Found Food
I just returned home from a ten day long trip. After I unpacked the luggage and collected the dogs, I settled back into daily life. Two days after my return I opened up my freezer to discover that the woman who volunteered to feed our fish and water our plants had stocked our freezer with our favorite Indian treat, Samosas. This touched me in a deep way. She not only took the time and effort to make these delectable treats for us, but that she left them as a surprise. Once before, I was treated to accidental or surprise food from a house sitter.
We returned home late one evening last winter to find freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the counter left by an enterprising friend who used our oven. Close your eyes and imagine the scent of freshly baked cookies when you open the door, tired from a long trip. There is nothing short of bliss in that experience. These unexpected gifts of food led me to think about found food.
There are the little immediate satisfaction surprises: the escapee fries that jump out of their packaging into the fast food bag. They are quickly eaten if found hot; otherwise discarded once cold. Also there is the “last piece” of anything. It is a naughty joy to discover that you are the only person with the guts (courage or room therein) enough to claim the last piece of pizza, pie, or chicken.
There is also the Gilligan’s Island of food: the castaways. Voted off the island as leftovers these can be the bitter disappointments of the accidental food world. Sometimes only CSI-style investigation can determine there original contents. Sometimes they are found a day too late and are accompanied by the exclamation, “Damn, if I known there was another rib left I would have eaten it!”
I try to remember not to send my doggie bag off on a three hour tour unless I have a contingency plan for rescuing it. My husband’s favorite spin-off of the castaway is food Booty. Booty is when my castaways are surreptitiously eaten before they can be rescued. The true food pirate will not be stopped by such feeble attempts to protect a castaway as brown paper bags labeled “Mine” or being buried deep in the crisper drawer. The food pirate is usually protected by an unbreakable alibi, “I had to eat it before it went bad.”
My favorite are the King Tut Treats. These are the true treasure in the forgotten food world. Tut Treats were long ago buried, but due to their packaging or preservatives survive long periods of time unfound. These include sealed bags of chips, Halloween candy (as long as its not Easter), and speaking of Easter Peeps fall into this category too. A long lost chocolate bar is worth its weight in gold when found unexpectedly. Along with the Tut Treats are Encino food.
Encino food was buried in the freezer to be thawed later. Finding a forgotten bag of Christmas cookies in January is a great surprise. For those who often freeze food the last container of turkey soup is a true treat. This is potentially dangerous territory if freezer burn has set in; but can be a real lifesaver.
Mostly found food arises out of neglect or forgetfulness. But when food is not found unexpectedly, but left intentionally, it feels like little packages of love.
I couldn’t close this discussion without saying, “Look Homie, someone left a turkey behind the bed.”
We returned home late one evening last winter to find freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the counter left by an enterprising friend who used our oven. Close your eyes and imagine the scent of freshly baked cookies when you open the door, tired from a long trip. There is nothing short of bliss in that experience. These unexpected gifts of food led me to think about found food.
There are the little immediate satisfaction surprises: the escapee fries that jump out of their packaging into the fast food bag. They are quickly eaten if found hot; otherwise discarded once cold. Also there is the “last piece” of anything. It is a naughty joy to discover that you are the only person with the guts (courage or room therein) enough to claim the last piece of pizza, pie, or chicken.
There is also the Gilligan’s Island of food: the castaways. Voted off the island as leftovers these can be the bitter disappointments of the accidental food world. Sometimes only CSI-style investigation can determine there original contents. Sometimes they are found a day too late and are accompanied by the exclamation, “Damn, if I known there was another rib left I would have eaten it!”
I try to remember not to send my doggie bag off on a three hour tour unless I have a contingency plan for rescuing it. My husband’s favorite spin-off of the castaway is food Booty. Booty is when my castaways are surreptitiously eaten before they can be rescued. The true food pirate will not be stopped by such feeble attempts to protect a castaway as brown paper bags labeled “Mine” or being buried deep in the crisper drawer. The food pirate is usually protected by an unbreakable alibi, “I had to eat it before it went bad.”
My favorite are the King Tut Treats. These are the true treasure in the forgotten food world. Tut Treats were long ago buried, but due to their packaging or preservatives survive long periods of time unfound. These include sealed bags of chips, Halloween candy (as long as its not Easter), and speaking of Easter Peeps fall into this category too. A long lost chocolate bar is worth its weight in gold when found unexpectedly. Along with the Tut Treats are Encino food.
Encino food was buried in the freezer to be thawed later. Finding a forgotten bag of Christmas cookies in January is a great surprise. For those who often freeze food the last container of turkey soup is a true treat. This is potentially dangerous territory if freezer burn has set in; but can be a real lifesaver.
Mostly found food arises out of neglect or forgetfulness. But when food is not found unexpectedly, but left intentionally, it feels like little packages of love.
I couldn’t close this discussion without saying, “Look Homie, someone left a turkey behind the bed.”
posted by lfwade at 8:03 PM
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