[April]

A few weeks ago I decided to do this in an effort to clear my overcrowded freezer, pantry and refrigerator. I haven't done it 1 week in a row, or with all the rules from Egullet, but I've been eating from the food I have on-hand and I love it! I've had some amazing meals so far! See my "Fresh from the Freezer" and "Fresh from the Refrigerator" entries.