what's in YOUR fridge?

Things in my fridge right now:
SHELVES-
-4 individual cups of applesauce (leftover from granola making...will only be used for another batch, as I'm not a fan of plain applesauce)
-1 roll Pillsbury Crescent dough (from when Ravi and I were going to make brie roll ups, but the first batch just turned into a delicious mess)
-1 container plain yogurt
-1 small bowl of homemade lemon tahini dressing
-1 bowl leftover butternut and chickpea salad (to be paired with the aforementioned dressing)
-1 bowl leftover Thai Tomato soup (this was the first thing I cooked in this apt. and I ate portions of it out of a bag I had frozen until I had a little breakdown, threw the leftovers in the fridge and took off to Baton Rouge. There they sit, since I only remember them after I've just replaced the garbage bag. I should just go dump the leftovers off the back porch but I'm scared a stray cat might eat it and be poisoned by all the onion.)
-A LOT OF CHEESE: a small container of goat cheese crumbles, a brick of Colby-Jack, a pack of sliced Cheddar, a pack of sliced Gouda, 2 individual slices of Pepper Jack, a large container of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a chunk of Gruyere
-1 pack of flour tortillas
-1 Brita "UltraMax" container filled with water
-Half a jug of Sweet Leaf Mint and Honey tea
-3/4 jug of lemonade
-1 Mason jar of corncob wine
-1 bottle Rogue Somer Orange Honey Ale (purchased in 2009 in Chicago)
-1 bottle Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout (purchased at the same time as the ale)
-1 bottle Rouge Brutal IPA (purchased in 2010 in Chicago)
-Half a freezer bag of what spaghetti noodles from a meal last week
-1/2 bottle of tonic water (for some reason, I really like to take sips of tonic water here and there. I like the taste of quinine.)
-A Mason jar with a scant amount of homemade stewed peaches in their syrup
-1 grapefruit
-1 orange
-4 eggs
-1 can of 365 root beer
-1 can of 365 black cherry soda (from a sad trip last week, when I was determined to locate the Whole Foods, but had no real money to spend)
-1 almost-empty carton of soy milk
-1/2 gallon of skim milk
-1/2 box chicken broth
-1 bowl leftover chicken salad that has passed its prime
-1 Tupperware of Sloppy Joe mix (sent home with me by my mom earlier this week, in an attempt to make me eat something. It is half gone.)
-JARS OF PICKLED THINGS: homemade bread and butter pickles (from my dad), pitted olives, pickled okra from the Clinton farmer's market with Erin and Heather, homemade pickled jalapenos (also from my dad--1 jar is sliced, the other is whole), spicy snap beans ("South Louisiana Style"!), kosher dill spears, capers, MORE OKRA (this one from the Tabasco Co.), pearl onions (used as a surprisingly tasty substitute in place of fresh ones in a recipe) (I snack on these things individually all the time, because I love briny food.)
-1 jar artichoke hearts
-1 jar homemade pumpkin butter, which probably needs to go.

CRISPER:
-3/4 red onion
-1 bunch of spring onions (from this weekend's BR farmer's market with my mom)
-1 bag okra (MORE OKRA! Also from the BR farmer's market)
-3 small zucchini (from my mom's f. market purchases)
-1 pack celery hearts (purchased for the chicken salad and the recipients of insistent attempts to not waste food--have twice been the subject of a not-half-bad-but-definitely-half-assed celery remoulade.)
-2 eggplants (finally cheap and tender enough to justify purchasing! Also, my favorite fruit.)
-A large assortment of mixed peppers (more BR f. market)

DOOR:
-1/2 bag dried coconut (from Michael's german chocolate birthday cake? A year ago? Still tastes okay...)
-1/2 tube almond paste (from Erin's last birthday, when I made dyed marzipan roses for her cake)
-1 jar raspberry preserves (inspired me to bake a loaf of bread after moving in)
-1 jar maraschino cherries (pawned off on me by Erin when she was moving to Chicago)
-1/2 jar Mission salsa con queso
-1 jar tahini
-1/2 jar chipotle salsa (I think this was Ravi's, because I'm not a big chips and salsa person outside of Mexican restaurants)
-1/2 jar of prepared horseradish (which I keep putting on burgers in remembrance of one of mine and Ravi's last meals--an attempt to eat things in the fridge resulted in 4 black bean burgers with half of the condiments in the fridge on each one)
-MUSTARD: a special-uses jar of Maille dijon, 1 bottle habanero (DEFINITELY RAVI'S.), 1 bottle Jack Daniel's stone-ground dijon, a regular-uses bottle of dijon, 1 bottle of Creole (also from Erin) (these are especially funny to me because, up until maybe 5 years ago, I couldn't stand mustard on sandwiches or in any manner that didn't see it swamped by mayo)
-1 jar Smart Balance mayo
-1 jar homemade maple syrup (also from Clinton farmer's market)
-2 bottles ketchup
-1 jar red curry paste
-1 jar Sriracha (also Ravi's--I'm not a huge fan of this stuff for some reason)
-1 jar tamarind paste
-1 jar harissa (I am a fan of THIS stuff, which beats the pants off Sriracha)
-1 bottle Stubb's Hickory Bourbon BBQ sauce
-1 bottle vidalia onion salad dressing
-1 bottle sundried tomato salad dressing
-Another jar of raspberry preserves (these are sugar free)
-1 jar homemade strawberry pepper jelly (more from Clinton!)
-1 jar homemade plum-blueberry jelly (Clinton!)
-1 jar praline syrup (also Ravi's and I have never used it. It sounds amazing though)
-Another jar of capers! Who knew?
-1 jar Tabasco pepper jelly (I need a brick of cream cheese to pour this pepper jelly over, STAT. Bring crackers.)
-1 jar mayhaw jelly (I have too much jelly. I hardly ever eat it.)
-1 bottle of Amarula (purchased in 2010 in Chicago, because my favorite place for it burned down.)
-1 bottle Three Philosophers (2010-Chicago)
-1 bottle lime juice
-2 cans parmesan cheese (for general use, as opposed to the special-occasions/I need a treat parm-regg)
-1 bottle of vermouth (from Devil's chicken with Ann)
-1 box baking soda

The end!

I know some of you (okay, all 5 readers) are wondering why on earth I would post a list of food in my fridge. HOW MUNDANE CAN I GET? YOU'RE LUCKY IT'S NOT A POOP ENTRY (yet.) Well, it started when I opened it to store the leftover squash and chickpea salad and realized that, for the first time since I moved in, I was going to have to move stuff around to make room. When I started doing that, I realized that, however ridiculous it may sound,the things in my fridge hold a story for me. I have an association for almost everything in there. It is deliciously (strained pun ahead) ironic to me that I, someone who will deal with an eating disorder for the rest of my life, have such loving associations with food. Perhaps it is in spite of the ED, maybe it's attributable to my Southern heritage, maybe I just like to eat (ding!), but it was striking to me that the contents of my fridge are a kind of metaphor for "home."

Also, in a broader scope, I'm always curious about the things people keep in their refrigerators. I think my own bespeaks my heritage--things in Mason jars, all the garnishes for Bloody Marys, tea and lemonade--beyond just the obvious "this person LOVES vinegar..." It shows a person who likes to cook and maybe someone who's adoration of okra has gone a little too far (again, see Heritage). In the same respect, it tells a story that isn't necessarily true--that I have a lot of money to spend on food (almost everything on the door and all the pickles were brought from BR and purchased when I had a well-paying job and no rent payments. I skimp on other expenditures and my mom buys me groceries here and there), that I love jelly--and that's interesting to me as well.

I'm not necessarily trying to start a meme (but it'd be fun), but I enjoy the idea of looking back on this post months or years from now and reflecting on those stories, on making myself at home here.