My “garage fridge”:
Pumpkin pie, lots of flour (waited until winter to buy whole grain flour in bulk so I could keep it cold!), yogurt, kombucha, water kefir resting…
Birthday cake and cookie dough…
More cookie dough (filling), homemade applesauce, cranberries, and a few apples left from the orchard…
Seriously folks. I’ve been waiting for cold weather JUST for this reason, and this reason alone. I can finally cool my milk for homemade yogurt without running water in the sink or worrying about heating up my fridge, easily cool a huge bowl of homemade chicken stock without rearranging everything in my fridge, and quit consolidating things into smaller bowls and spending half my life reorganizing the fridge to make everything fit.
I look at these pictures and I ask myself two questions:
- How in the WORLD do I ever survive with one refrigerator in the summer?
- What will I do when/if more than four people live in my house? That’s a lot of food for four people including one toddler. (And yes, the regular plugged in fridge was FULL too.)
Welcome to my home! I hope you enjoyed the tour. I also have a plastic tub on the back deck as a “freezer” filled with crispy nuts that I’ve been dehydrating all week. Take advantage of nature when you can! (Wondering what’s in that big, blue bowl there? I’m working on a post to share with you soon, and I’m totally drooling on my keyboard! It’s my ultimate favorite Christmas cookie…)
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LOL! My dh and I call the garage our seasonal frig. It’s cold enough that the frozen cookie dough stayed frozen instead of defrosting over night. I do need to move my flour out there since I took advantage of the King Arthur flour sale at Genuardi’s (Safeway).
.-= Barb@My Daily Round´s last blog ..Cookies! =-.
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Love it! And we definitely have our Michigan winter now, don’t we? Especially today. Woo!
I have cooled pans of peppermint bark or stock out in the garage and I always wait til winter to defrost and clean our big freezer so I can just put the meat and stuff outside. We have little mouse friends who take up residence in our garage every winter, though, so I can’t keep too much out there!
I really enjoy your column!
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OK, I wrote “column” and I meant “blog.” I’m a newspaper columnist and it’s on my mind, so that’s where that came from. Sorry!
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Katie Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Krystal,
Katie
Thanks for making me smile!
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We’re experiencing a Michigan winter here in Nebraska right now – brrrr! Our garage is detached, though, and my freezer is out there so I’m thinking I’ll have to make a quick dash out today.
.-= Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..Link Roundup – I Smell Popcorn Edition =-.
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LOL-When we lived in WI I did the same thing!
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I grew up in Michigan (near Muskegon) and my mom always did (still does actually) the same thing! I guess I didn’t really learn from her, because I didn’t take enough advantage of my attached garage and now our new house the garage is unattached. Think I can just throw stuff on my back porch? LOL!
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Katie Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Emily,
Katie
I really do have a plastic tub on the back porch! I wouldn’t put much in there that’s not in glass, though, b/c I have found with birdseed that critters CAN chew through a Rubbermaid tub with ease…
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I love it! I so need an “extra fridge” most of the time too. I’m in Ohio so it’s cold enough here. My kids actually cried a little when I took them out today…and it’s only in the mid-30′s! They are not going to like winter.
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Personal Responsibility =-.
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Katie Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Kate,
Winter is a tough time of year for kiddos, until they fall in love with the snow! 
Katie
Aw, my daughter hates her puffy winter clothes, too. Little ones don’t fit so well in huge coats, and the zipper scratches her neck.
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That’s a great idea! It’s been cold here in Missouri – but yet that cold! My grandmother used to that too! I remember leaving koolaide in ice trays outside all night and then having them in our juice the next morning for ice cubes! Oh the memories! Great Blog – this was my first time here! Have a great day & Merry Christmas!
.-= Megan @ Manic Mommy´s last blog ..Things I love Thursday – Gingerbread Houses =-.
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Katie Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Megan,
Katie
Thanks for visiting – hope to see you back!
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@Emily- I’m from Muskegon originally as well! Skee town is the town. <3
We have an enclosed front porch that's the size of a small room. Once it gets cold, that becomes our new walk-in fridge. It's a MI winter tradition. Before we had this house, we stored stuff in coolers or tubs or … well, just on it's own, stuck in the snowbanks on the deck. It's perfect for keeping a lot of party beverages cold during the holiday season.
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Emily @ Live Renewed Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 8:12 am
@Em – Oh, Skee-town – it was a great place to grow up. It would be crazy if we knew each other!
Thanks for the idea! Actually I was thinking about it more later and realized that I could probably put stuff on our our enclosed front porch as well. It is south facing though, with lots of windows so it does warm up a little on sunny days so I wouldn’t be able to put stuff that really has to stay frozen. But, maybe if I can get some bulk wheat flour I could store it out there in a Rubbermaid tub. I’ll have to try it out and see how it works!
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When I saw your bags of flour, the first thing I thought of was, I hope Katie doesn’t have a problem with mice. They might just want to taste that flour.
I love all the photos you provide.
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Seriously there isn’t an ounce of heat out in my garage. It is COLD!! I hardly even need a freezer at all.
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i strongly suggest using snow to make homemade icecream (from raw milk of course). I did that quite often as a kid. VERY fun!
.-= tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: last load of dishes in the hotpoint. ~half are still dirty. i haven’t even met the kitchenaid & I’m in looooooooooooooooooooove. =-.
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I live in Georgia and use my back porch as my “redneck refrigerator” in the dead of winter. I love the extra space!
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That’s great!! We’re currently in Florida, but when we were in Utah we did the same thing. Amazing how useful that horrible cold can be!
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Oh, I love it! We’re in Michigan too and should create a garage fridge…if we could just get rid of the rakes, skis, lawn mower, toys, gardening supplies, and cars! LOL
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Finer Things Friday: Dining by Candlelight | The Finer Things in Life // Dec 13, 2009 at 6:13 pm
[...] earlier) 8. K @ Prudent and Practical {Christmas Baking} 9. Tara @ Feels like home (Jesse tree) 10. Kitchen Stewardship (ONE reason to love a Michigan Winter) 11. Lisa @ Sweet Sweet Reality (A Safe Home) 12. Lynnette @ Lifestyle Logic (snow days) 13. [...]
That is too funny! I’m really thankful for my second fridge and our deep freezer now.
.-= Amy @ Finer Things´s last blog ..Prepare Your Inner Stable =-.
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Katie Reply:
December 14th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Amy,
Katie
And short! I always think of you when I manage to write something short…
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