Check It Out: Coming clean about the marvels of refrigeration

A couple of weeks ago, I waxed on about the joys of Thanksgiving. I’m still enthusiastic about the upcoming holiday, yet the reality of what it takes to get ready is weighing rather heavily at the moment. What if the stores run out of cranberry sauce? How many green beans does it take to make a green bean casserole? (The answer? None — green beans can’t cook. Ha!) But most importantly, what if there’s no room in the refrigerator for Mr. Butterball? Let’s face it: turkey day puts a lot of pressure on folks, and a joyful mood can quickly turn fowl — u h— foul.

I’m sure that all of this pre-Thanksgiving fretting is what convinced someone to designate Nov. 15 as National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. There’s nothing worse than bringing home the big bird only to discover a “no vacancy” sign hanging on the ol’ Frigidaire. If this scenario threatens to unravel your turkey-day preparations, today is the day to take charge of your fridge!

Once the month-old Chinese take-out and the half-empty jar of maraschino cherries have departed the confines of your now sparkling clean refrigerator, you’ll be ready to take a reading break. Thoughts of the upcoming turkey feast are surely swirling around your head, but now that there’s tons of fridge space for frozen fowl and Brussel sprouts, you can think about other things. Keeping with the clean-refrigerator theme, I’m offering five titles that relate in one way or another to cleaning and cold spaces. Happy clean refrigerator day, dear readers!

• “Chilled: How Refrigeration Changed the World, and Might Do So Again,” by Tom Jackson.

Humans haven’t always had stainless steel refrigerators in their kitchens, so how did we keep food from spoiling before the invention of the ice box? Turns out that refrigeration has a fascinating history full of twists and quirky characters, including a duke who was addicted to iced eggnogs. Chill out on the couch with this toast to chillers, and I guarantee you’ll develop a warm spot for keeping cool.

• “Homemade Cleaners: Quick-and-Easy, Toxic-Free Recipes to Replace Your Kitchen Cleaner, Bathroom Disinfectant, Laundry Detergent, Bleach, Bug Killer, Air Freshener, and More …,” by Mandy O’Brien.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the contents of the fridge scares the ice cubes right out of me. My mother would not approve, but I am lax when it comes to refrigerator maintenance (sorry, Mom). Nothing is growing in the produce drawer (I’m pretty sure, anyway), yet all too often I happen upon a dried-out stalk of celery or an orange that looks more like a prune. This is all the more reason I should read cleaning guides because heaven knows I need the inspiration. I believe I have found the right one. Mandy O’Brien’s book is a dandy, taking cleaning to a whole new level of cleanliness with environment-friendly recipes for homemade supplies.

• “Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ,” by Giulia Enders.

Originally published in Germany as “Darm mit Charme” (that’s “Charming Bowels” in English), author and scientist Giulia Enders explains why the digestive system conquers all (so much for love, eh?). Entreating everyone to spend more time appreciating what goes on below the belt, readers will learn just how vital a healthy gastrointestinal tract is to things like the heart and the brain. By the way, if you intend to procrastinate about cleaning out the fridge, think again, dear reader. Ms. Enders explains why a clean kitchen leads to a healthy gut, so take note.

• “My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag … and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha,” by Jolie Kerr.

This title probably doesn’t sound like a cleaning guide. Well, it is, accompanied by a healthy dose of “let’s get real” humor. It’s all well and good to scrub the kitchen counter and wipe down the bathroom faucets, but face it: sometimes we’re forced to clean up rather unseemly messes. Whether it’s a boyfriend, toddler, or beloved pet, things enter the body, and well, things exit the body. Martha Stewart may blanch at the thought of offering cleaning tips on certain categories of disarray, but life happens, and Jolie Kerr knows it. When things get messy, it’s better to laugh than cry, which is why you should read this book.

• “Clarence Birdseye: Frozen Food Innovator,” by Joanne Mattern.

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy adult, kids today just don’t know how lucky they are. Never knowing what life was like before microwaves, a world without frozen dinners is as foreign as a world without texting. There’s a way to change that. The next time your youngster needs to write a report about a famous person, encourage junior to read up on Clarence Birds- eye, the father of frozen meals. A bird’s-eye view of Mr. Birdseye’s contribution to mealtime just might enliven tonight’s dinner conversation. No mobile devices at the dinner table, please. Harrumph, harrumph.

Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.