Pantry Challenge 2-Month Update

It's the end of Month 2 of the Pantry Challenge, my brave attempt to tidy up the inventory before Passover sorting.  Here's a progress report on the state of my pantry and freezer.

I will be able to get everything in the kitchen freezer before Passover.  I could probably do it now.  It was a huge concern.  By making a sincere effort to base meals around freezer items, I was able to reduce the inventory significantly.  Sticking to my grocery list also helped.  Plus, I decided not to make more challah or wheat bread when I finished the last loaf.  I'm having other baked products with breakfast, like finishing a box of pancake mix and the sweet potato cornbread.  Trying very hard not to bake more than I can finish in a week.  It will make the schlissel that much more special after the holiday.

Now that that goal is accomplished, March's focus will be the dry pantry.  Mainly, I'm still working through the cookies and other dessert ingredients from December.  This whole low-sugar diet makes a box of cookies last way longer than it ought to.  I'm not buying Girl Scout cookies, and I really wanted to try the new ones.  And this is with having some kind of dessert every day.  I eat dinner too early not to have something before bed.  I'm also opening a can of soup a week, after stocking up during a nasty cold that refused to test positive for Covid.  After two months I can see the change, but it still looks overstuffed in photos.  The goal is easy sorting at the end of the month.

All this working down of the inventory does not mean I'm not preserving or restocking for long term.  I canned meat and beans one week, then restocked the dry beans.  I've already bought the lamb roast for Seder.  (It's at the bottom of the chest freezer.)  The rest has been dehydrating herbs and kale.  I put dried kale in my morning omelet almost every day.  Before the recent storms, I harvested a bucket of it, in case they died, and got over a quart of dried leaves.  And that's with tossing a significant amount due to aphids.

While I did spend more during February than I did in January, it was still below my $150-200 average.  I made smarter choices.  I shopped my pantry and freezer first.  And I have stopped being loyal to one grocery store.  Since I started shopping around the past year or so, I've learned which stores have the best deals on the products I enjoy.  Ralphs (Kroger) has better meat prices, but doesn't carry the yogurt I like.  Pavilions has the yogurt and a very good price on liquid eggs.  Trader Joe's has the cheapest kalamata olives and eggplant.  Smart & Final has club store per-unit prices on smaller quantities.  And Sprouts has bulk bins for better unit prices on expensive dry items.  I'm more strategic with my grocery list and plan around which store carries the key ingredient on it.  While prices in general have risen, the bottom-line amount I'm spending has gone down.  I'm doing something right.

Millet Couscous with Vegetables and Pomegranate BBQ Sauce

I had a cup of millet left.  Searching "Senegal millet recipes" mostly came up with desserts.  Somewhere in the more Americanized results was using it as a substitute for couscous.

The vegetables for this are nothing special, other than they go well with the sauce.  I could have added beans, fish, or chicken for more protein.  I've been overworked lately, and taking the time to roast vegetables after a shift was pushing it.

I'm basing my sauce on this one from Allrecipes, with a few small changes based on the comments.  It's pretty much what I would have done anyway.  If you want to make the sauce vegan, substitute date or agave syrup.  As the original post says more than once, this is a sugar-heavy sauce/marinade that will scorch at high heat.  Use parchment or foil if you put it in the oven, and watch for smoke.  I only used it as a sauce, and even drizzled it after microwaving leftovers.

*1 C dry millet
1 lb red potatoes
1/2 lb carrots
1 red onion
12 oz Brussels sprouts (frozen & thawed ok)
olive oil
salt, pepper, and paprika
*1 Tb soy sauce
*2 Tb ketchup
*2 Tb pomegranate molasses
*2 Tb honey
*1 tsp smooth mustard
*1 clove garlic, minced

1.  Prepare millet according to package instructions.  Add enough water to cook thoroughly, but retain the grains, about 1-1/2 C.  Fluff and set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  I used the sheet pan dividers.  Peel carrots and onion.  Pare ends from sprouts if necessary.  Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces and slice onion.  Toss in about 1-2 Tb olive oil and spread in a single layer on sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Roast until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

3.  While the millet is steaming and the veggies are roasting, mix the sauce.  Whisk together soy, ketchup, pomegranate molasses, honey, mustard, and garlic.  Add in 1/4 tsp each of pepper and paprika.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

4.  Once millet and veggies are done, plate and drizzle with sauce.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  :)

Chicken and Watercress Soup

The watercress is taking over.  That's fine, since the warm temps made all my arugula bolt.  I'm seeding another round now that it's cooler, but that's going to take at least a month before I can pick it.

My search for "watercress and chicken recipe" came up with salads and this soup.  It's Chinese-inspired, which is great for Lunar New Year.  I skipped the mushrooms and added fish sauce (well, Worcestershire because I didn't realize I was out of fish sauce) for that umami.  One version advertises itself as Keto, which is true of all the recipes I read.  I added a little pearl couscous to it to add some heft and thickening power.  I debated picking up won ton wrappers for the carb, but I have a lot of couscous to use up.

The quick version uses pre-cooked chicken and a box of broth.  I had time the day before to simmer bone-in chicken thighs and make my own bone broth, then shred the chicken.  All I had to do when I got home from work was bring it back up to a low boil with the veggies and pasta, then throw in the cress at the end.

*4 boneless/skinless chicken thighs or 1 lb shredded cooked chicken
*1 quart chicken stock
1 Tb olive oil or chicken fat
*3 cloves garlic
*2 tsp grated ginger
*1 Tb soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (or *Worcestershire sauce)
*1 bunch green onions, sliced
*2 carrots, peeled and sliced, or 1 15 oz can drained
*4 C watercress or baby spinach leaves
1 8 oz package sliced mushrooms, optional
*1 C frozen peas, optional
*1/2 C pearl (Israeli) couscous, optional

1.  If working with raw thighs, slice into strips.  Melt the bit of fat in a soup pot.  Toss chicken strips into soup pot on medium with the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until lightly browned.  Pre-cooked, just get the garlic and ginger going in the oil until fragrant.

2.  Add in chicken stock, sliced onions, soy, fish sauce, carrots, and any add-ins you might like.  If chicken is pre-cooked, now is the time to add it.  Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is done and any vegetables or pasta have softened.

3.  Stir in watercress leaves and bring to a boil for 3-5 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

All Parts of the Pantry Dinner

The problem with a Pantry Challenge is that the meals can be uninteresting to post.  Then I remembered that the point of this blog is how to use what you already have.  The actual recipes are a bonus.  So here's how I used ingredients already on hand for a no-purchase meal.

The original plan was to enjoy whatever jars of meat didn't seal from a canning session.  I did a pork shoulder and about three pounds of chuck roast.  All nine jars sealed, which is awesome, but then I had to decide if I wanted to open one or come up with something else for dinner.  I decided to bulk up a large can of soup to turn it into four meals.

And that's the cool part of a well-stocked pantry.  You can pivot at the last minute.  You can handle extra guests at a dinner party after your last trip to the grocery store.  When you're sick, you can stay in for three days without worrying how to feed yourself.  I had plenty of options for my protein and chose one that worked well with my sides.  I don't often open three cans for a single meal, but there's no reason not to.

From the dry pantry

mashed potato flakes
can of pickled beets I bought by mistake
can of cut green beans a month past their date
can of Campbell's chunky split pea with ham
milk powder
oil, vinegar, and spices

From the fridge

margarine

From the garden

lettuces
green onion

The Meal

Split-pea and ham stew
Oniony mashed potatoes 
Garden salad with pickled beets

Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Kale

I'm testing out vegan ideas for Purim.  Leaning towards either a Turkish or Indian theme.  I was also just happy to be out of a strict Pantry Challenge and allowing myself to buy a head of cauliflower.  Literally, that was the only item for this recipe I didn't already have on hand.  This made more than I intended, so I probably won't do it for a meal with 3-5 dishes, but it was quite tasty.

I haven't made a full curry in a while, and forgot how many ingredients there are.  When you watch someone make it in a video it doesn't seem like it because they're just eyeballing the spices out of containers on the counter or that have been pre-measured.  I decided to meal-prep this the day before.  I measured out the seeds in one dish and the ground spices in another.  All the veggies were chopped.  I wanted to make this in about the time it takes to cook the rice.  It did take a little longer, but not the hour I was expecting.

The vegan videos I've been watching have the common thread of meal prepping.  It's easy to toss meat in a roasting pan, but most vegetables require effort.  I'm not to the point of chopping up everything for the week.  Some veggies dry out or discolor when you do that.  The night before or in the morning generally works for me.  If I'm cooking beans or hard grains, I'll do that ahead too.

2 Tb olive oil
*1 C diced onion
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*2 tsp grated ginger
*2 Tb tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp each paprika, turmeric, curry powder, and kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp allspice
1 small head cauliflower or 1 lb bag frozen florets
*1 bunch kale, destemmed and torn or roughly chopped
*1 15 oz can coconut milk
1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
*1/2 C chopped parsley
*1/4 C chopped cilantro
*1/4 C lemon juice

1.  Drizzle oil in a saucepan or soup pot and heat on medium.  Add the whole seeds until they start to pop, then add the ground spices, ginger, garlic, and salt.  Add the tomato paste and onion and allow everything to caramelize, stirring every minute or so.

2.  Add the cauliflower and kale and cook, covered, until the kale wilts, about 10 minutes.  At this point, the cauliflower should be thoroughly cooked if it was frozen, or crunchy-but-done if it was fresh.

3.  Add coconut milk and chickpeas and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer, which will melt any solids in the coconut milk, and stir again.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  If you want softer cauliflower, simmer for 5 more minutes.

4.  Stir in the parsley, cilantro, and lemon juice.  Simmer an additional two minutes, then serve over rice or with noodles.

Difficulty rating  :)

Rendering Fats

When I canned up some roasts last week, I had a small pile of fat that it seemed a shame to throw away.  I paid for it by weight, after all.  I've never done this before, but I decided to render them down to save as cooking fats.  Beef suet and pork lard are traditionally from the fat around the liver and kidneys, not muscular fat, but it still works.

I got out the small Crockpot and a saucepan, to try two methods.  The pork trimmings went in the Crockpot on low while all the canning was going on plus a while after, maybe 6 hours.  The beef went on the stove at the lowest flame for about three hours.  I poked each every hour or so, to get the more fatty pieces closer to the heat.

When I strained them off into containers, I had about a quarter cup of each.  Not as much as I was expecting.  Maybe I could have rendered them longer, but the beef at least looked done.  The liquid is yellow, and cools to a white.  It is best stored in the fridge unless you can be 100% sure there are no impurities in it.

I was still a fun experiment, and I'll use it.  Was it worth the gas and electricity?  Probably not.  But now I can do some UK recipes I've seen that use suet.  I don't think I've ever seen it for sale.   You can buy lard at an American market.

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

This was going to be chicken divan, but I started substituting ingredients until it turned into something similar, but not really.  Between divan and tetrazzini, it's a chicken and pasta dish in a creamy sauce.

I don't make casseroles much, and especially not since I went reduced-carb.  This made me wish I could have them more often.  Sigh, maybe I'll start sneaking them in every couple of months.  There always seems to be pasta, rice, or potatoes in a casserole, which is what makes them so satisfying.  All that yummy starch fills you up in a food hug.  Maybe I'll do a vegetable kugel to fill that need.

I did manage to make this in one pot, a strainer, stirring spoon, and the baking dish.  That and the measuring cup were all I had to wash.

*1 C small pasta such as shells or macaroni
10-12 oz frozen chopped broccoli or cuts
2 Tb butter or margarine
2 Tb flour
*1-1/2 C milk
*half a container fried onions (little over a cup)
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
*3 C shredded cooked chicken or 2 cans, drained
*1 C shredded cheddar, or other cheese of choice

1.  In a large saucepan, bring 4 C water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente (2 minutes before "done").  Add frozen broccoli and bring back to a low boil, then turn off the heat.  Drain, do not rinse.  Start preheating the oven to 350º.

2.  Back into the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the flour and stir into a roux.  Cook for about 2 minutes, until it starts to brown.  Add salt, pepper, and paprika.

3.  Add milk to the roux 1/4 cup at a time and stir to thicken.  When all the milk is added, taste to check seasonings.  Add pasta & broccoli, chicken, a handful of the crispy onions, and a handful of the shredded cheese.  Stir to combine.

4.  Pour mixture into an 8x8 casserole and spread evenly.  Bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

5.  Remove casserole from the oven.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with remaining crispy onions.  Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the onions are browned, about 10 minutes.  Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Difficulty rating  π

Tu b'Shevat Seder

I wasn't able to go to my temple's community Tu b'Shevat seder, so I decided to do my own on the actual holiday.  It's a kabbalistic way to celebrate the birthday of trees, and not a formal observance like a Passover seder.  It's basically a snack plate during a wine tasting.

You're supposed to serve the four "seasons" with wine or grape juice.  Still doing a Pantry Challenge, so I made lemonade for the white and added cranberry juice to it for the red.  If I had thought of it before the Challenge started, I would have had those saved in the pantry.

For a family, it's common to put out a platter of fresh fruits.  For just me, I got out dried.  I only needed a few bites in each category.  It's acknowledging the symbolism of the day that's important.  And yes, it's set up on a deviled egg platter.

The first glass of wine is a white, and the fruits are those with inedible casing: Nuts, coconut, bananas, pomegranate, melons

Next, a bit of red is added to the white and the fruits have inedible cores: Apricots or other stone fruits, dates, olives

The third cup adds more red and celebrates wholly edible fruits: Berries, figs, seedless grapes, chocolate

The last cup is all red and represents the tree itself: maple syrup (with challah for dipping)

As an aside, after blowing out my knee last year doing Passover cleaning and never finishing the list, I've decided to give myself two months to do it this year.  I just won't start any of the kitchen or dining room projects until two weeks before.  The point of the cleaning is to rid the house of chometz, and I don't take food out of those two rooms, just to make the process easier.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Starring, the last jar of sweet potatoes!  I was going to make arepas to go with some sort of "Mexican" black beans, then saw this concept.  The beans became a version of Caribbean Black Bean Curry, to use some condiments and freezer seasonings.

I found a cornbread recipe I liked on Butter Be Ready.  Basically, it used the quantities of ingredients I wanted to put in it.  Only downside of this recipe is it makes three times what I needed.  Knowing that going in, I made it in three mini loaf pans (plus 3 muffins) and froze the other two.  I could have made a dozen muffins instead.  I was in the mood for less crust, so sliceable won.  If I don't have this as a starch for dinner, it could be toasted with butter for breakfast, with a side of cheese for lunch, or as a tea snack.

Like most quick breads, it takes longer to assemble the ingredients than to mix it.  I did a few workarounds to use powdered buttermilk and egg replacer for one of the eggs.  I need to use that stuff more often.  All that liquid vs powder math made it take a wee bit longer than if I had just followed the recipe.  If you're using canned or pre-cooked sweet potatoes, you should be able to mix it in the time it takes for the oven to preheat.

*1 C cornmeal
1 C flour
1/4 C brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, room temperature 
*2 C buttermilk
*1 C mashed sweet potato (or 1 15 oz can, drained and mashed)
6 Tb unsalted butter, melted

1.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Spray or line a 9x9 baking dish, 12 muffin tray, or one loaf pan.  I may have over-sprayed my loaf pans.  The muffins popped right out of the silicone tray.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  I don't always sift, but in this case it made it easier to get rid of the clumps in the brown sugar and baking powder.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and mashed or puréed sweet potato.  Make sure your melted butter is somewhat cooled, but still pourable.

4.  Add liquid mixture to dry and stir gently until about half combined.  Add butter and finish mixing.  A few small lumps are ok and will bake out.  Just get the big ones.

5.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  This will not rise as much as you think, with so much leavening.  You can fill 3/4 full.  Bake time will depend on choice of pan, so use the toothpick test to be sure.  Muffins, 18-20 minutes, 9x9 35-40 minutes, and loaf pan start checking at 40 minutes.

6.  Let rest in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Quick breads often taste better after a day in the fridge.  Wrap before storing.  Can also be frozen once cooled for up to 3 months.

Serves 8-12

Difficulty rating  π

Pantry Challenge 2026 Progress Report

We're almost done with the January Pantry Challenge.  It's time to evaluate my usage, purchases, and what's left.

First, the wins.  I think I've gone through everything shelf-stable past its date.  Doing that in only a few weeks means I am not hoarding food.  I've done my last shop for the month, and have spent $28.16, which is ridiculous.  Not for this week, for the whole month.  It would have been a dollar less, but I wasn't happy with the temperature of the egg case this week and got protein shakes instead of liquid egg whites.  My lists were almost entirely yogurt, eggs, and bananas.  While there are still some home-canned goods older than a year, none are a safety concern.  My rices and legumes are a lot more streamlined.  That makes me very happy.  I have gotten rid of most of the gallon-sized freezer bags in the kitchen freezer, with the new amounts fitting in quarts or even used up.

There may be more in the chest freezer than when I started, which is driving me nuts.  Not taking a photo of that.  I turned some older ingredients into baked goods, then froze them.  Some preservation projects involved repackaging items for the freezer.  I've also cut back my portion sizes at meals to something appropriate for my current metabolism, so "four" servings is more like five or six.  I need to set aside time for exercising.  Those extra lunch-sized portions end up in the freezer.  I'm trying to eat them the following week.  I do still have two months until the great defrost.

What I'm learning is that I have plenty of food on hand.  I'm one person who only needs 1,400-1,700 calories per day.  How little I eat was very evident at Chanukah, when I put what I think of as a week's worth of food on the table for one dinner party.  If the drama of shopping like 2020 happens again, I could make it a month, even the vegetables.  I'm going to do this again in February, primarily to see how long the vegetable situation stays stable.  I do need some items that aren't necessarily food but end up on that bill.  I might be able to keep some categories going until Passover, which will offset the increased cost of KLP items and what I spend on Seder itself.

I've found that my schedule has made me opt for canned or pre-cooked beans most of the time.  I'll can up some more soon.  I also have 3 lbs of chuck roast and a pork butt coming out of the freezer to can next week, when "shredded meat" is on the meal plan for any jars that don't seal.

It has been so hard to keep myself from buying all sorts of groceries for "later".  I make more impulse purchases than I realized.  I talked myself out of b/s chicken breasts for canning, since it turns out I don't use Ugly Chicken, as wonderful as it tastes.  I do use the beef and pork, and mine is far superior to store-bought canned.  I did buy four cans of tuna at 69¢ each.  I could have deducted that $2.76 from my total according to most people's rules.  That's enough for the year unless I really get in a tuna mood.  I refrained from stocking up on anything else.  It took a lot of willpower.  I miss grocery shopping.