One of my favorite radio programs features a game called “Stump the Cook.” In it, listeners call in with lists of ingredients in their fridges and cupboards, and the host has to create a dish on the spot.
Big deal, you say. I do that every night.
For busy people (and is there any other kind in these times?) this type of cooking is standard fare. Bookmarking recipes and hunting down ingredients are reserved for guests and holidays. For the not-quite-so busy, these activities are saved for the weekend.
But on life’s Tuesday nights, necessity calls for something a little more unhinged. Something that today’s Eating Down the Fridge launch exists to celebrate. A call to improvisation, putting away cookbooks, and taking risks, EDF salutes the inner chef in all of us.
Washington Post food columnist Kim O’Donnel is hosting the challenge on her True/Slant blog, and she’s allowed me to be one of her guest bloggers during the week-long challenge. Check back on Tuesday to see what my “dance of the cupboard-raider” yields. I can’t promise gourmet, but I can promise a good time— I can already hear a joyful chorus of neglected dried goods rising up from my cupboards.
Join me in eating down your fridge (cupboard, freezer, or pantry). For the next week, let inspiration trump organization, and the right brain lord over the kitchen. Remember: the “rules” are loose. Strictness is not the point. The challenge is to curb excessive shopping, but of course, if you need something, buy it.
Let’s see what we have lurking in our modern-day cellars, and practice the lost arts of whipping up and throwing together. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?