Jurassic Fridge - The Lost Food World

Cyndi Seidler
05/09/06

A visit with good friends is such a pleasant social event, especially when they invite you over for dinner.  I love that; I'm always hungry for a good dinner.

The thing is, if I were to just stick with being a guest and stay out of the kitchen, I wouldn't be witness to some of the things that would make the meal questionable.  That's a lesson I learned when I went to Gary and Monica's house for dinner one night.

Now, Monica and Gary are a tidy couple.  They seem to be organized and their decor is quite charming.  It's one of those places that, when you visit, you feel right at home.

You can learn a lot about someone by the way they live actually.  A stressed out person may be disorganized and their home shows it.  While a more calm person is able to present a more harmonious atmosphere in their home.  I resolved that Monica and Gary were calm people.

Now, let me get to the point here. I was standing in the kitchen with Monica and I offered to help.  The way I was raised, that's just good manners. So, she obliged my request and asked me to get the garlic spread from the refrigerator and butter the bread.  I thought, great task, and appreciated the opportunity to contribute to preparing the meal.

I opened the refrigerator and stood there in shock at the sight in front of me.  I could hear the theme music for Jaws in my head as I looked upon the contents inside.  There, right in front of me, sat a composite of packed in, age-old food.

I could swear that some of the clear food containers had been taken over with some green things living inside; could be "Dyno DNA" for all I knew.  And, although I couldn't see many of the things behind the items in the front row, I would take an unscientifically absurd guess that they had been lost since the ice age.

I must have been standing there a long time because Monica stepped in behind me and said, "Can't find it? It's right here," and pulled out the garlic spread.

Her sudden appearance woke me up from my horror fantasy.  Was she thinking I stood there too long and would cause the food to go bad by having the door open over such an extended time?  Probably so.

I admit, time had lapsed for an unknown period.  I quickly tried to gather my senses and stepped over to the counter to start buttering the bread with the spread.  But again, the music in my head came on.  It was the part of the tune where the shark was ready to get the girl; an edge-of-the-seat moment. 

I looked at the garlic spread in the container and saw green things.  Was this supposed to be part of the ingredients of the spread? I wondered.  I had to ask.  "Are these green things part of the spread?" I blurted out in supposed curiosity.

Monica gave a quick glance and said, "Oh yes, there are herbs mixed in there."

Feeling relieved but ridiculous for asking, I proceeded with my task. All the while, I couldn't help but fear for my life.

We all hear about people getting food poisoning, and often times it is from eating food that should have been thrown away years before it was eaten.  We get expiration dates on a lot of foods, but how often do people label their leftovers?

One of the tips I learned from other professional organizer colleagues, is that you label your left-over food containers with a date. What a wonderful concept, but who does this?

I have my own method.  I stack my clear food containers in such a way that I can see everything.  If something is behind the other, it is still visibly there.  And, once a week I carry out a quick toss-a-thon of food.

Organizing your refrigerator is as important as organizing anything.  There needs to be order and you need to easily see what's there. Grouping like-items together on a shelf applies the same principles we use in organizing a cabinet, closet, or cupboard.  And, using plastic storage containers or drawers is also useful in a refrigerator for certain things.

The music in my mind stopped when Monica walked over to my bread station and removed some of the buttered bread to put in the broiler. I was thankful to take my mind off the subject of lurking creatures in the her refrigerator, but refrained in offering any more help in the event she would send me to the refrigerator again.

That was okay because, as it turned out, meal time was just minutes away.

I thought, if I die tomorrow from this meal, at least I will be enjoying good company.  I did a silent prayer to live and we toasted to friendship.

As you probably guessed, I lived to write this.