How many people does your fridge need to feed?
Just one. Well, one and a half if you count the cat, because sometimes I put half a can of cat food in there.
What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Yogurt or a piece of toast with peanut butter.
Is there anything you eat every day?
Coffee and a yogurt. And wine almost every day.
Every week?
Fruit, vegetables, lots of cheese. Lots of chocolate. Lots of dairy products.
What item are you forbidden from purchasing right now?
Mostly sugar, because I have a real sweet tooth. Although my neighbor Christy likes to come over and eat my chocolate, so I try to have chocolate for when Christy comes over, but I don’t like to have it in the fridge because I’ll eat it all.
What’s the most delicious thing in here?
My friend Mark Foster’s coffee. He lives in the Catskills and roasts his own coffee and sells it. I also have lots of really good cheeses: I have a truffle gouda, various forms of goat cheese, and a smoked ricotta.
The most disgusting?
This horseradish. It could be four years old, I didn’t even realize it was in here. Oh, and I have two jars! That’s even worse! It might be from when I had an oyster party.
The oldest?
I think it’s the horseradish. I’m actually a total anti-hoarder, so the minute something looks old I have to toss it. That half an avocado in there has some problems and it needs to go. I hate leftovers, too. It’s a sickness.
What's your guilty pleasure?
Anything with sugar in it. Or butter. Or cheese.
Where do you do most of your food shopping?
I’m a fancy shopper. I shop a lot at Whole Foods; I go to Trader Joe’s for specialty items, I do a lot of shopping at the farmer’s markets in Brooklyn and Union Square; there’s a fancy food store called Garden of Eden in Union Square I go to. And I’ve been known to shop at Brooklyn Kitchen. Basically I’m a sucker for food packaging.
How much do you spend on groceries each week?
Way more than I should. Way more. And now that I’m unemployed I actually have to start budgeting. I’d say $300 a week, maybe. And a lot of things I don’t eat. Like, I’ll buy a loaf of bread and I’ll eat two slices and the rest goes stale. I try to give my neighbors a lot of stuff. They always come to my dinner parties, and they know that they take the leftovers. Like if I roast a chicken and we eat half, they take the other half for their daughter’s lunches.
How often do you go grocery shopping?
About three times a week.
What percentage of your meals do you prepare at home?
Lately since I haven’t been working I almost always eat breakfast and lunch at home. I tend to eat out for dinner because I go out a lot at night. Or I sometimes order delivery. Usually on Sundays I cook a dinner and invite people over, especially during Game of Thrones seasons. So, 60%-70% at home.
Is there anything in here that we would have found in your childhood fridge? Butter, cheese, milk. I don’t have the comfort foods of my childhood like macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Although I had a pretty sophisticated palate as a kid: my favorite thing was avocados, and I always have those now. I also loved mushrooms on toast. When I got older my mom worked so we ate a lot of TV dinners.
What do you wish you had in here?
Some kind of meat or fish to cook.
Sarah (who is “somewhere over 40”), is an advertising strategist. She’s holding a container of dulce de leche ice cream from Uncle Louie G’s and her cat Marlow. They live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.