My fridge and freezer.

I had a hard time keeping up with everyone’s VeganMoFo posts, but a post I saw doing the rounds was the “in my freezer” post. I like it, so now that I’ve got a bit more free time I thought I would let you peek into my fridge and freezer.

Andy and I got our fridge from a guy who sells refurbished second-hand appliances, and we haven’t had a problem with it in the nearly three years we’ve had it. The outside is covered in photos, takeaway menus, postcards, a free movie ticket, heaps of magnets, a budget for November and the bit of paper on which Andy asked me to marry him.

Sitting on top we have: our wok; regular soy sauce; dark soy sauce; balsamic vinegar; a roll of paper towels we never use; cooking salt; and our oils—olive, rice bran, homemade chilli, and sesame.

Continuing down from the top, our uppermost freezer shelf houses: 2 tubs of ice cream—one nearly empty chocolate, and one nearly full vanilla chai (post on this coming soon); a bag of tater tots; a Tupperware of roasted pumpkin; reduced to clear noodles; a jar of farmer’s market coriander (a bit of an experiment; it freezes fine, fyi); organic broccoli we bought on special and chopped and froze; chicken-style seitan, cut into meal-sized pieces; a bag of green broadbeans; 2 jars of cooked fava beans (we pressured cook big batches and store the leftovers in jam jars in the freezer); 2 containers of mango-flavoured silken tofu; a package of puff pastry; a jar of cooked chickpeas.

In the bottom shelf of the fridge you can find: Filo dough, chopped spinach, carrots (cut and frozen by Andy); a blue ice block; a jar of coffee; pizza dough; sliced bread; reduced to clear bread rolls; 2 bags of green peas; about 6 blocks of firm tofu; a jar of cooked white beans; a jar of coriander pesto; and more reduced to clear noodles.

In the freezer door we keep: ground LSA mix; ginger; chillis from the garden; yeast; a jar of cat treats; and some gross fish food.

Down in the fridge, the top shelf keeps: soy milk; a brita filter; a bowl of bread waiting to become crumbs (that’s not usually in there); a few jars of jam; a few jars of olives; and a can of redbull I was given on the very first day of my PhD that I have yet to drink. We usually have a litre of soy yogurt in there as well, but on the day of the photo it was out becoming yogurt.

In the middle fridge shelf, which is a bit bare right now, we have: granny smith apples; a jar of dill pickles; apple sauce; nuttelex; and a bag of jelly beans my parents sent last easter.

The bottom shelf of the fridge is where we keep: a bottle of Yellowtail Pinot Grigio; two bottles of homebrew beer; a cucumber; and a rockmelon.

The fridge drawers are also usually more full, but at the end of the week they had: apples; potatoes; oranges; and a wombok.

The fridge door is where we keep lots of condiments to make dinner taste good, like (top to bottom): fresh rosemary; ginger; garlic; limes; lush lotion (Townsville is too hot for handmade cosmetics); Tandoori paste; tamarind puree; pickled ginger; four types of curry paste; probiotic capsules for yogurt-making; the leftovers from a tin of pineapple chunks; plum sauce; minced garlic; chilli capsicum deli spread; sunflower butter; miso; a block of chocolate; a box of nerds my parents sent at christmas; a bottle of white wine for cooking; basil oil; hoisin sauce; and reduced to clear juice.

Phew! Who knew it was possible to squeeze so much stuff into a relatively small space? And this is when it's on the empty side...