Nostalgia, Ultimatums, and Old New York
The Spring kitchen reset that requires almost no effort
A pot of nostalgic beef stew is on my stove this week, and to be honest, I did not make it, but I did enjoy it.
The nostalgic stew came from one of my wild spring-cleaning moods. As soon as that spring breeze tickles my nose, a switch flips, and suddenly I’m in full beast mode—nothing is safe. This week, the freezer was my target, and buried inside was a bag of Yorkshire puddings from THE Yorkshire pudding trials ⬇️⬇️⬇️ relive the chaos below.
Yorkies, Velvet Drapped, and Shrinkage
These Yorkies have been taunting me for weeks! I was in a use it or lose it mode.
My mom couldn't bear to see them discarded, so she decided to make beef stew. A beef stew is the perfect way to enjoy a few more puddins before they were trash-bound. Funny how one low-stakes item can inspire a whole meal! (Herbs also do this for me. I can’t stand wasting that last little bit of dill!)
I love beef stew and have made plenty of versions over the years—usually leaning toward a more involved boeuf bourguignon, the fancy French cousin made approachable by our gal Julia Child.
But my mom’s beef stew? That nostalgic, childhood version?
I can’t recreate it. Every time I try, I start adjusting—adding a little more of this, a little less of that, maybe a glug of wine for good measure—and suddenly it’s something else entirely. Which is NOT bad, but it is no longer nostalgic beef stew.
And I think that’s the point. That stew belongs to her—and to my memory of childhood.
When I have a family to cook for, they will remember MY version of beef stew, and that will be nostalgic to them. I love nostalgia. It is like that old, worn-out sweater that fits every curve of your body and has holes in the arm pits, but you refuse to get rid of it because it knows you so well.
Behold the nostalgic beef stew. No clue what the recipe is, go ask your mom🙃
She did add some adult additions, cabbage and peas. I might be a bit peeved about this because I was never given cabbage as a child, so it was not me who decided this wasn’t kid food. I will blame my older brother for being incredibly picky and setting the tone for the rest of us growing up. He is still picky to this day! And I am the number one cabbage fan!
We ate beef stew for a week straight😍
It’s that time of year when the weather gets just a little warm, and you get that itch to clean something! Let’s pause for a moment, I promise it is too soon to get into your garden, it is too soon to swap all your wool sweaters for summer sweaters (a new marketing technique that I have ALMOST been dupped by many times, the idea of a summer sweater sounds like something I need…right?!), cleaning out the garage could work but we all know that is a full weekend project and there are still plenty of winter shows to binge! That leaves us with a few inside areas to choose from.
The pantry - Always a solid choice (how does it get so chaotic so fast).
The fridge - I can’t relate to this AT ALL. But I know some of y’all can’t even see the back of your fridge, so put the fridge on your list too.
The junk drawer - It is not satisfying enough.
Are you ready for the spring cleaning that nobody thinks to do but MUST be done 🥁…
It’s the freezer!!!!
That cold, dark, forgotten wasteland of extra bits, unlabeled bags of who knows what from who knows when, all the poor freezer burn victims, that bag of frozen peas you desperately needed but were buried in a sea of plastic clouded baked goods.
It is time to clean out your freezer. I call this occasion the-
Freezer Ultimatum
(Pause for angels singing.)
That is right! We are cleaning out the freezer. It will be cutthroat, it will be fast, and it might even inspire a meal or two.
Of course, I have a method (duh), I am not an animal. And yes, the method can and should be used in every area of the house. There are only three steps because four would make you pull your hair out.
Step 1 - Audit
You are going to pull EVERYTHING out of your freezer and set it on a large surface. Spread everything out so you can get a good look. We are just seeing what we have; nothing drastic has to happen at this stage.
This is also a good time to give the inside of your fridge a little scrub. Mine had some apple juice seepage in a corner, and it was a sticky mess.
Step 2- Ultimatum
Time to pull out your machete and get cutthroat on these frozen bitches. Answer these questions for each item.
Do I know what this is? Do I want to know? If not, say auviore to your frigid friend.
Is it still good? Freezer burned? Is the date from 3 years ago? Time to toss itWe need urgency to help us make decisions.
Go through each item one by one and start to group them in their respective categories. Save or trash.
You should have more than one item in the trash if you don’t go through again.
My Trash List:
Bag of Yorkshire puddings (was the inspiration for the nostalgic stew), they were technically in the holding zone, waiting to be enjoyed with our stew (which we did), and whatever was left was OUT.
Bag of British scones - I want to keep practicing making these, and I had no qualms with tossing them.
A container of extra BBQ sauce - I will never eat this, not sure where it even came from, to be honest.
A container of apple butter - Sad to see this go, but it had mad freezer burn. Next apple haul, I will get a batch going. It is great in baked goods.
A bundle of molasses cookies - I think we OD on these at Christmas, I don’t need any more until next holiday season.
Step 3- Organize
Phew. Okay, the hard part is out of the way. Since everything is out, this is the perfect time to get that freezer organized. A crucial part of organizing is labeling EVERYTHING. You might think that you will remember what is in that random ziplock bag, but someone else might think it is a bag of dog treats, and you don’t even have a dog. Save yourself!
I keep a roll of colored tape and a Sharpie in the kitchen, and the biggest hack here is to label EVERYTHING before you even think about putting it into the freezer. Alas, sometimes the anxiety to get shit off the counter and out of your mind is to just shove it in the freezer. The equivalent of stuffing things under your bed or in your closet, or in the junk drawer.
Bonus points if you date the item. Not required, but it is nice to know when things are going in and when they are going out. This can help with food budgeting and meal prep.
I will have you know that my inspiration to cook liver and onions came from me digging around in the freezer and realizing that I had a pack of liver hiding in the back corner. Well, I cooked it, and we all know how that turned out. If not, do yourself a favor and relive my liver and onion experience.
Frizzled Onions, Roundhouse Kicks, and Liver Tragedies
It is now time to load everything back into the freezer. It is really up to you where you put things. I organize by likeness.
Meats live together.
Baked goods live together.
Butter lives together.
Anything in a quart container lives together.
Ice packs live together.
The rest of the items you can fit in the empty spaces. I have random things like a bag of fresh pasta (In the 30-day category), parmesan cheese rinds for future soups, that bag of forgotten peas, extra tomato paste, you get it.
In a professional kitchen, we would make sure you can clearly see the label on every item for easy navigation. Not super necessary in your own home. If you pull up a ziplock bag from the depths, it should have a label on it somewhere.
The whole thing took me less than an hour. Do I wish I had filmed it for some cute Instagram content, yes, yes I do, but then it would have taken double the time, maybe more! Content creation is a full-time job, yet we consume it faster than an extra-large bag of popcorn. Sheesh. Also, I have discovered my freezer is not aesthetic.
Stand back, admire your work, and tell everyone in the house they better not mess it up😂 !!
Oh, one last thing. Is it technically step 4…anyway. Remember when I made you ask your cold comrades if you were going to eat them in 30 days? I am holding you to that. Make a list of these items you plan to cook, roast, sauté, bake, and thaw one of them this week.
BOOM. Well, on your way to holding up your end of the ultimatum.
Did I mention that the best part of cleaning out your freezer is the treasures that you can find? My favorite treasure that was dug up in this chilly deep dive was ONE slice of Dutch Apple Cake that I made last year 🫠. It was delicious!
Who is ready for their Freezer Ultimatums 🌱
I am strutting down the dirty streets of New York City; it’s always been my dream to live here, hence the strut. It’s early morning, and the city is just starting to wake up. I purposely rise early so I can enjoy a bodega coffee in the park in semi-silence (is New York ever really quiet?). BLACK. The bodegas always contort their faces when I wave off the generic sweetener and lactose.
“No, no, I like it like this.” The contortion deepens. “I promise.” They are always wildly skeptical, as if they can’t fathom taste buds that could crave the hot, sludgy, trucker-strength liquid without half a gallon of cream and six cups of sugar. Just so we are clear, I enjoy both these things, just not in my coffee.
The park is empty. Mostly dog walkers and delivery people schlepping god knows what in and out of high rises where god knows who actually lives. I sip my coffee and watch them go by. I am at peace.
Sometimes I treat myself to a bagel to pair with my extra offensive beverage. A bagel loaded with cream cheese, I bought off a street cart, kiddy corner to the park. This is my calm before the storm. Where I mentally prepare myself for the tornado of unknown tasks that I will be dealt out at the morning check-in. Never knowing what mood will be stomping through the door in a pair of chunky black boots and a sleek coat. I savor this time. I get up early specifically for this time. It keeps me sane. I crave it.
Relishing in this moment, I have created I reluctantly grab my empty cup, toss the bagel wrapper, and head for the photo studio in Union Square, where I am interning with a fashion photographer. I grab a paper on the way and tuck it under my arm (it doesn’t get more New York than that). I am playing the part. Like I belong here. Like, I know what I am doing. Like, I am not about to completely shit my pants with anxiety.
I always wonder if the old New York really was as glamorous as the tortured poets made it seem. When grunge was cool, when the smell of urine-stained alleys was craved, and being broke as a joke, living in squallar was the prerequisite to the unknown fame they were all chasing.
I love reading about old New York. (Old meaning the 60’s and 70’s.) I love reading about the actual glamour of penthouses and titan money and the tortured poets who now live in penthouses.
Patti Smith is the poster child for old New York. A singer, painter, author, and photographer. Tormented to her core, which I think we can all agree makes the best art. She has written many books, but the two that I own physical copies of are my favorites. A book worth buying and stowing on the shelf to revisit time and time again during those artist melecoly spells that are all-consuming but that also create the best art.
Just Kids - Begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame(Patti Smith & Robert Mapplethrorp).
M Train - A roadmap to Smith’s life, a reflection of how the world was and how it is now. Years later, she is living in new New York with only the memory of old New York. It is a melancholic and meditative reflection on life and the connection to art (and coffee).
Perfect books to read and brood over as we transition from the dark doldrums into long days full of sunshine.
Cheers,
Nicole | Butter Cult
Photo proof that we are a real human (and cat) over here cooking, writing, and laughing with you every week.
Sneak peek at what we (the cat & I) have been working on. Launching in May 2026!
