1. Ginger root. The fresh stuff, only not fresh, because.. it's in the freezer. I buy a big bag of the roots for a buck or two at the produce market, put it in a ziplock, and keep it in the freezer. When I need some, I pull a piece out, peel the skin and use my microplane grater to get the amount I need.
2. Pecans. We buy the 3-pound bag at Costco and use them in cookies, pancakes, apple crisp... almonds are nice too.
3. Whole bean coffee. The seminarian likes to grind it fresh before every pot. This is another thing we buy at Costco, and once we open that big bag, we store it in the freezer to keep it fresh.
4. Orange juice concentrate. Two of our number drink a glass every single morning. But sometimes we make this nice "Orange Breakfast Nog" from my ancient BH&G plaid cookbook - the one held together by a rubber band: 1.5 cups buttermilk, 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 or 3 ice cubes. Blend everything but the ice, then add the ice and blend again. (I usually skip the ice.) If you don't have buttermilk, regular milk is OK but not as good - you lose that nice tang. Sometimes I use yogurt. If I have vanilla yogurt, I leave out the sugar and the vanilla extract. This makes two 10-ounce servings.
5. Chocolate chip cookie dough. I don't always have this, but I try to. Just make a batch of your favorite cookie dough, form into little balls, and freeze. Then, hot fresh cookies whenever you need them. Yes, need.
6. Toasted wheat germ. For the Sunday pancakes, mostly, and sometimes cookies and bread.
7. Loaves of bread. In cooler weather I like to bake bread. Or, I buy the French bread from Costco and freeze a few of those. I don't like running out of bread.
8. Blueberries. I buy a 30-pound box every year.
9. Salmonburgers and "meat burgers" (as my kids call them) from Costco. Pull 'em out and grill 'em.
10. Bits of stale bread for bread pudding and to grind up for crumbs.
What's in your freezer?
Top Ten Tuesday can be found at Oh Amanda.
