Taking Stock (Day 3)

Austerity Day 3:

Today I rescued a chicken from an otherwise dismal fate of going bad in my refrigerator. I also rescued my refrigerator from 2 very old avocados, a container of lentil soup (it was growing such unnaturally colored mold that I threw the container away, too...my apologies to the earth), an apple pie, and some salad that was delicious about a month ago.

I seem to have this problem a lot. I find that much of what I buy - with great intentions of turning it into something delicious - ends up being thrown into the compost a few weeks later, never having realized its potential. I think this has something to do with the fact that I really enjoy "winging it" when it comes to food.

See, when I told my mother-in-law about our plan for this month, she responded that it would be do-able, but "did I have all my menus prepared?"
"Nope," I said, "I'm just going to wing it." She gave me a raised-eye brow look and a "good luck." This non-plan was my plan until she said that.

See--I hate planning menus. I know they are a useful tool that could probably save some of the forgotten avocados, tubs of yogurt, lima beans, sprouts, and other miscellaneous items that expire in my refrigerator on a monthly basis. However, I am not good at them. I try every once in awhile, but even when I make them I rarely stick to them. I pick things that seem delicious at the time, but when Tuesday or Wednesday rolls around seem less than appealing. It's either that, or I decide to try something new, and end up needing so many ingredients that it eats up my budget for the whole week in just one meal! Therefore, most of the time I just wing it.

But her comment made me think, and the more I thought about it, the more sure I became that I should really take stock of what I have, and even write down a (loose) menu plan. Just enough to ensure that by the end of the month I don't end up with pineapple as the only accompaniment to a can of tuna.

So today, while my rescued chicken bubbled away on the stove into a beautiful soup for dinner, I looked through my refrigerator, cupboards, and freezers to see what I had. I'm really glad I did, because it alleviated this fear I had of not having anything to eat for the last week of the month. I still have yet to tackle any kind of menu, but with a little creativity in the kitchen, and a couple runs to the store for some fresh greens, I think we'll be eating pretty well this month. And hopefully, with fewer sacrifices to the compost pile!