Are You Freezing Your Trash?

Guest Writer:  Ruth Morse
The 4th in a fascinating series on trash

If you are old, like me, you probably remember westerns or detective shows on TV where the good guy would holler, "FREEZE!" Most of the time, the bad guys would stop in their tracks.

I don't know when this all changed, Have you noticed that all the action/detective shows involve a foot chase? None of the bad guys halt when the good guys shout: STOP!

Off they run, over forty-four fences, up winding walls, across careening cars, through tons of traffic, past plenty of people, with the detectives in hot pursuit. Sometimes the female detective is wearing 4" high heel shoes and, wow, she can keep up with any scumbag out there. And her hair never looks messy! But that's a topic for another time.

I brought this up because the bottom line of this rambling little piece is: FREEZE! Or maybe, since Val is so enthused about the trash theme of my posts, I should call it:

HOW TO AVOID EXCESS GARBAGE!

I learned this kitchen tip from Rachel Ray. When you bring produce home from the store, take the celery, green onions, peppers, or snap peas out of their store wrappings, put them in a large zipper type bag along with a dry paper towel. You don't have to buy special produce bags, either. Any old brand will do. This will extend the shelf life of your veggies by at least a week.

But! If you've stocked up a little too much on any of the above, try freezing. Chopped celery or onions freeze beautifully and save you prep time later on. Slice green onions or julienne peppers and throw 'em in a zipper bag.  Peel fresh ginger and plop it in a baggie. Let's see, what might you find in my freezer right now?

Yup, there are leeks, onions, green onions, peppers, ginger, half a can of green chiles, and even orange zest!
Once in a while, something will hide in the back of my fridge and by the time I discover it, it's looking half ugly. Now what??? I salvage what I can, chop that part into bite sized pieces, throw into a zipper bag and freeze to use the next time I make a veggie soup.

If it is really, really shot, cram it into a used zipper bag* and toss in the freezer. What in the world for?

You are FREEZING YOUR GARBAGE. Let's face it, tossing slimy slithers of salad greens in the kitchen trash can have ugly results. Freeze those slippery sloppy things and make a note to yourself to discard that bag on the next garbage day. A freezer garbage bag might contain onion, garlic or banana peels. Bits and pieces of chicken fat or skin. Leftovers that were left over too long. Be creative with your freezer garbage!
If you are the forgetful kind, you might want to label the freezer garbage baggie. Or you might mistake it for the soup veggies instead. Don't think it can't happen.

*You DO wash and save zipper bags to reuse, don't you? Not the ones that have had raw chicken..... or raw pork.... or anything lethal. The ones that once held cheese, veggies or bread are just great for reusing as garbage freezer bags.

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...and one more thing......

uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.

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The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her experience.

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