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Purge the Larder


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I'm nibbling away at my nuts supply.

The pecans went into Date Rum Pecan Ice Cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.

gallery_50011_5244_123327.jpg

I also made Challah, and sprinkled it very generously with poppyseeds. I still have some poppyseeds left, though.

gallery_50011_5244_141112.jpg

The challah recipe is from Tim Decker, who is profiled in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Tim teaches wonderful (excellent!) breadbaking classes at the Ramekins school in Sonoma, Calif.

I learned how to make this challah at Tim's class last year. Tim is teaching this bread as Braided Easter Egg Bread in an Easter Breads class on March 21. http://www.ramekinsclasses.com/search.cgi?...ar=2008&month=3

Edited by djyee100 (log)
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I also made Challah, and sprinkled it very generously with poppyseeds. I still have some poppyseeds left, though.

gallery_50011_5244_141112.jpg

You may want to consider recipes that use ground poppy seed as a thickener and flavoring agent. I have seen Indian recipes that use zucchini and ground white poppy seed, but I just checked and there are alot out there. Would use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

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I've been following this thread and wish I had all the ambition exhibited by you all.

It's a wonderful idea but each time I walk into my pantry the sheer volume of "stuff" causes me to retreat without even taking stock.

Actually what I need is a starving multitude to push me into action..........

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I've been following this thread and wish I had all the ambition exhibited by you all.

It's a wonderful idea but each time I walk into my pantry the sheer volume of "stuff" causes me to retreat without even taking stock.

Actually what I need is a starving multitude to push me into action..........

Well it is exhausting and I am kind of sick of doing this :raz:

I cooked my ass off today ..used up almost everything and have meals/desserts/snacks for the next three days....and want to go and have a big bowl of Pho for dinner!!!

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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You may want to consider recipes that use ground poppy seed as a thickener and flavoring agent. I have seen Indian recipes that use zucchini and ground white poppy seed, but I just checked and there are alot out there. Would use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

After I read your post I checked a couple Indian cookbooks I own. No poppyseed recipes, but I only have a couple tbsp left, so they will do for my next loaf of challah.

But the other recipes using nuts were just great. I found a chicken curry called "One Hundred Almond Curry" (which sounds like about how many almonds I have stuffed in my freezer); also a chicken curry with a ground cashew sauce. Perfect! Thanks so much for the good suggestion, heidih.

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Wasn't there a thread a while ago about some website where you could put in several ingredients and they would give back a list of recipes that would work? I can't remember what it was called, altho I thought it was a Google product (I ccan't find it in Google stuff tho.)

:huh:

ETA:

here it is!!!

http://www.grimmthething.com/other/cse/googlefood.html

This one, too!

http://www.aaa-recipes.com/

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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GOOD MORNING!

MY LARDER IS (for the most part) DELARDED!

All I have left that really needs a use up ...is a bag of shelled pistachios, a bag of pine nuts and half bag of ground almonds (I am going to make a couple of batches of biscotti later and that is it for that!)

..everthing left in my pantry, fridg, freezer or on the counter is either good to have round or easy and ready to eat.....

I felt like "Meals on Wheels" delivering to friends last night! ... it was fun and as satisfying as making the food... everyone is tired (we are in the midst of of flu season at the clinic ..this flu strain that was missed in this years batch of flu serum has kicked our asses ..very sick people coming in) ....lots of over time and self neglect going on this time of year...it was wonderful to see my friends digging in the bags and all the hugs I got made it all worth while!!!

my youngest son is also coming over to see what he can take for the next few days of lunches/dinners/ect ..so nothing is going to go to waste :wub:

This feels good I am going to do the big wipe down of everything this morning just to put a sparkle on things

my goal of not buying any groceries or going out to eat for 10 days will be met and the food I made will last until Wed! ...(well almost perfectly met less the $25 of essentials and the $5 bowl of Pho I caved and ate last night just to get out of my own kitchen!)

I am not a money driven person ..but I realized by spending just a few (exhausting) days focused on what I have and in a cooking frenzy ...creating dishes from ideas you have shared with me ...we ate/are eating very well (so are our friends).....and the cherry on top was with this effort saved enough money to go by myself a new digital camera!.. If I had not done this I would have just ended up ...over time ... tossing in the trash/compost heap or to the birds... food that would shortly become freezer burned, wilted or just flat out old ...

how is everyone else doing?

COME ON SPRINGTIME I AM FULL ON READY FOR YOU!!!

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'm nibbling away at my nuts supply.

The pecans went into Date Rum Pecan Ice Cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.

gallery_50011_5244_123327.jpg

I also made Challah, and sprinkled it very generously with poppyseeds. I still have some poppyseeds left, though.

gallery_50011_5244_141112.jpg

The challah recipe is from Tim Decker, who is profiled in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Tim teaches wonderful (excellent!) breadbaking classes at the Ramekins school in Sonoma, Calif.

I learned how to make this challah at Tim's class last year. Tim is teaching this bread as Braided Easter Egg Bread in an Easter Breads class on March 21. http://www.ramekinsclasses.com/search.cgi?...ar=2008&month=3

these are just stunning!

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'm with you andiesenji. I was/still am very enthusiastic about emptying my pantry, cabinets, fridges, and freezers, but it's overwhelming to make lists of what I have in them.

There is a basement fridge with a top freezer, a huge upright freezer near it. Then a kitchen trio fridge with an ample freezer on the first floor, and our office fridge upstairs.

The pantry has 3 wire shelves wall to wall with lots of floor space for the bags of dog & cat food and the bulkier items.

The kitchen has lots of cabinets dedicated to groceries, including half of the island.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

But I haven't purchased anything except for milk for the last week, and we rarely go out for meals, so I'm complying with purging our larder.

I know I have enough food to last for more than a month, for 6 people, 3 dogs and 2 cats, sans milk, bread & eggs, and that's beccause I can't resist a good sale.

Sandra

I've been following this thread and wish I had all the ambition exhibited by you all.

It's a wonderful idea but each time I walk into my pantry the sheer volume of "stuff" causes me to retreat without even taking stock.

Actually what I need is a starving multitude to push me into action..........

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Tropicalfox I never made a list except what I posted here ..it did not match what I ended up having to use up much at all .....I just took stuff out of where they were in kind of like with like and set them out to face them!

I have never made a menu in my life to be honest ...and lists are only for the store and then I forget them anyway :raz:

if I had to make a list and plan I would have never done this ...

for some that works ..for me I have to just say outloud to all of you... I am going to do it ...and then dive in head first ...and do it until I drop ....

hope this helps?

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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Congrats, hummingbirdkiss, on de-larding!

I'm pretty much de-larded, myself... I still have (ironically) the quart of lard, but I'm set on making a batch of fried fish (which is the last item in the freezer) with it and the last of the flour. But I am holding off cooking that until next week as I have about 5 lbs of yummy pulled pork to work my way through.

And I agree... I never made a list, or a plan. I just browsed recipes looking for some of the things I'd seen in the pantry. Which made me try some new things (lard-orange-cinnamon cookies!) and long lost old favorites (spoonbread! which is just the best thing for soaking up pork gravy, ever). Things just kind of came together on their own, which made it more fun & creative.

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

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Congratulations, Hummingbirdkiss. What a great thread this has been. I've never been so systematic about going thru my supplies and writing down what should be used up. I refer to my list now when I'm planning meals.

I'm still a ways off from being "de-larded." Give me another 4 weeks or so. Unlike you, I'm not doing a blitzkrieg, more of a siege, but I know I'll get there. I'm sharing goodies with friends also, so I'm very popular right now. :wink:

Thanks, Hummingbirdkiss!

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Wow, hummingbird---what an accomplishment!!!

I just shared out several dry and canned items with my neighbor who came over to raid the freezer last week (by invitation, of course). So I'm making inroads. I bought Fantastic, some scrubby sponges, Mr. Clean swipey sponges, baking soda, and several other good cleaning products today for all the shelving and appliances in the pantry. I even got out the old "ticklefoot"--- one of the long-handled floofy dusters so beloved of the grandchildren---for the far reaches of the top one.

(But there ARE those nine other bags sitting in the floor, all left after the freezer and fridge things from this trip were put away). I don't care. I've finally got the inclination.

But more IS more, isn't it? :shock:

PS---Donna, I don't think I'd dive into that ice cream in this weather, but it's certainly worth a screenlick.

Edited by racheld (log)
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You guys are so awesome, validating and wonderful to share a thread/purge with..so thank you sooo much!!!

...I did not scrub yet ..tomorrow I am doing my weekly once over cleaning of the house and will do the shelves then ...

I have three more days of only eating what is in the house (and today I rested and grazed my way through a lot of them already!!!)

I am a damn fine cook if I do say so myself :smile: obviously we all are ..I keep going back to that ice cream and thinking maybe my pistachios would be better served in a scoop???? ..but I alas I am dieting ..sniff...

still hanging in with you all until you are done and have achieved your goals....even if it takes months!!! I am here rooting you on so please keep posting ...

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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Great thread here! I am late in joining, but truly appreciate the spirit. I tend to keep a pretty well-managed secondary freezer, which is stocked primarily with proteins. I buy almost all of my meats at Costco (and not much else there besides bagels and cheeses) and have a personal "policy" of not returning to shop there until the freezer is emptied.

However, I have recently noticed that my regular freezer is over-stocked with nuts and frozen bananas, and my pantry has too many dals and crackers and GirlScout cookies than any family needs to have on hand. You've all inspired me to use 'em up before buying more.

And while I'm here, I'll share a family strategy with an audience that I think will appreciate it. We try to live within a budget, and if I am trying to justify a purchase that I consider extra or extravagant, I'll cook out of the pantry for a week (except for milk and bread) in order to justify it.

Edited by Majra (log)
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I made an Orzo with Celery Sauce that I found in Fine Cooking which used up two heads of celery languishing in my fridge, as well as some pasta from the pantry. It was surprisingly good for such uninspiring ingredients. I think I'll keep it in mind for the future, as I'm always buying celery and then only using a stalk or two.

I also cooked (not at the same meal) the rest of the fresh asian noodles in the fridge and tossed them with XO Sauce, scallions, soy sauce, and chili oil. I'm telling you, XO Sauce is good stuff (if you're into strong, savory, slightly spicy and somewhat fishy asian sauces, which I am)!

Half of a large bucket of fresh tofu got fried up to an extra crispy golden brown, and then dipped into a selection of the many sauces and condiments I always have floating around in my fridge. A pretty good use for it, actually.

I've been eating the salmon burgers in the freezer for lunch and trying out different combos with the condiments in my fridge. I found they go pretty well with Trader Joe's India Relish, which is great because I don't really like that stuff with anything else. It's not that it tastes bad or anything, it is just such a strong condiment that I felt it overpowered everything I tried it with. But salmon burgers can take strong flavors.

I defrosted one of the chickens and then salt/peppered/baking powdered it according to the recipe in this month's Cooks Illustrated. It's air drying in the fridge right now. I'm excited to taste this one, because in my book there are few things that can beat super crispy chicken skin. Let's hope it lives up to the description.

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About 15 months ago I started cooking and curing Charcuterie. Since we have a farm we put a pig in the freezer and keep another one full of chickens. Two others are full of everything else. Food rotation surely has become a chore since children are now gone.

I had cured 35 pounds of bacon once the family got a taste and decided it was a good thing. We brought out a pound at a time and bacon life was good. The lad really liked the bacon and thought of it as a commodity. At 21, he was starting to think about a mate but being in a small farm town he was somewhat limited. Low and behold his buddy’s mother drives up with his “princess” fresh from Los Angeles.

She is adorable and his buddy’s mom liked our bacon. The boy thought the bacon was the best possible thing he could give. Recently when we went to get some bacon out of the freezer it became apparent that some creative food arrangement had occurred inside of the freezer. The lad had rewarded buddies mom with pretty much all the bacon. We haven’t told him directly that we know he traded our bacon for a gal but I think he gets the idea when I call her “bacon bit”.

Bacon Bit starts cooking classes here next week, so this thread is great. What better way to use up supplies but to teach. The lad is a human vacuum cleaner and we do need to make some space for the 2008 crop.

Edited by StanSherman (log)
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Wasn't there a thread a while ago about some website where you could put in several ingredients and they would give back a list of recipes that would work? I can't remember what it was called, altho I thought it was a Google product (I ccan't find it in Google stuff tho.)

:huh:

ETA:

here it is!!!

http://www.grimmthething.com/other/cse/googlefood.html

Awesome! I put in carrots, coconut milk & chciken and came up with several recipies for soups that sound great!

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The boy thought the bacon was the best possible thing he could give. Recently when we went to get some bacon out of the freezer it became apparent that some creative food arrangement had occurred inside of the freezer. 

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

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Some serious de-larding happened this weekend.

The Chinese sausages, some peanuts, and the last of the frozen peas went into a stirfry with chicken, shittake mushrooms, and scallions. (yummy)

Some braising greens from my CSA this week, and I sauteed them in the last of the duck fat scraps.

The pinenuts were toasted and added to a cilantro pesto for a pasta dinner later this week.

The sticky rice proved to be musty, and so was half the arborio rice. They were tossed. One bag of the candied citrus peel somehow got moisture in it, and that's gone too. (Moral: food doesn't stay good forever, so use it up!)

The cilantro roots and stems were pureed into a paste with black pepper, garlic, serrano chile, and fish sauce. It's a marinade for some Thai-style pork riblets that I will cook tomorrow. I checked my fish sauce supply. Only 4 1/4 bottles more to go.

The last of the sorrel puree went into a potato leek soup. The potatoes and leeks came from my CSA this week, so this soup clears out the vegetable bin, too. That sorrel-cream-potato combination always tastes so good.

Finally, I pulled over 6 lbs of raw chicken bones out of the freezer, and they are now defrosting on the bottom shelf of my fridge. Fresh chicken stock is on my horizon.

I'm beginning to see the walls of my freezer! :rolleyes:

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everything is spotless in my kitchen ..time to go on a few days of vacation if you ask me ..and since I am turning 50 this Wednesday I think it is as good a time as any!

going to buy a new camera with the money I saved this past week and then let folks cook for me up in Vancouver...

(I am however taking a cooler you never know what I wll find for all this newly found space!)

you guys are doing such a fantastic job here!

I am stunned out of all the "must-go's" I had that I did not make a single pot of soup! that is pretty much unheard of this time of year!!!

could have ..just didnt for some reason..

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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Congratulations on your milestone and your exquisitely orderly pantry!! I'm just loving reading about everybody's efforts and successes, and I'm trying valiantly to follow these awesome examples.

It's a doors-open day today---sixty degrees!!! THAT will get the Spring-cleaning gene into gear. So far, I'm just up to emptying lots of dry stuff, lots out to the birds, and the dishwasher is on its second whirrr of snap-tops that will emerge pristine and ready for all this NEW dry stuff sitting here in boxes and bags.

I had no idea how many gallon jugs of rices and flours and pastas we do have.

The pretty little cut-glass jar of fleur de sel, a Saturday gift from Caro, sits shining on the counter. I'm calling that my beacon to keep going, getting eveything as fresh and shiny. Tonight's dinner will be chicken casserole, with Saturday's extra smoked bird; we ate the other one slathered in Sweet Baby Ray's honey sauce, with cold sandwiches of Wonder Bread, Blue Plate mayo, and thin slices of Texas 1015's. Southern ambrosia.

Two bags of turnip greens about to go into the big Le Creuset with a frozen hambone, and maybe a skillet of jalapeno cornbread into the oven.

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