Freeze! It’s a challenge from Egullet

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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