Please tell us a little about yourself and your publication.
I’m Betty, a food writer, recipe developer, home cook, and Southern California gal. I help people plan meals with California Cuisine recipes that will inspire them, no matter where they live in the world, and share that in my Friday newsletter. Other places people can find me include my food blog, podcast, YouTube, and Instagram. Lynn, I don’t know if you know this, but it was you who first encouraged me to start a podcast a few years ago with a question you asked in one of your posts. Thank you!
For folks who don’t know, California is the most diverse state in the U.S. with no ethnic majority. It is home to people from all over the world but especially from Asia, South America, and the Mediterranean. The cuisine here reflects that and is a beautiful mash-up of them all! My recipes, menu plans, and travel articles are centered around these flavors. A great example of California Cuisine is my Korean Bulgogi Street Tacos.
What kind of fridge do you have? Fridge freezer/Upright/ Double doors?
Mine is a French door refrigerator. On top are two side-by-side doors that swing outward. I love that I can fit an entire large pizza box in there if needed, ha ha! There is a filtered water dispenser on the outside of one of the doors. The freezer is on the bottom and has a pull-out drawer. It also has an ice maker.
How often do you food shop? Do you buy in bulk - if so, what do you buy?
Normally, I shop at my local grocery store once a week, usually on Sunday or Monday morning. While I ALWAYS go with a list, I am flexible if certain items are on sale and it’s a good opportunity to stock up.
About once a month, I hit up the local Costco to buy certain items in bulk like eggs, butter, Manchego cheese (they have the most reasonable price for it that I’ve found), and other items that are hard-to-find or too expensive at the grocery.
What is the most used ingredient that you always have a good supply of?
This is hard to pick one thing, because I do like to keep my freezer and pantry well-stocked. In the freezer, I always have a supply of frozen shrimp, chicken, and meats. Since I live in earthquake country in Southern California, I have a stocked pantry of dry items, canned goods, and other non-perishables. If I narrowed it down to “most used ingredient that I always have on hand,” it’s olive oil or butter.
What is the oldest item/ingredient in your fridge, and what did you originally buy it for?
I’d say it’s a bottle of Mae Ploy sweet chilli sauce. It’s probably been in there a year now because it only comes in huge glass bottles. I love it as a dipping sauce for my fresh Vietnamese-style Summer Rolls!
Do you meal plan? If so, would you please share your secrets with us?
Yes, planning is a must for me, and I’ve done it for 30 years now! I ran my own menu planning subscription business a few decades ago and loved it. There is such a sense of relief when you know what’s for dinner every night, have the ingredients sitting in your fridge/pantry, and have gathered the recipes all in one place. Preparedness is totally the key and takes all the stress out of dinnertime. Currently, I publish a brand new menu plan every month that includes photos and recipe links for paid subscribers to my newsletter.
What is the most expensive item in your fridge, and what do you use it for?
The priciest item in my fridge at any given point is fresh beef or fresh fish to be used in a recipe that week. But! I really do try to make it stretch over multiple dishes, like in my Cook Once, Eat 3x Series. One that readers really loved was the Braised Beef Short Ribs served three different ways: with sweet potato mash, over ramen, and atop a Southwest salad.
Which items would you advise people not to keep in their fridge and why?
Definitely do not put fresh tomatoes in the fridge! I think it absolutely ruins their taste and texture.
How do you organise your fridge? Is it chaos, or a place for everything and everything in its place?
For the most part, there is a designated spot for everything. But I’m not obsessive about it. The side doors house all the condiments and larger gallon jugs of things like almond milk (or the occasional bottle of prosecco!). Veggies in the vegetable drawer, meats and cheeses in the shallow deli drawer, and everything else on the middle shelves.
The fermented items (kimchi, Korean pickled radish, preserved lemons) live on the top left-hand shelf. When my daughter comes to visit, she calls it the “mystery jar shelf” and loves to joke, “What does Mom have growing this week?” I probably should be better at labeling things, but I figure they know what kimchi looks like. For those who want to learn, I’m teaching a live class on how to make homemade kimchi on August 21 through the CookStack Collective!
What are your top tips for storing items in your fridge and keeping it tidy? Do you use storage containers?
To keep my fridge clean and tidy, I take out items, one shelf at a time, wipe down the shelf, and put everything back (or discard items). I do this about every 10 days or so. If I’m in the mood, I will also wipe down any sticky jars and door jambs. The place I usually forget to clean is on top of the fridge itself. Every few months, I will remember to clean it and am horrified by the accumulation of dust up there.
Yes to storage containers! I bought a set of glass containers with airtight lids from Costco a few years ago and store leftovers in them. Despite everyone currently hating on plastic, I do have a few plastic containers for storage, too. I just don’t reheat food in them. Something that I also really like using is mason jars of all sizes. I use them to store my sugar-free simple syrup, strawberry vinegar, and homemade vanilla extract.
Thank you so much, Lynn, for allowing me to share my fridge (and all its contents!) with you and your readers. I truly love reading about my fellow food writers and am so thankful that you take the time to highlight them in your articles.
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Read more Q&A interviews with other food writers
If you are a food writer and would like to be part of this Q&A Fridge series, please email Lynn. Thefoodstak@gmail.com with the subject header Q&A Fridge series.
Thank you, Lynn, for featuring me and my fridge! It was so fun to answer your questions.
Super fun! This takes peeking into someone's kitchen to a whole new level!