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Purge the Larder


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This is a great idea! I too have a ton of accumulated foodstuffs that I should use, plus I'm about to move. Granted, I'm only moving next door, and thus have high hopes of being able to move the chest freezer without having to unload it. I've been good at updating the freezer inventory everytime I add or remove something - the key to that is to have the list (and a pen) clipped to the side. The cabinets, not so much. I'll inventory them this week. Being single and cooking for one can be great, but it takes so much longer to use up everything! One pork chop at a time, I guess.

"Nothing you could cook will ever be as good as the $2.99 all-you-can-eat pizza buffet." - my EX (wonder why he's an ex?)

My eGfoodblog: My corner of the Midwest

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Okay, I have to come clean about something......although they are relegated to one little spot in the pantry, I have managed to accumulate a pretty crazy amount of salad dressings in the past few months..... 13 bottles total. Granted, many of them are vinaigrettes that I use as a lazy-man's marinade quite often, but it is still excessive. Now that I've made myself accountable to the group....I will cease and desist immediately, no matter how many great buy-one-get-one or closeout sales I run across.

Hummingbirdkiss, thanks for the compliment! Funny how you find other things to do with your time once the food-focus has to take a backseat and you're forced to find other productive outlets.....that is of course assuming that online rambling can be considered "productive" :biggrin: . If nothing else it's therapeutic...at least until my mom happens to run across it.

Jerry

Kansas City, Mo.

Unsaved Loved Ones

My eG Food Blog- 2011

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Not to rain on anyones parade :smile: but, does anyone else have my problem?

I don't have a large freezer, fridge or pantry... but I want to clean them out nonetheless.

My problem is that when I try to eat some meal based on available ingredients... it doesn't satisfy. If I saw some killer meal on the "Dinner" thread, I WANT to make that! If I have defrosted butternut squash soup planned for dinner (it was a fine soup), I can eat and eat and never be satisfied... it might be fine food, but it's not what I WANT!

I also find myself in the "almost there" zone... I've got 70% of the items for a dish, but I'm short the last crucial 30%... without which it's a "dud". No cilantro, no milk or cream, no appropiate pasta, (all examples!) and worst of all no protein that is right. (For example, I've got only chicken thighs in the fridge right now..)

I guess I want to understand how others eat "whats available" vs. "what I want" and still get satisfied?

Edited by Jamie Lee (log)

Jamie Lee

Beauty fades, Dumb lasts forever. - Judge Judy

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Not to rain on anyones parade  :smile:  but, does anyone else have my problem?

I don't have a large freezer, fridge or pantry... but I want to clean them out nonetheless.

My problem is that when I try to eat some meal based on available ingredients... it doesn't satisfy.  If I saw some killer meal on the "Dinner" thread, I WANT to make that!  If I have defrosted butternut squash soup planned for dinner (it was a fine soup), I can eat and eat and never be satisfied... it might be fine food, but it's not what I WANT!

I also find myself in the "almost there" zone... I've got 70% of the items for a dish, but I'm short the last crucial 30%... without which it's a "dud".   No cilantro, no milk or cream, no appropiate pasta, (all examples!) and worst of all no protein that is right.  (For example, I've got only chicken thighs in the fridge right now..)

I guess I want to understand how others eat "whats available" vs. "what I want" and still get satisfied?

I completely understand this ...that is why I am doing it....my life four months ago was hit with the tragidy of a lifetime (and thanks to this board and the distraction ..consideration and brilliance here I have been able to plow through and just find a diversion that has helped me remember who I am ...so thank you) ..anyway ..one thing I noticed during this time is that I lost part of the core of my being ...that is to really appreciate what is there in front of me ...I wanted more instant gratification and have had a horrible time trying to get control of this because of the sadness (sadness is very consuming) .....this spring purge helps with that ..there is nothing in the pantry that will kill me if I force myself to use it (well except the candlenuts I still have not had the nerve to eat )...

food is central to my being..and symbolic in my life in so may ways (as it is in most folks here from what i see) ...wasting it is also a huge shame ....this is almost a religious thing to me (and I am agnostic so that is big) ..this spring purging is a reminder ..that yes we do have some things we can control in life ...while there are many we can't ...we were nurturing ourselves when we bought it ...not using it is denying that....we can make a meal out of anything and find some way to enjoy it.....my own satiety level may not be into a bowl of seaweed soup three times this week for lunch ..but I bought the stuff and it is my obligation to honor the food by eating it and not wasting it....it is time to do that .. because it opens to the doors to letting new things in..emotionally as well has physically...and if I go and buy a whole bunch of something wonderful in season in the next few months I can do this with out thinking "hmmmm I should have used that bag of masa before the bugs got in there" ..with out the guilt having so much already I can start fresh ..people are starving ..it costs the envorinment to create things things for us to enjoy ..why ignore them...(this is just me I am not proselytizing please know that just how I really believe and try to live ...but I am run down and tired and have to exercise this in order to get better) .....so the real bottom line to me ..is to rediscover the reason I do what I did to begin with and try to find new ways to satisfy that are good for everyone ..not just me ...

I am not great with words I just hope this helps answer Jamie Lee as to how I am dealing with the want what I want ..vs the eat what is here and make it pleasurable and satisfying...I just remind myself there is a bigger picture than what is on that plate ...the food took a very long time to get there and it deserves my full attention ...

(remind me of this when I whine about what I am eating a bowl of capers for Sunday dinner this week ok??? :raz: )

speaking of capers I have three jars of opened ones (and several in the pantry) ..please anyone know how to use these up besides the obvious?

Jamie Lee go back and try to remember the pleasure you had in making that soup and how you did it and what you put it there to nurture youself ..and condiments if needed and savor the goodness you have inside you...

that is what I suggest ..

OOOXXX to all of you

tomorrow an avocado smoothie for breakfast !!!

seaweed soup for lunch (when I smell it I can pretend I am at the beach for a few moments gathering :smile: )

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Okay, I have to come clean about something......although they are relegated to one little spot in the pantry, I have managed to accumulate a pretty crazy amount of salad dressings in the past few months..... 13 bottles total.  Granted, many of them are vinaigrettes that I use as a lazy-man's marinade quite often, but it is still excessive.  Now that I've made myself accountable to the group....I will cease and desist immediately, no matter how many great buy-one-get-one or closeout sales I run across. 

Hummingbirdkiss, thanks for the compliment!  Funny how you find other things to do with your time once the food-focus has to take a backseat and you're forced to find other productive outlets.....that is of course assuming that online rambling can be considered "productive"  :biggrin: .  If nothing else it's therapeutic...at least until my mom happens to run across it.

off topic...well it is great you did a fine job at expressing the core of what you feel so YAY!!!

on topic

I did not have sugery just a huge appetite put on some weight loading sugar into myself...and am now on a diet and so similar to you as well...with out all the time I was spending carbloading my miseries..that did not work by the way but stopping that has... I have a ton of energy (like drunks when the stop drinking same thing..I get it when I give up sugar) I am purging my pantry ..spring greens are almost here.....and if it is good salad dressing I could use it! and trade you for some capers....or maybe these sardines???...

I have to focus on my own list now and start thinking more about menus for later this week...instead of peaking in to all over yours to see what I can borrow :smile:

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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A progress report:

- The bald zested oranges were juiced.

- The rutabagas became oven fries.

- If they ever defrost, the sorrel puree and duck fat will become omelets cooked in duck fat and stuffed with sorrel puree. :raz:

- if they don't defrost, supper will be something to do with grilled hot dogs. :hmmm:

- Date Rum Pecan Ice Cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop is in progress (goodbye, pecans).

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OMG. How hedonistic I must have sounded... how hedonstic I must be.

Sorry.

My 2008 resolution is to appreciate my leftovers more. (Can't promise that I'll abandon my "spur-of-the-moment" creations!)

Jamie

Jamie Lee

Beauty fades, Dumb lasts forever. - Judge Judy

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This is great; now I have some accountability. We're spending the summer away this year so a few weeks ago I inventoried our freezer and pantry so I could plan meals around the stuff we already have. It's not all or nothing though, obviously most of this stuff will last until we get back in the fall, but we're only going to be here for 8 months after we get back, and at the rate I tend to collect things I had better get started now. What is crazy is that this doesn't include my oil/vinegar/spirits cabinet, my baking cabinet, or my crazy collection of condiments that resides in the refrigerator. What is even more crazy is that we've only been in this apartment since last August and I've already managed to collect so much stuff. (My husband is in a two year grad program with an internship this summer.) BTW, I have a two year old, so please overlook some of the more questionable items.

FREEZER:

3 lb Chuck Roast

4 Whole Chickens

1.5 lbs Ground Turkey

3 - 6 oz fillets Sockeye Salmon

2 lbs Shrimp 31-40 ct

3 - 16 oz cartons Egg Substitute

23 oz pkg Chicken Meatballs

12 oz pkg Cocktail Franks

Chicken Nuggets

8 Salmon Burgers

8 Veggie Burgers

1.5 lbs Vegetarian Dumplings

1 qt bag Turkey Chili

1 Puff Pastry Sheet

1.5 lb loaf White Bread

8 Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

1 French Bread Roll

5 Whole Wheat Pitas

7 - 1 T chunks Tomato Paste

1+ cup Pumpkin Puree

11 oz Peas

9 oz Corn

4 Bananas

8 oz Pecan Halves

5 oz Pecan Pieces

1.25 pints Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch

1 Chocolate Chip w/ Walnut Cookie Dough Ball

1 Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Ball

Coffee Beans

1 qt bag Stir Fried Vegetables and Tofu

PANTRY:

TOMATOES

5 28 oz cans Whole

2 28 oz cans Crushed

1 35 oz cans Crushed 35 oz

2 28 oz cans Ground

3 28 oz cans Diced

1 28 oz cans Fire Roasted Whole

1 28 oz cans Fire Roasted Crushed

3 14 oz cans Diced

BEANS

2 15 oz cans Black

1 15 oz cans Pinto

1 15 oz cans Blackeye Peas

1 15 oz cans Cannellini (White Kidney)

SOY MILK

1 qt Unsweetened

12 1 qt Plain

PASTA

1.75 lb Spaghetti

2 lb Linguine

1 lb Penne

.25 lb Macaroni

1 lb Orzo

3 11 oz Corn Niblets

2 10.4 oz Mandarin Oranges

16 oz Dijon Mustard

6 oz jar Fried Gluten with Peanuts

13 oz jar Chinese Pickled Cucumber

1 jar XO Sauce

6 oz can Salmon

7 oz can Chipotles in Adobo

1 jar Sa-Cha Sauce

2 oz tin Anchovies

4 oz can Diced Green Chiles

1 small can Crisco

18 oz jar Orange Marmalade

18 oz jar Apricot Preserves

1 Better Than Bouillon - Beef

1 Better Than Bouillon - Chicken

2 Better Than Bouillon - Vegetable

LEGUMES

9 oz Bean Soup Mix

1 lb 3 oz Black Beans

14 oz Mung Beans

15 oz Green Split Peas

2 oz French Green Lentils

12 oz Brown Lentils

5 oz Red Lentils

10 oz Masoor Dal (Tiny Red Lentils)

GRAINS

2 lbs 2 oz Hard Wheat Berries

13 oz Soft Wheat Berries

1 lb 3 oz Long Grain Rice

big bag of Kokuho Rose rice

6 oz Coarse Bulgur

48 oz Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter

1/2 jar Nutella

12 Toaster Pastries - Blueberry

13 Toaster Pastries - Strawberry

11 pkts Elmo oatmeal

15 pks Zoe oatmeal

20 2 oz Snacking Nuts

Herb Mix for Bean Soup

Kashi Heart to Heart

8 oz Dried Mushroom Blend

170 g Dried Shiitakes

Goldfish Crackers

Ritz Crackers

Pretzel Sticks

10 oz Roasted Sliced Almonds

4 oz Whole Pistachios

Raisins

Dried Chanterelle Mushrooms

Dried Porcini Mushrooms

Pork Sung

Chinese Tea

Regarding the tomatoes: we have this one cabinet that is pretty big, but only a small sliver of one end is visible when you open the door. I think I kept buying tomatoes when they went on sale and then shoved them in this cabinet and simply forgot about them. When I finally did my inventory I found about 30 cans hiding back there. So far I've already made tomato soup, tomato sauce, and chili, as well as added tomatoes here and there to my cooking, and I still have 18 cans left.

And why do I have so many dried legumes?! And wheat berries?! I love wheat berries, but good lord, how many can we eat?

On the plus side, besides the aforementioned tomatoes, I've already gone through (and taken off the above list) 6 frozen bananas, walnuts, several pounds of pasta, lots of yellow split peas, some dried bean soup mix, dried cherries, frozen stews and soups, canned kidney beans, even more wheat berries, frozen shrimp/squid/scallops, more frozen salmon/cod/tilapia, frozen chicken breasts, lots of rice, a jar of strawberry preserves, a jar of raspberry preserves, a big jar of peanut butter, rice noodles, mung bean threads, 1 box of unsweetened soy milk, a couple boxes of shelf stable tofu, a few discs of Ibarra hot chocolate, and lots of coffee.

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OMG.  How hedonistic I must have sounded... how hedonstic I must be.

Sorry.

My 2008 resolution is to appreciate my leftovers more.  (Can't promise that I'll abandon my "spur-of-the-moment" creations!)

Jamie

OMG Jamie Lee NO that is not what I meant at all I am sorry I was trying to explain my own motivation and what I was doing to get beyond the "want what I want" thing ..I am sorry maybe I should delete that post if it came across like that

I did not mean that at all I am so so sorry :sad:

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Jamie Lee,

in this challenge as in all of life, YMMV.

Feel free to reframe this to work for you. You have a pantry-consuming dish that requires you to buy two ingredients in order to use up those that have been living on your shelves rent-free? Give yourself permission to get those critical ingredients.

Given what's on my shelves, and my very limited skills at creating dishes, that is the only way I will get that top shelf cleared. I know I have at least 3 jars of homemade jam (gifts) on my troubleshelf. I'm not going to eat that much jam, so I think I'll need to buy puffpastry and make strudeltype thingies. Or jam thumbprint cookies (to store in freezer and hope I dont forget when Easter comes..... oh dear. Slippery slope there.....)

Tonight I must try to do the inventory thing. Totally forgot it when I got home. sigh.

Someone asked about wheat berries. Perhaps soak them and incorporate them into bread? The 5-min a day bread seems to be very forgiving.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Heh. I also have only a relatively small freezer and pantry space ... plus not enough patience or attention span to do the wonderfully detailed inventory some of you have posted. :biggrin: But I do have a mental list of things that are languishing and could stand to be used up--plus all you guys' enthusiasm about cleaning out!

Off to survey the various containers of dry beans I have stashed away, to see what kind of interesting soup I can make from them ...

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I am SO pleased with my efforts today.

Cookies made with (among other things): the last of the sugar and almost the last of the flour, a significant dent made into the lard, and an orange that was forgotten in the produce drawer. Lard-orange-cinnamon cookies? Yummy.

Spoonbread made with (among other things): the last of the cornmeal, more lard, the last of the sour cream (yay!!), and almost the end of the milk.

Breakfast of the last of the yogurt, dents made in the sunflower seeds, Fiber One, honey, the last of the grilled pineapple, and a random bag of toasted shredded coconut.

I picked up a boston butt, cut in half to slow-roast two different ways:

(1) glazed with a reduction of that half-jar of blackberry jelly, a leftover 1/3 bottle of shiraz, dregs of leftover chicken stock, and dijon. I'm thinking a gravy with the pan drippings (using the last of the flour!!!) served over the aforementioned spoonbread.

(2) covered in a paste of the leftover chopped jalapenos, the last of the jalapeno hot sauce, a dent put in the yellow mustard, honey, garlic, paprika and oregano. To be shredded and served with the last of the pickled onions and carrots!

I am still faced with the grits. I'm thinking a breakfast grits scramble tomorrow with leftover salmon and that little piece of shallot that was hiding in the produce drawer, and the last round of goat cheese.

I am also still faced with the watermelon pickle and a quart of lard. This one is tougher, because I'm really not that fond of mass quantities of watermelon pickle. The lard might need to be used in some sort of confit.

Pretty much everything else in the fridge and cupboard I am comfortable that I use regularly enough to consume by the time I move, or is good enough to bother taking with me (no way am I leaving my salt pork behind!)

Yay. :biggrin::cool::biggrin:

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

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Thank you Jamie Lee ..I felt so badly when I read that I would never want my words to be offensive :wub:

you guys are awesome in your efforts ...today was really rough for me to pull it together at all... let alone for food! I just ate the last avocado for breakfast and then tossed all kinds of crap into a bag and am picking through it now making it "lunch" tg it is my Friday ..I can cook more and be more creative the next few days ..

Viva you are my hero!!! how wonderful you turned everything into gold!

I had forgotten about spoonbread! what a great idea

grits I love them in the cheddar/jalepeno casserole

if I had a quart of lard I would find something to deep fry! if it is pure lard then I would bake some biscochitos (have you had/made those? they are so good and keep well I think)

KA I totally agree with you ..I never meant for this to be "hard core" (except for me because it has to be right now or I will not do it)

Djyee you are so on this what great ideas thank you!!! that ice cream sounds too good

JuJube I want to come live in your larder!!

Mizducky ...all of you thank you so much for joining in ...this is so helpful!!!

tomorrow I am going to do a full on attack and start from top to bottom...I have until next Wed to get this done...and I will do it ... as I promised myself and you witnessed it ....

I just have to figure out now what to make for dinner tonight ..as tired as my husband and I are right now ....maybe a piece of cheese on a plate and a pint of beer (that has to go too right? not exactly "diet food" but I gotta make room for more :raz: )

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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I have been trying to do this for a couple of months now.  On my list of things to use up :

1) a huge bottle of red palm oil

2) a bag of urad beans

3) half a bag of split urad beans

4) almost a full bag of glutinous rice flour

5) half a bag of sour tapioca flour

6) half a huge box of couscous

7) a jar of quinoa crisps

8) about a ton of masa harina

9) a big container of frozen celeriac

10) a big container of frozen adzuki beans

11) a bunch of frozen bean burgers and falafel

12) several bottles of champagne and a couple of bottles of wine

I am making very slow progress.

I'm ready for Spring, as well, but chiming in to say I just LOVE knowing someone with a list like this!!! Makes me feel so worldly and sophisticated.

rachel of the four bags of dried beans, five kinds of rice, some canned anchovies, three packs of Martha White cornbread mix and wishing the BIG refrigerator jar of kimchee were celeriac

Thank you, Rachel, but I guess I wasn't quite as worldly and sophisticated as I thought I was when I was buying all those ingredients... which is why they're all still hanging around my kitchen. (I actually bought a lot of them during the soccer World Cup - picked a team each night and made a huge feast based on that country's cuisine!)

My problem is that when I try to eat some meal based on available ingredients... it doesn't satisfy.  If I saw some killer meal on the "Dinner" thread, I WANT to make that!  If I have defrosted butternut squash soup planned for dinner (it was a fine soup), I can eat and eat and never be satisfied... it might be fine food, but it's not what I WANT!

I also find myself in the "almost there" zone... I've got 70% of the items for a dish, but I'm short the last crucial 30%... without which it's a "dud".  No cilantro, no milk or cream, no appropiate pasta, (all examples!) and worst of all no protein that is right.  (For example, I've got only chicken thighs in the fridge right now..)

I guess I want to understand how others eat "whats available" vs. "what I want" and still get satisfied?

What I do is surf around on the Internet (and eGullet) specifically looking for recipes to use up my ingredients. When I find a suitable candidate I research it thoroughly, reading different variations of the recipe, looking at pictures, etc. That usually fills me with the desire to make it.

Unfortunately I do also run into the aforementioned problem (of having to stock up on some other ingredient and then being left thinking of ways to use that up too)!

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speaking of capers I have three jars of opened ones (and several in the pantry) ..please anyone know how to use these up besides the obvious?

Caponata and pasta puttenesca come to mind. Too bad this isn't the season for eggplant and tomatoes. But you could try to make a puttenesca with canned tomatoes. Maybe an olive tapenade with capers, also?

For a winter pasta, I like to make this dish: Saute chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower in a generous amount of olive oil, add in chopped garlic, anchovies, capers, olives, and fresh parsley. Toss with cooked pasta. The shell or penne style pasta handle this topping better than spaghetti. :smile:

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Viva you are my hero!!! how wonderful you turned everything into gold!

I had forgotten about spoonbread! what a great idea

grits I love them in the cheddar/jalepeno casserole

if I had a quart of lard I would find something to deep fry! if it is pure lard then I would bake some biscochitos (have you had/made those? they are so good and keep well I think)

No, what are biscochitos? I've been eyeing the Fried Chicken thread thinking that lard might make a tasty batch of fried chicken... :wub:

viva~
a leftover 1/3 bottle of shiraz

You have left over WINE ????

:blink::shock::laugh:

:laugh: I drank the other two thirds, fell asleep, left it open on the counter, and forgot about it until the following evening. It wasn't as tasty after being left open for so long!!! Trust me, it's not a common occurrence. :laugh:

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

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Viva you are my hero!!! how wonderful you turned everything into gold!

I had forgotten about spoonbread! what a great idea

grits I love them in the cheddar/jalepeno casserole

if I had a quart of lard I would find something to deep fry! if it is pure lard then I would bake some biscochitos (have you had/made those? they are so good and keep well I think)

No, what are biscochitos? I've been eyeing the Fried Chicken thread thinking that lard might make a tasty batch of fried chicken... :wub:

you can use the wine and the lard in this recipe for biscochitos ..I learned how to make these in Santa Fe when my kids were little they are a very good biscuity cookie..this recipe is not exact so feel free to make it your own!

I love these cookies they are kind of a soul food!

Katherine's Biscochitos

step 1

3-4 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon anise seed (smash it just a little)

1 tsp fresh ground cinnamon

mix all the dry stuff together (you can use grated citrus peel as well in here)

Step 2

cream together until very fluffy

1 cup lard (or half butter half lard but then it is not the traditional ones I know)

1 cup (more or less) of regular sugar

1 egg

scrappings of the inside of one vanilla bean

just under 1/4 cup of red wine

add the dry to the wet stuff and mix together well ..chill the dough over night if possible but at least an hour is good ..

roll them out (try not to add more flour but if you need to it is ok) to about just under 1/2 inch and cut with a biscuit cutter ..dip the tops in cinnamon sugar and bake on a baking sheet (I always use parchment but you dont have to these do not stick) 350 for about 10 min (watch the first batch) they should be golden brown on the bottom

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Heh. I also have only a relatively small freezer and pantry space ... plus not enough patience or attention span to do the wonderfully detailed inventory some of you have posted. :biggrin: But I do have a mental list of things that are languishing and could stand to be used up--plus all you guys' enthusiasm about cleaning out!

Off to survey the various containers of dry beans I have stashed away, to see what kind of interesting soup I can make from them ...

Ohh, 13 bean soup! Yummy, and even better if you've got a hunk of ham or a hock hidden away...! :rolleyes: (Even a nice bit of smoked turkey!)

ETA: turkey

Edited by judiu (log)

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Top shelf revealed.

Not as bad as I feared, percentage wise. The tenor's been stocking it with frequently used stuff.

Still......

Marmite - 2 large jars & 1 travel pack

Nutella - 1 large jar, one small jar of a clone brand (Nugatti)

mustard - 1 jar

pickle relish - 1 jar

miracle whip - 1 jar

Branston pickle - 1 jar

Raspberry chipotle sauce - 1 bottle

tomato soup - 1 can

evaporated milk - 1 can

peanut butter

strawberry jam

can for popcorn - sadly empty

Tahitian vanilla beans - 2

Teachers Highland Cream Scottish Haggis - 1 can

manuka honey

bush honey

lehua honey

tupelo honey

clover honey

orange blossom honey

caffeinated chewing gum - 6 packs

Soy milk - 3 quarts. Whooops - expired in summer 07. Tossed that.

Pavlova mix - two packs (a gift from someone)

sauerkraut - 1 can

coconut milk - 2 cans

pineapple rings - 1 can (where and when did those come from ??)

mulberry preserve (whole fruits)

pumpkin butter

deep orange home made jam of some kind from some one - apricot maybe (gift)

larger jar of similar (darker color) (gift)

home canned apricot halfs - pint jar (gift)

passion fruit jam

cream of mushroom soup - 2 cans

chicken broth - 1 qt

smoked baby oysters - 2 cans

anchovies - 1 can

The top is stuff that can stay - we use it regularly even if it is in gross oversupply.

The lower half ... that stuff's gotta go. Even if we replace it, its been in there a while.

I wont try to use up the entire honey collection, but the clover and orange blossom should get consumed. They are easy to replace.

Pavlova and passion fruit jam seems easy. (What is with a mix for a meringue for pete's sake?)

Other than brats, what to do with sauerkraut?

?a simple curry for the coconut milk?

The oysters were for eating on crackers, but the tenor wont eat them, my eating-smoked-oysters partner was on chemo and couldnt think of them, and I cant eat an entire can alone. Make dip for a party?

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Other than brats, what to do with sauerkraut?

?a simple curry for the coconut milk?

Odd it may sound, the juxtaposition of the two items in your list makes me wonder if sauerkraut may work similarly to some pickled vegetables that one finds in a Thai curry.

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...sauerkraut - 1 can

Other than brats, what to do with sauerkraut?

OH KA, as a sauerkraut sort-of-connoisseur, trust me on this one.......

Ditch the canned 'kraut without so much as the slightest guilty inkling. Canned 'kraut is dreadful, dreadful stuff, usually picks up an off-taste from the can. And it's limp and flaccid, where good 'kraut should be crisp & crunchy & perky. If you really want kraut, buy the stuff in the glass jars, or better yet, the stuff in the refrigerated deli case in the plastic bags. MUCH better.

Toss it. Please. My Polish ancestors are beggin' ya on this one......

--Roberta--

"Let's slip out of these wet clothes, and into a dry Martini" - Robert Benchley

Pierogi's eG Foodblog

My *outside* blog, "A Pound Of Yeast"

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