Monday, November 10, 2008

The Pantry Project



I was following links from some of my favorite food blogs when I came across an entry that described a shopping trip the author had taken in which she had spent well over $140 dollars and had very little to show for it. The experience caused her to think that she could live for quite a while from the contents of her pantry, supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies and perishables like milk and eggs.

Her blog entry got me to thinking, and to cleaning, reorganizing and logging the contents of my pantry, as well as my freezer. My own "pantry project" began today. I made a list of all the food I had on hand, and I got my husband on board with the idea. (There is a lot of rice-- brown rice, white rice, basmati rice, arborio rice-- pasta and other grains, and my hubby is really basically a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.) The combinations may get a little strange as we go, but that's the challenge part of the project, yes?

My pantry held all kinds of surprises, from two cans of artichoke hearts (one marinated, one not) to two cans of water chestnuts. (I also found a third can of artichoke hearts that had seepd out of the bottom of the can and turned black on the pantry shelf. Why can't they just put an understandable date code on the can so we can tell how old something is?)

That said, tonight we feasted on garlic/rosemary chicken legs, parmesan flavored couscous, and steamed peas with mushrooms. Not a bad start...

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