The Vegetable List

I, like many of you, sometimes let vegetables and fruit rot in the fridge. There're a few reasons for this, but, near the top of the list, at least for me, is that I forget about them. (Forget. Ignore. Forget. Who's really to say?!) When I see a bag of blue corn chips and a can of refried beans and I'm sharvin', the vegetables in my fridge might as well be invisible to me. So I thought of a brilliant idea a couple of months ago and began using post-it notes to track all the vegetables I have in my fridge/in storage (aka on my floor or under my sink). It's been helping SO MUCH! I've only had a couple of things go to rot since I began, and my vegetable and fruit purchasing and consumption have risen greatly! Initially, this seemed like one of those dorky ideas that a) I wouldn't follow through with, b) wouldn't be that effective and c) would make me feel too stuffy and organized. I don't know what I was thinking, because it would pretty much take a complete personality transplant for me to be too stuffy and organized! Oh the needless fear! So, without further ado, I present to you the current version of the Emily Strange post-it notes (that I got as a birthday gift probably 7 years ago) that had me worried I'd sold out. As you can see, my handwriting and organization of said notes should alert you to the fact that any improvement in the areas of neatness and organization should only be seen as improvement. It being harvest season, it's almost impossible for me to leave the farmer's market without buying one of everything, hence, I have a helluvalot of vegetables and fruit, and I have to make use of them-- pretty much by myself. I live with my bf and brother, but still many of our meals are separate-- plus, I always make my lunch, whereas the boys don't.

This morning, I decided not to go to the farmer's market because I knew I'd buy too much produce, and some of last week's bounty would rot. No good. So I'll use up what I have and go next week. For weeks, I've been planning to blanch and freeze a bunch of vegetables for the winter, but thus far, I've failed at actually doing so. Go team! Anyway, vegetable list, vegetable list, vegetable list! I am the vegetablist!

For those who can't read my scribblins or can't see through crossed-out words, here's a what was and is written on the lists: pears, apples, edamame, kale, broccoli, green beans, red pepper, mushrooms, parnips, turnip, zucchini, purple cauliflower, carrots, yellow beans, green beans, swiss chard, beach peas, beets, arugula, blueberries, lime, lemon, red cabbage, green cabbage, grapes, squash, pumpkin, tomato, orange pepper, potatoes. If you have any questions about what I made from any of these or what I plan to make, please ask away!