Monday 7 January 2008

FRIDGES

Why put tomatoes in a fridge?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Because I don't have cellar to put them in!

Susan Harwood said...

Vegetable basket?

Eurodog said...

Hello,
I read over on Mopsa's blog that you had just set up a blog and thought I would come and say hello.
Welcome in the bloggers world.
Ah, you live by the sea. You are so lucky.
I shall visit again and have created a link to your blog from mine to make visiting easier.

Susan Harwood said...

That's great! I'm so pleased you like the blog!

And yes. We are truly lucky to live by the sea. It's rough today. All beaten up by the wind - and brown because the pebbles and the sand are being churned up.

In the summer though, it is so blue that one visitor compared the view from by our house with The Solomon Islands!

. . . A great change from the inner city areas I have lived in for much of my previous life!

Susan

Anonymous said...

Using a fridge works for me. I grow my own veg rather than buy from the local shop in small quantities, so much of my food is seasonal, but I have to admit that when food starts to go off or sprout as my potatoes have started to do so I'm inclined to keep them in the bottom of the fridge rather than in a veg basket in the warmer kitchen or store cupboard. As of yesterday 12 kilos of potatoes currently reside in the bottom of the fridge so that I can prolong using them.

H and N allotment said...

I never put tomatoes in the fridge and they last longer and taste nicer! They just reside in a bowl on the kitchen surface. I enjoyed your blog, Thank you for pointing it out to me. I can often be heard shouting at the radio!

Threadspider said...

I am enjoying the way your very short questions are provoking some very interesting responses.
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I have put a link to you on there.

Anonymous said...

Because you can ?

Susan Harwood said...

Paul . . .

You put tomatoes in a fridge 'because you can'?

Exactly. You have captured the essence of this precisely, concisely and explosively.

The convention has grown up to turn the earth's recources into metal cuboids, find somewhere to put them in our not-necessarily-very-large kitchens, power them up with more of the earth's resources and, having powered them up, cast around for something to do with them.

So we open the door and put tomatoes inside.

Waste of metal, waste of energy, waste of space - and the ruin of tomatoes!

Susan

TartanWonder said...

Susan, try living in hot climates, and you'll appreciate the facility of the vege bin at the bottom of the fridge!
In Scotland, I'd never have thought of it, but in Australia and New Zealand we have certainly kept some of our veges fresher longer by having the use of the fridge.
Reading your exchange earlier in this topic about Weymouth, My wife and I visited that area in 1998, following a visit home to my parents in Scotland. We loved it.
I've just looked up the planned route of our charity walk around Britain (hopefully from May to Oct. this year), and see that our route misses Weymouth slightly. Coming across from Land's End to London on the final 'leg', we at present aim to pass north of Weymouth, being along the way of Bridport, Dorchester and Poole.
However, when, courtesy of your blog, I see the number of bloggers at Weymouth, I wonder whether some of you would like to get together to become a local group to help us raise funds for The British Heart Foundation and the Rett Syndrome Association (U.K.)? And, we could amend our draft route to arrange an overnight stop at Weymouth, perhaps? Just a thought.

David.

Susan Harwood said...

David . . .

Fridges . . . my problem with fridges is that they have become a convention. Clearly, there are circumstances where they are useful. Sometimes, they might even be essential (e.g hospitals). But in many places, people buy them and use them, even though they don't really need them . . . just because that is what everyone does . . .

In this country, there is a certain amount of discussion about using local and seasonal produce.

Sandra Dodd (who has left some comments on CELLARS) mentions preserved foods being kept in cellars in New Mexico. And that is partly what I would use one for now.

It's nice to have tomatoes in winter - but they are best fresh off the plant, not chilled and transported. And if you can only get them fresh for certain months of the year ? ? ? (Though I confess, in our family, we do buy them at other times too!)

About your walk and this blog. As far as I am aware, none of the other contributors, so far, apart from me, live in Weymouth. And I really can't offer to form a support group, as you are suggesting.

An overnight stop . . . how many of you are there on your walk?

TartanWonder said...

Susan,

I'm not yet sure of how many there will be on the walk. I would say 2 walkers, Peter from Hereford and myself, and a driver of our vehicle and caravan.
Re a group at Weymouth - I saw, in your profile I think, a link to Weymouth, and when I clicked on it there appeared a number of bloggers in Weymouth - it was something like 142 - and that's where I got that idea from. So, Susan, I was referring to bloggers, not necessarily contributors to your blog.
And please excuse me for trying to 'volunteer' you into a group organiser position. I'm afraid I think so much and so long about this planned walk and our ambition to raise at least 100,000 pounds for the two charitable organisations that I'll try anything.
Anyway, I might pursue that thought I had - by checking on each of those Weymouth bloggers and see whether I can raise any enthusiasm for helping us.

Nothing ventured . . . . .

David.

Susan Harwood said...

David

There are people in Weymouth who already take an interest in the British Heart Foundation and there are already volunteers running a charity shop to raise money for it. Perhaps they should be the first people you contact here about your walk?

Susan

TartanWonder said...

Dear Susan,

Thank you for the info. re these people in Weymouth.
Certainly, once I get over to London and can show The British Heart Foundation that Peter and I are indeed starting out on the WALK, I anticipate assistance from the BHF to contact such groups around Britain, but at present the BHF is not muchinterested in my plans, and understandably so.
Is it asking to much to ask whether you might help make electronic contact between me and, say, that charity shop in Weymouth? Perhaps as you are in that area one day, you might let them know about me, and either give them my email address davidpaterson.paterson@gmail.com or obtain one from them and let me know it? Or invite them to enter a comment here on your blog which I can pick up?
Thank you, Susan,

David.

Susan Harwood said...

David

Clearly, there are some practical difficulties associated with your planned walk around Britain.

If / when the BHF is able to endorse it, I do think they should be the ones to put you in touch with local groups.

Susan

Susan Harwood said...

Hey folks . . .

Further to the discussion on 'Fridges', you might like to take a look at what Heather says in her comment on 'Larders / Meatsafes (25th February 2008).

Susan

Susan Harwood said...

People who like SHOUTING AT THE RADIO may also like LUCY AND ESTHER TAKE ON THE ELECTION

Susan