My kitchen is radical – the definition of ‘radical’ being ‘extreme’ without any relation to slang from late eighties. It has no dishwasher – but that’s pretty common outside the US; it has no microwave – the oven/stove does the job on the rare occasion I need to reheat; it’s devoid of a toaster – again, the oven will do; it does have a professional mixer – from the days I was trying to open a café, but that still isn’t very enticing for bread making where getting dirty hands is part of the art; and it has no refrigerator.
No refrigerator.
No refrigerator?
No refrigerator!?!?
Nope.
I had this wonderful, small refrigerator, circa early 1970s, that had been hand painted (read: unsteadily) a gorgeous orange. It began making funny gurgles, and I was moving apartments. So, I offloaded the refrigerator and decided to experiment. As I am foodie and love to cook, I have turned my gastronomic modus operadi into a truly radical experiment (and not just turned my kitchen into a radical room of the apartment).
Week five of the experiment has been great. Here are the basic tenets of my fridge-free kitchen:
1) Food shop on a near daily basis. This is easy since I work from home, live near four conventional super markets (three minutes, five minutes, six minutes and 15 minutes from my apartment); live near a feira/fair/fresh produce market (15 minutes from apartment); can order local-area organics, far better than the sad joke of USDA organic approval, once a week (Tuesday delivery in my neighborhood); can reach the very small semi-organic, mostly-local market in four minutes; and reside in a neighborhood filled with awesome restaurants when I just can’t handle it anymore.
2) Many foods last just fine outside the fridge. This has been a beautiful lesson. All hard cheeses last outside the fridge. Packed ricotta also lasts outside the fridge (or I can just make my own with milk and a lime in about 4 minutes). Milk is fine outside the fridge for three days in the winter, obviously less so in the summer. Most fruits and vegetables are fine for a number of days, even in the summer. Greens and leafy things do not last long, but if I set them in jars with shallow water and in a mostly shady part of the kitchen, I create pretty, über-modern, floral-like arrangements that withstand about two days without wilting. This is not the case for iceberg lettuce, which lasts for an ungodly number of days outside the fridge – and is pretty nutritionally useless compared to the dozens of other green leaves I could consume.
3) An urban garden certainly helps. This idea is pretty obvious. It’s great for the penny-wise, an easy way to resolve the wilting-greens problem, and ensures superior taste. I have yet to get this up and running, but will certainly post about it when I do. I’m going with a modified square-foot garden approach: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
4) Change my diet slightly. The original reason for making dietary changes had to do with what was feasible in my radical kitchen. The benefit has been to my overall health. One of my biggest changes was nearly cutting out cow’s milk from my diet (and not for any lactose intolerance). In addition to plenty of research on the dubious benefits of cow’s milk to grown humans, the despicable treatment of most commercially produced cow’s milk, and the insane antibiotic resistance created by society’s high milk consumption, I’ve found that it’s just plain easy to do almost without. For general consumption, I occasionally buy a rice drink that lasts about four days outside the fridge. I keep some powdered soy in stock for those few kitchen concoctions where I might normally use milk. Sometimes when I have a number of guests, I buy some goat’s milk, which must be consumed the day it’s purchased, and I turn the leftover goat’s milk into ricotta. I still purchase butter whenever I have guests and use the leftover in bread. And I still buy cheese whenever I buy wine (or when someone shows up at the apartment with wine). I’m working on home prepared yoghurt and cultured milk, which has to be monitored daily – again, from goat’s milk.
5) Change my attitude greatly. These changes are not entirely necessary. I could purchase small amounts of milk and butter and yoghurt, but I’d rather not use my fridge-less kitchen as an excuse to create more waste and continue to consume lots of what is not really necessary. I could probably live off an almost-all-carbohydrate diet and only have to buy stuff once a week, but I don’t feel that daily (and sometimes twice daily) trips to the store are anything short of a way of connecting with myself and my body as well as a great way of taking a necessary break from professional activities. I could definitely make foods last longer if I had a fridge or freezer, but I really wonder what benefit a carrot is after a week in my fridge. I could stop making ricotta, trash the idea of daily watching over my yogurt, and give up on sourdough starter (now on its 3rd failed attempt), but this really requires all of 25 minutes per day (and tastes so delicious). And, finally, I’d be able to put ice cubes into a glass of scotch, if I only had a freezer, but the lack thereof gives me reason to head out to the local bar scene (which went smoke-free just this week! Cheers to the state of São Paulo) to enjoy a change of scenery with friends who support (or just pretend to support) my radical kitchen.
There was a time when having a refrigerator was as radical as my otherwise consumer self’s opting not to have one. And after five weeks, there are certainly days I do not think of adjectives like radical or experimental, but of terms like deranged, certifiable or ‘approach with caution.’ However, on the whole, the simple, fresh food, thre frequent walks outside, and the improved relationship with food and with those who share my table make it all worth it.
Kitchen and apartment open to everyone. Stop by my new place anytime.
No refrigerator.
No refrigerator?
No refrigerator!?!?
Nope.
I had this wonderful, small refrigerator, circa early 1970s, that had been hand painted (read: unsteadily) a gorgeous orange. It began making funny gurgles, and I was moving apartments. So, I offloaded the refrigerator and decided to experiment. As I am foodie and love to cook, I have turned my gastronomic modus operadi into a truly radical experiment (and not just turned my kitchen into a radical room of the apartment).
Week five of the experiment has been great. Here are the basic tenets of my fridge-free kitchen:
1) Food shop on a near daily basis. This is easy since I work from home, live near four conventional super markets (three minutes, five minutes, six minutes and 15 minutes from my apartment); live near a feira/fair/fresh produce market (15 minutes from apartment); can order local-area organics, far better than the sad joke of USDA organic approval, once a week (Tuesday delivery in my neighborhood); can reach the very small semi-organic, mostly-local market in four minutes; and reside in a neighborhood filled with awesome restaurants when I just can’t handle it anymore.
2) Many foods last just fine outside the fridge. This has been a beautiful lesson. All hard cheeses last outside the fridge. Packed ricotta also lasts outside the fridge (or I can just make my own with milk and a lime in about 4 minutes). Milk is fine outside the fridge for three days in the winter, obviously less so in the summer. Most fruits and vegetables are fine for a number of days, even in the summer. Greens and leafy things do not last long, but if I set them in jars with shallow water and in a mostly shady part of the kitchen, I create pretty, über-modern, floral-like arrangements that withstand about two days without wilting. This is not the case for iceberg lettuce, which lasts for an ungodly number of days outside the fridge – and is pretty nutritionally useless compared to the dozens of other green leaves I could consume.
3) An urban garden certainly helps. This idea is pretty obvious. It’s great for the penny-wise, an easy way to resolve the wilting-greens problem, and ensures superior taste. I have yet to get this up and running, but will certainly post about it when I do. I’m going with a modified square-foot garden approach: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
4) Change my diet slightly. The original reason for making dietary changes had to do with what was feasible in my radical kitchen. The benefit has been to my overall health. One of my biggest changes was nearly cutting out cow’s milk from my diet (and not for any lactose intolerance). In addition to plenty of research on the dubious benefits of cow’s milk to grown humans, the despicable treatment of most commercially produced cow’s milk, and the insane antibiotic resistance created by society’s high milk consumption, I’ve found that it’s just plain easy to do almost without. For general consumption, I occasionally buy a rice drink that lasts about four days outside the fridge. I keep some powdered soy in stock for those few kitchen concoctions where I might normally use milk. Sometimes when I have a number of guests, I buy some goat’s milk, which must be consumed the day it’s purchased, and I turn the leftover goat’s milk into ricotta. I still purchase butter whenever I have guests and use the leftover in bread. And I still buy cheese whenever I buy wine (or when someone shows up at the apartment with wine). I’m working on home prepared yoghurt and cultured milk, which has to be monitored daily – again, from goat’s milk.
5) Change my attitude greatly. These changes are not entirely necessary. I could purchase small amounts of milk and butter and yoghurt, but I’d rather not use my fridge-less kitchen as an excuse to create more waste and continue to consume lots of what is not really necessary. I could probably live off an almost-all-carbohydrate diet and only have to buy stuff once a week, but I don’t feel that daily (and sometimes twice daily) trips to the store are anything short of a way of connecting with myself and my body as well as a great way of taking a necessary break from professional activities. I could definitely make foods last longer if I had a fridge or freezer, but I really wonder what benefit a carrot is after a week in my fridge. I could stop making ricotta, trash the idea of daily watching over my yogurt, and give up on sourdough starter (now on its 3rd failed attempt), but this really requires all of 25 minutes per day (and tastes so delicious). And, finally, I’d be able to put ice cubes into a glass of scotch, if I only had a freezer, but the lack thereof gives me reason to head out to the local bar scene (which went smoke-free just this week! Cheers to the state of São Paulo) to enjoy a change of scenery with friends who support (or just pretend to support) my radical kitchen.
There was a time when having a refrigerator was as radical as my otherwise consumer self’s opting not to have one. And after five weeks, there are certainly days I do not think of adjectives like radical or experimental, but of terms like deranged, certifiable or ‘approach with caution.’ However, on the whole, the simple, fresh food, thre frequent walks outside, and the improved relationship with food and with those who share my table make it all worth it.
Kitchen and apartment open to everyone. Stop by my new place anytime.
Thank you sooo very much for sharing this!!! I admire you for being able to live like this. I couldn't, but then, being a little old gray haired lady, I have lived with too many conveniences for too long. Love , hugs & kisses from G & G
ReplyDeleteMelissa- it seems like your move has done you a world of good! Its very exciting to hear about your fridge-free life! Very nice initiative. Why problems with sour dough? I will dig up my recipe and send you. I make yoghurts too - uhm! And your garden: I haven't forgotten about your sacks of soil. As soon as I can I will bring them in (or you come out and get them).
ReplyDeleteProps, Mel. That is pretty extreme, but you seem to be pulling it off. And I loooove Rice Milk / Soy Milk.
ReplyDeleteI may just go for the tiny lil' college fridge... there are days this is too frustrating. If I do cop out, though, I will post on that too.
ReplyDelete