ice, ice baby

Oh, Gefrierschrank, I love you so.

This may not be an exciting sight to most, but to me, this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long, long time. After years of economizing the miniscule real estate of the in-fridge ice box (which was usually more freezer ice than food), I've finally upgraded to a standalone freezer, happily humming along in my cellar.

I bought it for a mere 110sfr off Ricardo.ch (the swiss eBay). Since it was all in German, I wasn't exactly sure what I was bidding on or how I was expected to pay. After I placed my bid, I suddenly realized the item was called a "Tiefkuhlschrank", not a "Gefrierschrank" so maybe I was buying a fridge not a freezer. (Google translation couldn't help, but Leo did - thanks Leo). A last minute bidder pushed the price up 30sfr in 5sfr increments, making my weak non-gambler heart race. But I was the winner!

Almost everyone I know has one of these to store cheap, bulk food from discount groceries in Germany. I'm more interested in freezing regular stuff like:

• homemade chicken stock, bread, pizza dough, tamales, pasta sauce, ice cream, cookie dough
• nuts and butter, so I can keep more in stock without it going rancid if I don't bake for awhile
• frozen fruit and veggies, for emergencies
• ice, so I can actually do ice baths for my custards

Before... only room for special treats:
ice cream, ice cream maker, one ice cream sandwich,
five leftover cream puffs, cookie dough

After... three roomy shelves awaiting my imagination