Wiping out the fridge

In an attempt to finish all the fresh produce in my fridge before I leave tomorrow for a week and a half, I woke up early, frantically shucking corn and carving up leeks so I could toss the scraps in with the rest of my compost so I could haul it to the farmers market and dump it out.



I'd already made my college speciality the night before – zucchini and mint sauce with Parmesan, all ready to be frozen. It sounds odd, a zucchini and mint pasta sauce. But I remember having lunch at an Italian place with a friend that I have never been able to find again and they had a zucchini and mint pasta. I was determined to replicate it and I've made this so many times now that I'm not sure what the original tasted like. But this has a load of zucchini, a bunch of mint (be very generous), cook them together in the pan and blend with olive oil. Then mix in Parmesan and sprinkle some of it on top. I ate it with some sirloin and what I thought were the last of the tomatoes.

Then I made blueberry sauce with the 2 pints of blueberries I impulsively bought 2 days ago. And then I planned something for the fairytale eggplant and the swiss chard.



When you roast fairytale eggplant, it is exactly like a fairytale and more magical than Cinderella's glass slipper. The long dark purple ones were my favourite. Then I made the corn and the leeks and set them aside.

The ingredients seemed to be growing by the minute. I have a quart of milk to finish. I hate milk, so I have plans to turn it into chocolate milk before bedtime. Then I unearthed a potato. Then a bunch of onions. Then I remembered the heirloom tomatoes. How did I squirrel away so much food?! Then to my dismay, I uncovered 2 ENORMOUS artichokes. They are so large that only one of them fits in my little pot at a time. I had a little one two days before.



So tiny and so cute.



But this one was a MONSTER. Once I found it, I immediately consumed it, and was rewarded with a big juicy heart. So now I only have one more to go.

In between loads of laundry, I have to squeeze in loads of eating in a rush to save all my food from spoilage. I bought some flounder to go with the vegetable overload that I'm subjecting myself to. And just when I think that all is calm in my kitchen and my stomach and everything is under control, I remember the container of vichyssoise in the fridge.