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Our Friend, The Freezer

July 16, 2010 – 12:12 pm

Let us turn our thoughts today to our friend, the freezer.

A long time ago my mom gave me a book called Dinner’s in the Freezer.  This was before we went veg.  Basically it’s a bunch of recipes that you can make a double (or triple) portion of, and freeze most of it so that you always have something wholesome to heat up when you’re rushed or don’t feel like cooking.  At the time, I got all excited about it, and made several of the recipes, freezing vast quantities of turkey-rice casserole and Tally-Ring*. Despite the fact that we got tired of only having turkey-rice casserole or Tally-Ring in the freezer, having a freezer full of home-made heat-and-eat meals is definitely convenient, money-saving, and much more healthful than processed fast-food or tv dinners.

So, the freezing-meals habit has stuck with me, although I’ve tweaked the original plan a little bit.  Here’s how I do it:

• I freeze proactively: Whenever I’m making a freeze-able food, like a pot of stew or curry or a casserole, I immediately freeze at least two single-serve portions as soon as the pot cools a bit.  I’m usually only cooking for two, so I usually have generous amounts of leftovers from any recipe. Plus, it keeps us from getting tired of eating a dish before all the leftovers are gone (=less waste).

• I only freeze single-serve portions: This way I can take one out in the morning on my way to work to reheat for a quick, one-container lunch.  Single-serve portions take less time to thaw.

• I don’t make extra for the express purpose of freezing it: I found that was too much trouble.  If there’s extra, I freeze it; if not, we gobble it all up. (Except when I’m making Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon; those I make extra just to freeze.  Yum.) If you double or triple a recipe, it means your precious freezer space is full of only one or two dishes = boring.  If I freeze a couple servings of whatever I’m making, then after a while I have a smorgasbord of dishes to choose from when Lazy Day comes around; I can choose what I’m in the mood for, and so can Hubs.

Ok, if you’re gonna do this, here are a couple things to remember:

• Label each container with the date and what’s inside.  You will forget what it is.  Or one will get stuck way in the back behind the popsicles and you’ll forget to eat it before it’s too old. I like to just write on the container with a dry-erase marker; it usually stays.
• Don’t freeze dishes you didn’t like.  You won’t like them when you re-heat them either.
• Don’t forget about food safety.  I like to freeze things when they’re still a bit hot, so they haven’t had time to grow an unfriendly microbe.  It’s best to thaw in the fridge, or to quick-thaw with warm water or the microwave.  (sometimes I fudge on this, oops).
• You can also freeze things like bean-burgers, muffins, fritters, individual slices of cashew-cheesecake, waffles, and flourless fudge brownies.  I usually wrap these individually in plastic wrap, then put them all in a freezer bag.

I should mention, this is an especially good habit to be in when you know that you have a time when you’ll need ready-made meals around.  I’m currently working on filling my freezer with yummy goodies for when our baby girl comes and Hubs and I take our Babymoon in a few months.  We had eaten up all our freezer-goodies before we moved, so I’m starting with an empty freezer.  I’m going to think of it as giving myself little baby gifts

Next time you’re laboring over a large pot of black-eyed pea gumbo or leak and bean cassoulet, set aside a couple of servings for your freezer.  Later, when you’re vegging out in your fuzzy slippers, eating yummy comfort food that you didn’t slave over that day, you’ll thank yourself.

Do you already do this? Do you have veg-friendly recipes you love to have hanging out in your freezer? Leave a comment!