Wow ... busy thread today!
swick, congrats on getting so far with the buckwheat flour. I'm not the biggest fan, so when I've bought it I've had to mix very small amounts with other flour for baking. I can't imagine how long it would take me to use up 25 lbs!
Linda_Norway, like plainjane, I will usually go well past an expiry date. But I also would be likely to have second thoughts about 10 year old beans! And plainjane, at least you guys both obviously like things made with curry paste!
PMG, hilarious about the defrosted chili/chocolate milk! I do hope you weren't totally counting on that chili for an emergency meal when you defrosted it, and that you had enough time left to make something else.
lentil, I just posted for Linda_Norway in another thread, a possible explanation for the Great Grocery Bill Mystery. If you've been working hard to eliminate other spending, such as eating out, you may well see your grocery bill hold steady, or even rise, as you are providing for even more meals in that area of your budget. Just one possible explanation...
I'm kind of scared to admit this to the "Food Safety Comes First" folks around here, but on Wednesday, I took a container of homemade mac and cheese from the freezer to work with me. It spent a good chunk of the day in my car, in the freezing cold parking lot of the hospital. Then, I was running late for my evening meeting, and I knew I wasn't going to have time to heat it up and eat it, so I grabbed a bagel to eat in the car. I took the container into the church though, and ended up forgetting it, sitting in the bag in my office. I wasn't back to the church until Thursday evening, so I brought it home with me late last night. And heated it up really well, and went ahead and ate it. It was really good mac and cheese! I didn't want to waste it. And my office isn't that warm, so I figured that it would have taken quite a while to finish thawing. But I'm sure it did break all kinds of food safety rules - it was out at room temperature for 24 hours or so. :-/
Anyway, no ill effects today, so I seem to have dodged a bullet. I promise I won't make a habit of it though!
Today, I had Weetabix with a little oatmeal for breakfast (almost finished one box - one more box to go!) Then I didn't eat, other than a snack and coffee, for hours and hours. I was starving when I got home, and only barely resisted Pizza Pizza on the way. So I made a pita break pizza in the toaster oven, with the last of my jar of salsa, sliced tomato, green onions, red pepper, and mozzarella cheese from the freezer, and a little of the pre-grated cheese mixture from the freezer for a little more flavour. Topped with some crumbled up frozen basil. It was ... oh, I can't describe it. It was so good. Had a little glass of port after dinner.
But I was still hungry. I waited a couple of hours after eating it, then had some water. Still hungry. Made myself some popcorn, using plain kernels and a paper bag in the microwave, with a tiny little bit of melted margarine and salt. And another little glass of port. Am working on the popcorn and the port as I type. I'm feeling very happy and relaxed...