"clean out the fridge food" news and stories

I'm beginning to realize that I'm something of an excessive grocery shopper. I have a particularly hard time being restrained in my food purchases this time of year, when the farmers markets are in full bloom and everything is so perfect and appealing. I do manage to use just about everything I buy during weeks that are free of social engagements, but when I have planned dinners out with friends or a weekend away, I find that my gorgeous kale turns to slime in my produce drawer.

I'm heading out of town on Friday afternoon for Labor Day Weekend and so tried to keep that in mind when I was shopping last weekend, only buying the essentials (white nectarines, fresh corn and several gnarled heirloom tomatoes). This has left me to cobble together a couple of incongruous meals, as I try to use up the veggies that remained from the previous week and incorporate the newcomers. Last night I reheated leftover sausage and potatoes, and sauteed several peppers, half an onion and a wilting bunch of chard. It actually turned out to be a pretty unified meal, although I imagine the rest of the week won't seem so organized.

A post up on the Non-Consumer Advocate got me thinking about this style of "clean out the fridge" cooking and how it's a skill to be cultivated. She recently whipped up a pasta salad out of assorted bits and pieces from her fridge (she's currently engaged in a 'buy no food challenge' in an attempt to use up what she's got) and I've got my sights set on a spaghetti dish for tonight, made with roasted eggplant and some ricotta cheese that's only got a day or two of life left in it.

Before you head to the grocery store after work today or grab a pizza on the way home, take a mental inventory of your fridge. Is there anything you can create from what's there? We'd love to hear about what you whip up!

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