Overstocked

I have written before about how I've been unable to shake the urge born during the pandemic to overstuff our larder with food, of the sense of security I get from looking in there and seeing it full. It still comforts me.

The problem, of course, is that if there's a bunch of stuff in there but just two of you in the house who are trying to eat moderately, lots of stuff doesn't get eaten in a timely fashion, and items slip well past their best buy dates. And other things go wrong on the shelves too.

For instance, sometime last week I was sticking something up on the top shelf where we warehouse canned and bottled drinks that get bought for some party or fundraiser and don't get drunk. I noticed there was a bunch of liquid on the shelves. It seems like, somehow, a can of Diet Coke leaked. So I cleaned it up quickly, without telling Mary about it of course because how would it benefit her to know and there's a downside risk that she gets pissed off. 

Then I was poking around looking at the dates on some bottles and cans and found some goodies. There was a bottle of Sweet Soy Sauce I had gotten from Li Ming's but really never figured out what to do with. The date on it was 2022. I poured that into the compost. Then there was a can of salmon with a date in mid-2024. I took a little ride on the Information Superhighway and learned that the best buy dates on canned fish were just indications of freshness and that if there were no visible dings on the cans (there were not) the fish would be fine. So I made some salmon patties for lunch. Good eating.

No doubt more such surprises lurk on our shelves. Probably we should be systematic in rooting them out. Maybe one evening this fall or winter that will happen. Not today. Gotta get out and enjoy the air a little before it gets dark.