Food is a demanding house mate. The food in my house constantly threatens me, “If you don’t prepare me, consume me, store me, or otherwise disposition me, I will rot before your very eyes.” I generally don’t negotiate with terrorists or bullies, but this situation is more like a ship telling a lighthouse to get out of the way.

Fact is, I am not willing to let this food go—it took a lot of effort to collect it or (help) create it, some of it was hard to come by, much of it costs more than can be obtained elsewhere. Bottom line: it is irreplaceable.

So, this meal that I call The Melange consists of ingredients that were going to turn on me if I didn’t act first.

• sausage from Greyledge Farm (threatening because I’d defrosted them a couple of days ago)
• jalapeno peppers and orange cherry tomatoes from Cherry Grove Farm, Newtown, CT (almost two weeks old)
• potatoes from here, Late Bloomers Farm (harvested last week)

Basically, I pan-seared the sausages in some oil and took them out of the pan when they were cooked. I threw in the tomatoes (whole) and sliced potatoes and jalapenos and shook the pan periodically until they were almost done. I put the sausages back in and let the whole thing bubble a bit until I was sure all the flavors had co-mingled sufficiently. That’s it. It had an Interesting and pleasant flavor and all of the food groups in one pan.

I think I’ll try clean-the-fridge meals more often!