Eating From My Pantry: Day #11: My project ends

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

Obviously, I quit this project right smack in the middle of it.

I was on my 2nd night of serving my husband "breakfast for dinner": pancakes and eggs, when he said "Pancakes for dinner is an odd choice".

Ok, let me explain the significance of this seemingly mildly spoken observation. My husband is a Brit, and even by British standards, he is incredibly understated...to a fault. When he says "It's a bit chilly out", what he really means is "It's fucking cold".

Besides being ridiculously understated, he also needs to be pushed to his absolute limit before he would even hint at complaining about any food I prepare for him. (No, it's not because I'm a big meanie...it's because he's a big softie. I have been known to threaten him with repeating a dish the next night as a way for him to tell me the truth about how he likes it).

So when my husband utters with a kind smile a phrase like "Pancakes for dinner is an odd choice", I know that what he's really saying is: "Buy some fucking food now, or I'm ordering pizza, blog be damned, and while you're at it, find a new goddam hobby, please".

So ended this experiment.

Of course, I was also running out of creative ways to re-combine the items in my pantry in fun and interesting ways - to eat AND to blog about - so I was happy for my husband to give me an excuse to blame the end of the experiment on him ;-) Off to the market I happily went, and picked up 2 kinds of flour, yeast, olive oil, butter, cheese, cold cuts, pasta, jarred pasta sauce, a shitload of vegetables, and sausages.

All in all, in was a fun couple of weeks that I will probably repeat every once in a while when I feel like my cabinets are overpacked.

Him:
*burp*

Me:
Well, that was fun. Now, what's my next project?

Here are some before & after photos of my cabinets:
BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER


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Days #7 & #8
Days #9 & #10

Day #9 & #10: Eating from my pantry: Rice Crust

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

My favorite use-it-up recipe is the rice crust recipe. I finally found a way to use leftover cooked rice. Here it is:
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp pepper
Combine, mix. Press into ungreased 9 inch pie pan. Fill with desired filling of meat, vegetables, or cheese in white sauce (preferably whatever leftovers you have to make this a true leftover meal). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

For those of you who don't know how to make a basic white sauce, here it is:
Melt butter in a saucepan. Throw in some flour, and mix that a bit until mixed well. Pour in a little bit of either milk, wine, or stock until it's the consistency you want. That's it.

You can use a white sauce as dressing over meat, in a casserole, pot pies, or over potatoes.

Tip of the day
When cooking, usually milk, wine, and stock are interchangeable. I can't think of any time that this is not true. (Note, I said cooking, not baking.

Pantry Items Used:
Chicken Pot Pie
• pastry dough
• leftover cooked rice
• 2 eggs (purchased)
• leftover chicken (purchased) & broccoli (purchased) & shredded zuccini from last summer's garden
• homemade chicken stock with flour & butter to make a white sauce
• handful of raisins in the rice (it's really good!)

The leftovers are from yesterday's baked chicken & broccoli over rice dinner.

And, as always, we have had zuccini bread for breakfasts.

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Day #7 & #8

Days #7 & #8: Our potatoes spoiled

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

Our bag of potatoes spoiled. I am so annoyed with myself for letting this happen. With 3 weeks left to this challenge, I really could have used the extra carb source.

:-(

Below are the items we've used over the last 2 days. We ordered pizza & drank beer last night as the blizzard entered the Midwest. Ah, winter.

Pantry Items Spoiled:
• potatoes
• pumpkin butter

Pantry Items Used:
Shrimp Burritos
• flour tortiallas
• frozen shrimp
• pesto from last summer's garden
• shredded zuccini from last summer's garden
• shredded cheddar
• 2 packets of the Chinese take-out hot sauce
• the remainder of the pot roast mush

Broccoli & Rice
• broccoli (purchased)
• rice
• (what else?) pesto from last summer's garden

Snacks & Breakfasts
• zuccini bread
• crackers
• block cheddar cheese
• apple butter

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Day #6: Eating from my pantry. Finally setting some beans to soak

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

We are finally getting close to the edge of my comfort zone of not food shopping. I genuinely felt that food shopping was necessary on a weekly basis, if not more often. While I knew last week would be easier since we knew we would eat out more often for the holidays, refraining from shopping this week I felt would be the real challenge. I felt that with running out of bread, white flour and almost all of the wheat flour, and having no fresh vegetables left, that we really were getting to the point where we were going to start depriving ourselves.

And so, of course, I am finally feeling that this is a challenge.

I re-evaluated and saw that we still have frozen shrimp, beans, and frozen zuccini from last summer's garden. I've decided that when I really, really have no more vegetables left (i.e. no more zuccini), then THAT'S when I need to buy more. Same with protein: no frozen shrimp or beans = go meat shopping.

My husband, understandably, is worried about this. We agreed that we would keep stocked in frozen pizzas just in case I run out of things that he is willing to eat during this experiment.

Tonight, I made a quick & simple pasta with shrimp & pesto, with (what else?) shredded zuccini.

I also, conceded to the fact that we are running out of proteins, and if I want to avoid shopping, then I'm going to have to start soaking some beans. I set 3 cups of beans to soak tonight. I'm guessing (between soaking and cooking, with full days of working in between all of that) they'll be ready for dinner on the night after tomorrow.

Pantry Items Used:
• Shredded zuccini from last summer's garden
• pasta
• pesto from last summer's garden
• frozen shrimp

Him:
Great amount of shrimp.

Me:
Shredded zuccini goes in everything.

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PS No picture tonight. The meal was absolutely delicious, and I don't want to ruin it's fantastic simplicity with yet another one of my crappy pictures.

Day #5: Eating from my pantry

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

Since we spent the last weekend eating crap over the New Year's weekend, I decided tonight was a good time to go for that Tuna Helper that I dragged with me through several moves and across the country.

I didn't have tuna, but in keeping with the crap theme, I substituted turkey deli slices.

I'm glad this meal is over. I'm looking forward to buying some vegetables tomorrow. :-(

Pantry Item Finished:
• Gumbo canned soup

Pantry Items Used:
• dry milk
• butter
• deli turkey slices

for the zuccini bread
• soy flour
• honey
• vanilla
• olive oil
• salt
• baking powder
• baking soda
• cinnamon
• whole wheat flour
• wheat germ
• oats
• last summer's garden zuccini
• peanuts
• dried cranberries

Him:
Fantastic! *then looks up the history on the Hamburger Helper line*

Me:
I have one Chicken Helper left in the pantry....and then never, ever again.

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Day #2: Eating from my Pantry. I thought onions were necessary

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

I like this self-imposed challenge. Sure, it’s only Day 2, and I imagine that on Day 23 I might be a little grumpy for bread, but for now this is engaging a few of my flash-in-the-pan passions-of-the-day.

For one, I’ve been waging a rampaging war against clutter, and if forgotten-about Tuna Helper in the back of the cabinet isn’t clutter, then I don’t know what is. For another, I’ve cut and cut and cut my budget on my recent frugality phase, and, really, the only place left to cut is in my grocery bill.

And the very latest topic that piqued my interest is wealth vs. happiness. I recently read a blog mentioning the book Happier, and while I haven’t read it yet (it’s on reserve at the library at the mo), the review mentions these intriguing tidbits:

“You don’t want to be rich — you want to be happy”

“Many of us (including me) get wrapped up in the belief that having more money is the key to a better life. But it’s not. The key to a better life is increased happiness. For some people, that does mean more money. But according to the research Tal Ben-Shahar shares in his book Happier, most of us would be better served by:
• Creating rituals around the things we love to do.
• Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests.
• Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses.
• Simplifying our lives — not just the Stuff, but the time.”

To me, this translates to
• things we love to do (cooking, saving money, gardening)
• meaningful goals (have as many of my pennies working as possible, grow as much as I can to eat, remove processed food from our lives)
• Playing to our strengths (I think I can cook, I think I can garden)
• Simplifying our lives (self-explanatory)

Anyways, here’s how we fared tonight…

Pantry Item Finished:
Honey Dijon dressing

Pantry Items Used:
Salad:
• Spring mix lettuces
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Honey Dijon dressing (him)
• Raspberry hazelnut dressing (me)

Shrimp & Couscous
• Couscous
• Gourmet herb flavored gift oil
• Olive oil
• Raisins
• Last summer's garden zucchini
• Defrosted cooked shrimp
• Minced garlic
• Homemade chicken stock
• Homemade pesto
• Adobo
• Salt

Him:
That was great, Poopa. Thank you very much.

Me:
Yum.

Day #1: Eating from my pantry

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all this week, while for the month of January I will only be allowed to buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.


Tonight, I took inspiration from a usual source: frugality blog The Simple Dollar, specifically this article titled Nine Creative Ways to Utilize Leftovers from Common Meals.

Since we had pot roast last night, naturally we had some leftover meat, broth, and some vegetables. Trent suggests the following:

"Instead of just reheating this food for future meals, I just toss it into the food processor with some of the broth, puree it, and then take the thick “soup” and add bread crumbs until I’m able to form patties with it. I then cook the patties over medium heat in a skillet with a bit of canola oil until they’re light brown on both sides. Optionally, I’ll add a bit of cheese to the mix."

Cool!

I also decided this would be good as sandwiches. I have some bread left, but not alot, and since I'm out of white flour, I decided to make rye bread according to this recipe.

Here's the rye bread:


And, while somewhat unattractive, this pot roast burger is quite edible. Even a bit yummy.

My Eat-From-My-Own-Pantry Self-Imposed Challenge

During my frugality blog reading this morning, I came across this article:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/122070-klatsch-a-week-without-shopping/
"Surely I'm not alone in having a freezer and pantry full of food, much of which will get thrown out as it expires over the course of the coming months and years. Indeed, I live in a small apartment. People with houses, basement freezers and walk-in pantries surely have far more of this stuff lying around than I do. Surely I'm not alone in having overbought at the supermarket last week. Surely I'm not alone when I get home from the supermarket and can barely fit the new food in the refrigerator because there's so much of the old stuff. Surely I'm not alone in being able to skip a week of shopping and still eat well."

Of course, as soon as I finished reading it, I ran to my pantry to see if I could identify the oldest items in there. The winner was the box of Tuna Helper. I think. I can't be sure. It could have been the corn starch.

So now I'm inspired. I will not go grocery shopping at all this week.

And for the month of January, I will only buy:
1. fresh vegetables
2. fresh fruit
3. meat

I will post a blog every day on my progress.

Stay tuned....

Here is what I have now:

Freezer
2 lb frozen cooked shrimp
2 12 oz frozen pizzas
17 baggies of 2 cup measurements of shredded zuccini from last summer's garden
8 5 oz jars of pesto from last summer's garden
1 lb edamame
1 pint Ben & Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk
3 cups homemade beef stock
12 oz broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli, carrots, red cabbage). I really, really am not looking forward to eating this.
3 cups chopped celery
1 stick of butter
box of 4 meatless burger patties
3 "chick'n" patties
1 cup homemade cucumber sauce from last summer's garden



Refrigerator
3.5 oz crumbled goat cheese
24 oz sour cream
almost finished 15 oz tub of margarine
coffee
16 oz minced garlic
16 oz ranch dressing
3 oz mayonnaise
8 oz grated Parmesan
32 oz ketchup
1 1/2 9" pie crusts
1 plus a little bit gallon apple cider
3 cups homemade chicken stock
a little bit of pumpkiin butter
Teriyaki sauce
20 oz deli turkey slices
5 oz spring mix lettuces
12 oz leftover pot roast
10 oz cheddar cheese block
1.3 oz blueberry spread
6 oz spreadable pate
1 oz hot mustard
4 oz brown mustard
9 oz steak sauce
10 oz BBQ sauce
5 oz recaito
5 oz sofrito
10 oz whole grain dijon mustard
15 oz soy sauce
1 oz honey dijon dressing
plastic lemon of lemon juice
8 oz blue cheese dressing
8 oz caeser dressing
8 oz spray fake butter
4 oz raspberry hazelnut dressing
8 oz oyster sauce
3 cups shredded cheddar
2 cups shredded zuccini
3 1/2 flour tortillas



Pantry
5 slices stale bread
5 slices fresh homemade bread
2 slices fresh homemade zuccini bread
1/2 hamburger bun
13 oz crackers
1 lb dry milk
a few less than 100 teabags
3 packets of set of 2 crackers stolen from restaurants
3 packets of hot chocolate
2 packets of pesto mix
4 oz general tsao stir fry mix
7 packets chicken bag n mix seasoning
a whole bunch of spices
24 oz oats
2 1/4 lbs whole wheat flour
5 lbs rye flour
a canister full of chinese take-out packets of hot sauce, mustard, etc
8 oz balsamic vinegerette
8 lbs pinto beans
1 lb honey
1 lb pasta sauce jar
10 oz red cooking wine
16 oz mayonnaise
16 oz corn meal
1 lb peanuts in shells
5 oz can of bread crumbs
8 oz walnut oil
some peanut oil
1 1/2 liter olive oil
12 oz gourmet herb flavored gift oil
12 oz gourmet herb flavored gift vinegar
8 oz jar apple butter
1 lb raisins
some vanilla
4 lbs sugar
12 oz Nestle Quick
5 10 oz cans chicken noodle soup
18 oz can New England clam chowder
2 18 oz cans grilled chicken & sausage gumbo
18 oz can chicken & corn chowder
4 lbs unsweetened chocolate powder
4 lbs brown sugar
4 oz yeast
10 lbs shelled peanuts
10 lbs dried cranberries
various kinds of salt
8 lbs rice
16 oz cashews
16 oz unpopped popcorn
12 oz corn starch
16 oz baking powder
12 oz baking soda
10 oz graham cracker crumbs
5 oz sesame oil
16 oz corn syrup
canister Bisquick (too far back in cabinet to get size)
6 oz wheat germ
2 handfuls of barley
1 lb soy flour
6 oz sherry wine
15 oz couscous
cooking spray
8 oz cocktail sauce
handful of dates
1 lb confectioner's sugar
3 oz corn boil packet
7 oz Farina
5 oz rice noodles
1 pouch dried noodle soup
15 oz whole wheat pancake mix
1 pouch instant rice bag
more balsamic vinegerette
24 oz apple sauce
8 oz dried lentils
22 oz hoisin sauce
1 box chicken helper
1 box tuna helper
10 lb bag potatoes (minus a few potatoes)
4 cups elbow pasta







PS. Soda, beer, wine, etc are exempt :-D


I have a feeling I will be using these cookbooks quite often in the 1 month and 1 week coming up:

Grandma's Cooking

My maternal grandmother was born on Christmas Day, and so was named Noelly.
She passed away about two years ago.

She wasn't a fantastic cook, but she did successfully feed 4 children and 8 grandchildren, sometimes all at the same time, and she did this with very little money.

Thinking back now on breakfasts where I had to swipe the last piece of toast before another cousin woke up, or on dinners that were obviously a mix of the previous 2 or 3 dinners' leftovers, I have come to understand that my grandmother was the ultimate frugal cook. I wish that I had discovered my financial sensibilities (or my relatively recent interest in cooking) long before she died. I would have liked to have shared with her the recipes I am discovering on frugality blogs, and environment-friendly cookbooks.

I'm guessing she may have rolled her eyes at some and point out the obvious: that she had been cooking these dishes for years, and not for some noble cause, but rather out of what she had available to her. But there are many ideas that I think she didn't think of, and I would have liked to have had the chance to mull over with her the pro's and con's of the (incredibly cheap meals you can make with a) crock-pot, or the cool idea of using day-old cooked rice as the bottom pastry layer of pot pies.

Well, for all of the conversations I didn't have with her, and on the eve of my grandmother's birthday, here is proof of the conversations I did have with her. While my cousin collected these recipes (written in my grandmother's hand), I do remember watching, and sometimes helping, her make every single one of these recipes many, many times.

Happy birthday, Grandma! I miss your rice and hope to taste it again someday.

PS. Click on each image to get a close-up look at the recipes.