New project, new post.

"There's a polar bear in my Frigidaire. He likes it 'cause it's cold in there." Opening lines to a classic Shel Silverstein poem that has stayed with me from the time the four-year old Sarah received A Light in the Attic. And unfortunately, a close approximation to the situation in her refrigerator when, at 25, she last moved. If there wasn't quite a polar bear in there, there were certainly other things that were white. And fuzzy. And just as scary.

Thus was born the beginnings of this blog. It evolved for several reasons, some of which I may come to later. But above all, it arose out of this desire: I want to know what I eat. This means, on the one hand, trying to buy as local / organic / fresh as possible. On the other hand, and more fundamentally, it means being smart about what I buy, and using it efficiently, so there is as little waste as possible.

So I will figure out, among other things: what to do with what's left in the pickle jar? How long will "seconds" from the farmer's market last? What are the perfect proportions for a must-use-these-eggs-before-they've-expired quiche?

And I will make it really obvious when I do (and don't) use things. On the sidebar, you will see a list of everything in my fridge, except for a few basic condiments that should last the next year or so. I'll update that each week after trips to farmer's market and store, so you know exactly what has been "at the back of the fridge"... and for how long.

Some weeks you may notice a prevalence of chocolate and French cheese in the sidebar. And personal questions or compelling issues in the posts. I think that's fine--there's no way that cooking can or should be impersonal. Some methods are just more explicit than others, and with blogs, well... suffice it to say that "navel-gazing" may not in this instance refer to oranges.