How Long Has Food Been Open in Your Refrigerator?

It’s time! Time to pack away the outdoor furniture and retrieve those hidden bags of winter clothes. Time to retreat into our cozy homes and wait out the seemingly cold days ahead.

It’s also time to clean out our refrigerators of any lingering summer veggies. A task I loathe because I’ll usually find veggies that wobble like worms lurking in the bottom of my crisper drawers.

Or, I’ll find forgotten leftovers in containers pushed to the back of the fridge that have morphed into science experiments and not worthy of eating anymore.

And, of course, there is always the mystery surrounding the many jars of condiments hanging around the refrigerator door like lost kittens. How long have they been in the refrigerator? Is it months, or is it years?

It’s a guessing game as to how long food has been in my kitchen and what the shelf life is – especially ingredients I bought for special recipes, like the wheat germ I purchased for chia seed blueberry muffins.

To check the shelf life of foods, I recommend using a helpful app called Food Keeper. For instance, I knew to keep the wheat germ in the refrigerator, but I did not know how long before it became rancid. I learned wheat germ lasts around six to eight months.

To help solve the baffling question: “How long has this food been open in my refrigerator?” make sure you check out the date-opened food labels in our shop.

 

They’re colourful, round stickers you can write the date on and stick on any open package or container of food. They come in two sizes are durable, resistant to oil and refrigeration and are removable.

With cooler temperatures upon us, many of us naturally gravitate to our kitchens and fill the house with the marvellous smells of roasting, stewing, simmering and baking these delicious pumpkin muffins.

Happy cleaning, and happy cooking!

Pumpkin Ginger Muffins

 

These pumpkin ginger muffins have the right amount of ginger in them with both fresh ginger and crystallized ginger.

These delicious muffins also have walnuts and pumpkin seeds to give a nice crunch. 

Makes 12 medium-sized muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons fresh peeled ginger, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup 1 or 2 % milk
1/3 cup melted butter
2 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.

In a medium size bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, bakng soda, cinnamon, allspice, salt, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, fresh ginger and crystallized ginger

In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk, eggs, and melted butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry flour mixture and stir together until just combined.

Spoon evenly into the prepared muffin tin.

Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the muffins are cooked through.