Back of the fridge

I've been so virtuous recently, using up all sorts of edible things left over from the big festive season's mega-spend, and there is now space in the fridge that hasn't been seen for weeks. The last spoonful of brandy butter went some time ago - do you know how delicious that stuff is when spread on a bit of bread? - and for once I don't have any sprouts lurking anywhere, neglected and resentful. That's because they are still on the allotment..... too much snow and effort to trudge down on Christmas Eve to cut a stalk of them. (Oh, the shame of it, all those dinners without everyone's favourite pureed-with-cream sprouts! Oh, the compensation of all the extra, gloriously crunchy, golden roasted parsnips!)

I rarely fuss about sell-by/use-by dates, having once had a Greek lodger whose disdain for such detail was truly terrifying, but who never came to a smidgin of harm through it; smell, look, and the likelihood of loss of quality is usually enough to guide me. Risky things like chicken and meat tend to get eaten quickly anyway, and vegetables are always good for Fridge Soup. Nothing much goes to waste here, thanks to compost heap and foxes, although unwaxed lemons have a tendency to punish the careless by turning overnight into unwaxed brownish rocks, and that last piece of cucumber - well, you know about that, don't you, as you gingerly remove it from the salad drawer and it drips into your sleeve.

But I do have a pack of cranberries that need to be used up urgently, and no intelligent ideas as to what I might make with them. Cranberry sauce - too much for one person, especially one with so many relishes and chutneys still waiting in line. Freezer? Er, no - I think I still have some from the previous year (am I really going to admit that?). The birds? Do birds eat cranberries? Gritting pavements? Any ideas?

These two have.