Remember I told you about our bumper crop of oranges this past season? Well, what we didn't give away, I squeezed and froze so we could have fresh oj all winter long. Bruce wanted to buy some plastic containers to hold the juice but I, ever frugal, decided to use ziplock bags. I figured they would be more malleable and take up less room in the freezer. I was right. It saved room and we did save money. Now for my Lucy Moment. You see, my ziplock bags, filled with golden nectar of orange were so supple and so pliable, they draped themselves over and between the slats of the freezer rack. Why is that a problem? Because once frozen, their plastic forms would not and could not be pried from the rack.
What to do? We could have pulled on the bags and ripped them open, the result being sticky, slimy, half frozen juice on and about the other frozen items. Remember, as we examine this problem, we are keeping the freezer door open and, thereby, melting everything else that lives in the freezer. Bruce said, "I'll unload the freezer and take the rack outside into the sun for a few minutes until the juice thaws enough for the rack to turn loose of it."
Made sense to me until we discovered the rack was non-removable. "I'll get the hair dryer!" say I. I anticipated being electrocuted while using the appliance near the potential wet of the thawed juice. In order to avoid that, I put on my rubber "duck feet" aka gardening shoes. There is something about rubber and not getting fried but I never was much for scientific stuff so, I kept the fingers of one hand crossed and ventured forth, dryer in hand. I aimed at the base of the juice where it came in contact to the rack and flipped the switch to full blast on high heat. I could feel the cold of the freezer pour out into the room and imagined the whirling cogs in our electric meter spinning like tops at the excess energy expelled for this experiment. How long would it take to break free a bag or two or all dozen of them? How about 15 seconds? Yup, in less time than it takes to sing Oh Happy Day, the freezer gave up its prisoners! The juice was ours!
Now, what to do with all of it? Another brainstorm. Why do I keep getting these brilliant plans of action? I don't know. They just come to me. The zip lock bags were still 98% frozen, but their bottoms were slightly thawed. Why not set them on a solid cookie sheet. Hmm. The cookie sheet was too big for the freezer. Instead, I used a double layer of aluminum foil as a solid to keep the bags from draping back through the rack. Like stacked hamburger patties, I placed a layer of waxed paper between the bags so they would easily pry apart when their time came to be thawed and digested. So that's what I did. I have triumphed, yet again, over myself!
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The Goodbye Lie Diaries
1880s Fernandina, Florida
Peeper writes:
Hoo-eee. I admit, I would've done the same thing with my extree juice 'ceptin' I would a used a lit candle and run it under them packs ta free 'um up.
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| Grandmother Peeper |
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