Fridge Foraging Entry no. 1

It’s a Monday closing shift and Leon is consolidating the fridge. I’m in the dish pit when he brings me the heaviest 4 quart known to man. The frown on his face is a rare one. He almost never looks this upset. But the sludge in this cambro is so thick he’s about to throw the whole thing out. There’s even a cloud above his head. The sludge in question is a luxardo cherry syrup with most of the moisture boiled out. It’s practically candy. As a goop expert, I tell him not to worry about it and I’ll try to save the cambro.

After dissolving 4 quarts of cherry sugar goop I end up with a 12 quart of liquid. Syrups are arguably the easiest thing to recycle so this makes me happy. Then I taste it: fruitcake, raisins, I start to reach for a bottle of Fireball that isn’t there- she’s very mature for her flavor.

With leftover syrups I immediately think of applications for Italian meringue. I’ve tried to shimmy one or two of these past my boss on several occasions but this is my kitchen. I’m the chef now. I really like the molasses consistency and fall is coming up. Sooner or later I’m going to need a jar of goop. It’s time for gingersnaps.

After bringing home my baby like a newborn from the hospital, I’ve got to find a formula. I know Big Al has a good recipe. She’s usually my first stop when it comes to stuff like this. When I see her on Wednesday she’ll probably hand it over. Two years ago she gave me this recipe during fundamentals. #flashbackfriday #mems

Friday morning is my worst nightmare when I’m trying to bake: Goose is practicing at the piano, Dad is watching videos at full volume at the kitchen table, and Mom is asking me for samples every few seconds. Everyone seems to be a morning person this morning. A girl just wants to bump some tunes and fire up the stand mixer with no incident. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? If life is supposed to be this big bowl of cherries, why do I always get so bothered? The heart of the house is the kitchen. Everyone might be in my way but they’re in the heart of the house. It’s just the berries, memento mori. The second these jawns come out of the oven they’ll descend upon them like they’ve never seen a cookie before- heat be damned.

And they did! Some pumpkin bread on the counter served as a decoy just long enough for me to take photos. I adore the crinkles and tossing them in sugar just before baking gave me the exact sparkles I wanted. As for what’s left in the cabinet now… who knows. There’s always more foraging to do. I’ve got corn powder, marmalade, and some Christopher Elbow drinking chocolate. I’ll figure something out.