This was Olga in the garden yesterday morning. I know she appreciates having me home during the day, partly so I can let her into the garden if the sun is shining. There's nothing that dog likes more than lying in the sun.
Unfortunately, I'm going back to work this morning, so she'll have to lie on the carpet and make do with the patches of sun coming through the dining room windows.
It was good to have one more day to take it easy. I read some, and then watched a Brazilian movie called "Nova Dubai" about overdevelopment and urban alienation with some very explicit sex scenes. I was a little paranoid that Mrs. Russia might be able to look down from upstairs and see our TV screen. "It's not porn, I swear!" (Well, it kind of is. But hey, it was screened at Lincoln Center.)
I also did laundry and discovered that our newly repaired boiler was leaking. Drops of water were falling on the kitchen counter. So, following my mom's dictum -- "everything has to be done at least twice" -- I called British Gas back and had an engineer return. Fortunately I had a different (and less talkative) engineer this time, and he corrected the problem. I told him I felt stupid calling him back for such a small thing, and asked if there was something I could easily adjust to stop the drips should they return -- but he assured me that he didn't mind an easy call and said I shouldn't try to adjust the boiler myself. Which was my instinct too.
Oh, and remember our spicy situation? That shelf of spices below the boiler that I set out a few years ago, hoping that Dave would be encouraged by their greater visibility to use them and stop buying more? Well, we did a massive clean-out there and in the spice cabinet, and threw away a lot of stuff that had expired. Some of it was very, very expired -- like, anywhere from five to ten years ago.
This is what it looks like now.
Incidentally, for the past few years I've been working my way through our oversupply of cinnamon by using it in my coffee, and we're now down to two bottles and a little box -- from six containers, originally! (Dave has used some too, obviously. I didn't consume three bottles of cinnamon by myself.)
I'm sure that some of these "expired" spices were fine, but honestly, we just don't need poppy seeds or fennel seeds or some of the other stuff we had. Some of them I don't think we even bought -- I think they were given to us here and there by departing school families who were moving back to the states.
I did not throw away this sealed container of bicarbonate of soda, even though it expired in March 2013. I mean, does bicarbonate of soda really go bad? I hate to throw it away when it's never even been opened. What do you think?
Dave, meanwhile, got his Covid vaccine booster yesterday, at the invitation of the NHS, as well as a flu shot. I'm still waiting to hear from them, but supposedly I'll be able to get my booster fairly soon.
I wonder if you poured out all the spices into a pile and mixed them, you would get a chemical reaction. If your next cake doesn't rise, then it will be because of out of date bi-carb.
ReplyDeleteThat is Dave's third vaccine? I've heard a third is being offered to organ transplant people here now.
We actually did that, when we poured them into the food recycling bin! No reaction that I could see. Yes, it's Dave's third.
DeleteNo, bicarb doesn't go out if date!
ReplyDeleteSome spices when ground do go old and lose their essential oils. However whole spices in a sealed container last a very long time
When my mom moved in 2016, she still had spices in her cabinet from 1962! (Not sure she ever used them, though.)
Delete2013? The Bicarbonate of Soda will have lost its potency. As does baking powder, eventually. However, if you don't want to waste it (well, you already have) you could use it for cleaning. Details on request.
ReplyDeleteBart is good. At risk of getting on your nerves: 'erbs" and spices should be kept in the dark (ie behind closed doors). Light does all sorts of damage. Don't tell Olga when she is sunbathing.
I shan't comment on those who hoard and/or don't do regular clearouts. Who wants to make themselves unnecessarily unpopular? Which reminds me of an elderly lady in her Eighties (mother of a Bishop - don't ask, rarely have I come across a more miserable, sodden in his heart, person [her son that is]. I once phoned him as I was more than concerned about his mother and he told me it was none of my business. Ah, the Christianity, Steve, the Christianity. And there I was, thinking that love thy neighbour, honour thy parents, were two of the commandments.) Anyway, the aspect of her large house was a stone throw from the Isle of Wight. Which sort of compensated for finding dead and dried out mice in her kitchen. Copies of long out of print magazines she couldn't bring herself to part with. It was a labour of love. And, unsuccessful. This was twenty five years or so ago. No doubt she'll be dead by now, nothing to hoard in her final resting place. And I still carry nothing but disdain for that Bishop, her son.
U
Actually, I haven't wasted it yet! I saved that container. Drain cleaning (suggested below) might be an option...
DeleteI laughed at "ah, the Christianity"...WWJD, as they say?
Regarding "sell by" and "use by" dates, there was of course a time when they simply did not exist. I do not recall millions of domestic deaths happening because of this. When chucking things out, people relied upon their common sense rather than over-cautious dating systems.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about "deaths", YP - at least not with spices. Meat sporting a tinge of green is, obviously, a different kettle of fish. But spices and herbs will turn to tasteless dust. That's why, as you hint, God gave us smell and the tip of the tongue.
DeleteU
Certainly when it comes to dry goods like spices I don't see how the expiration dates matter much. In this case we mostly tossed the oldest examples of stuff we just don't use, and likely will never use.
DeleteDrop a bit of bicarbonate of soda in some vinegar and see if you get a reaction.
ReplyDeleteWhat will happen? I don't want my house to blow up.
DeletePS I bought an old spice rack from the late 1940s, and the amazing thing was that when you opened the milk glass jars, you could still smell the spices that had been stored there all those years ago. I had a fine time daydreaming about what life was like the first time those bottles were cracked open.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had one of those spice racks!
DeleteI've had that surprise when you clear a cupboard, really? are they that old? how time flies. Love Olga all patriotic on the Union Jack.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
She LOVES that dog bed. It's looking a bit ratty and we bought her a new one but she won't use the new one. She wants the ratty one!
DeleteI’d toss the bicarbonate of soda. I just read it will remain fresh until its sell-by-date. It apparently doesn’t spoil but it becomes useless. I started going through my mother’s dated food items when she was 80, her first time in hospital for an extended stay. I continued to do so whenever she was hospitalized until she died at 89 in 2016. I still found items with use-by dates in the 1980s!
ReplyDeleteNo, what becomes useless is baking powder, also known as baking soda
Deletegz:
DeleteI’m pretty sure baking powder and baking soda are two different things. And baking soda and bicarbonate of soda are the same. But this is coming from someone who only cleans the kitchen and rarely uses what’s in it.
I've never understood the difference between baking powder and baking soda and bicarbonate of soda. (Like Mitchell, I don't really cook!)
DeleteThe purpose of spices is to, well- spice things up. If they are very old, they will have lost that ability to a degree. If that doesn't bother you, then keep them forever! I have to admit that opening and using a new bottle of spices is one of the very small but profound joys of my life.
ReplyDeleteI have this ridiculous insistence that I must use ALL of whatever I purchase, so I can't buy a new bottle of spice until I've used the old one up. And it takes forever to go through a jar of spice, no matter how much you cook. Hence, the stuff hangs around for years.
DeleteI was shocked when I saw the expiration dates on some spices. I don't know what they would do to me if I used them but I was leery of trying.
ReplyDeleteNothing! You'd be fine!
DeleteDid you and Dave get the Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna? So interesting how these vaccines that were touted as being so much the same are started to show differences. And today in NY, the news is advising those who got the one dose J&J vaccine to get an MRNA booster. I suppose we will continue to learn more as we go, which is what the vaccine hesitant folks argue, the ones who are just knee-jerk Trump acolytes that is. One of my best friends was vaccine hesitant, but she got the shot when her workplace mandated it. I can see both sides of that workplace mandate argument, too, though for myself, I never hesitated once the vaccine became available.
ReplyDeleteThe Moderna isn't on offer in the UK, as far as I know. Dave got the Pfizer and I got the Astra-Zeneca. I think both of us will eventually be "boosted" by a Pfizer.
DeleteSave the soda for cleaning the drains. When mine get a little sluggish, I pour in the soda and add vinegar or boiling water. Clears dirty pipes pretty well.
ReplyDeleteBravo! This is the perfect solution for that old can of baking soda. We do have a couple of sluggish drains.
DeleteYou remind me that I should probably toss some of our old spices here. I used to make lots of dishes with cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc. Haven't used any of it in years. It would be good to start out with some fresh stuff again. But that makes me think about the spices we buy in bulk at the co-op. Now I wonder how old that stuff is. Oy.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are feeling better. Enjoy your fist day back at work!
I'd say if you don't use it and haven't in a long time, toss it! You'll never miss it going forward!
DeleteI clean out the spices every few years. It's always fun to see what I've kept for a long time and never used. I member cleaning the refrigerator door and finding bottles of things like hoisin sauce and steak sauces that had expired 10 years ago. That was a big clean out with lots of bottles going in the trash.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I do the fridge periodically too. Dave buys things experimentally and then they wind up hanging around forever.
DeleteThere's a lot of old spices around here too. We don't use much spice.
ReplyDeleteNor do we!
DeleteMy little Pogo used to love to lay in the sun too. I don't use spices, just a speck of lite salt and black pepper. Sad to say, cooking was never one of my favorite things to do. However, all my kids are great cooks. I hope you're feeling better now. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteI can cook if I need to, but it's not one of my talents!
DeleteBest Day Ever - Sleeping In The Sunshine On Her Second Favorite Blanket - What A Sweetheart
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs Brother Reed
Cheers
Her happy place, for sure!
DeleteThat must have felt good to clean out the spice shelf!
ReplyDeleteIt did! It made me feel stale just to look at some of that stuff.
DeleteAs others have said, old spices are fine... they just lose their potency. I've been told the same about OTC painkillers like ibuprofen that have "expired". They're less effective, but won't hurt you.
ReplyDeleteI bet Olga won't mind resorting to sunlight patches through the windows. My house dogs have always sought them out.
Expiration dates are definitely something of a gimmick on certain products.
DeleteI was watching the shower scene in Squid Games when my mother-in-law came into the room and paused for several moments. I just let it play out.
ReplyDeleteWhen I rebuilt our kitchen, we had a nine inch slot where a cabinet would not fit and I built a slide out spice rack to go there. It can hold somewhere around 70 or 80 bottles of spices and is completely full. But it is all alphabetical and easy to find so there aren't any duplicates.
That sounds like dream-kitchen spice organization. We have three jars each of star anise and coriander seed because Dave keeps buying a new one rather than searching for what we've already got. (Although I've nagged him about it so much by now I doubt he'll make the same mistake again!)
DeleteOld spice? Isn't that an aftershave?
ReplyDeleteNot to be confused with English Leather. :)
DeleteMy spice cabinet could use some work as well. Is your booster a second or a third shot?
ReplyDeleteIt would be a third shot for each of us. Dave gets his before mine because his Crohn's medication leaves him somewhat immunocompromised.
DeleteFennel is a good spice. Rough chop the seeds on a cutting board, throw them into the skillet with the onions you're sweating or browning to put in red sauce. They're very nice and impart a faint suggestion of sausage. Oh wait, they're gone. Never mind!
ReplyDeleteBut actually, they're not! We had two bottles, and we kept one of them. :)
Deletethe FDA is just now getting around to approving the booster for the Moderna, I think, which is what we got. I'm not convinced I need it here in the boonies. we'll see. and I have no idea about the bicarbonate of soda. what is that anyway? baking soda?
ReplyDeleteI think it's the same as baking soda, but I'm not sure!
DeletePoppy seeds? Fennel seeds? Of COURSE you need them. My gosh, what do you sprinkle on your (Dave's) homemade muffins anyway? And don't you (Dave) ever make Italian food? Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI could not tell you the last time we made a homemade muffin. And no, Dave doesn't make Italian food either! (I know -- sacrilege.)
DeleteOlga looks so sweet in the garden. I have quite a few elderly spices I continue to use and they're fine. Since I cleaned out my kitchen cabinets recently, I know I don't have other foods past their expiration date but when I was cleaning I found a few shockers.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
It's always entertaining (?) to see what's lurking in the far recesses of our kitchen cabinets!
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