Pantry Challenge Day 29 Update

 OK...I ran out of solar a couple of times (my fault...too much internet surfing and youtubing on cloudy days) and with the home computer battery having crapped the bed a while back, it won't stay on unless plugged in and drawing power.  

Anyway, had some pantry triumphs over the xmas.

For dinner on the day, I made duck braised in cranberry sauce (which was supposed to be jelly made from no sugar cranberry juice bought on super sale with some buckwheat honey (the sweetener of the month) and some pomona brand pectin).  The jelly didn't set up and is quite tart, which I like.  So I braised a half pint of my home jarred duck in a bit of that failed delicious jelly. It was AMAZING.  Side dishes were roasted squash (a hybrid something random from my garden that looked like a pumpkin and had innards like a spaghetti squash..yes, I saved the seeds to roast later and to replant because it was a) delicious and b) ripened up in poor storage conditions) and a roasted onion.  Both roasted inside the woodstove.

I was SWEATING from keeping the stove hot enough all day to bake this cake...

It is a honey based cake with apple sauce (buckwheat honey, and a can of apple sauce from the pantry) and spices.  I had clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg all of which were called for. It was AMAZING.  I had dried figs that I forgot to stir in, and they were supposed to be raisins but I was out of raisins.  So, chopped up figs and threw them on top of the layer pans.   It was amazing.  I will be making it again but maybe 1/4 recipe.  this was a half and it was still a ton of cake.  It was pretty dense in the middle which might be due to the baking at a lower temp than I really wanted (see above...SWEATING) trying to keep the coleman stovetop camp oven thingy hot.  If I make a smaller version I can do it in the cast iron dutch oven and it will be easier.

I packed up a slice of cake for the neighbor because it was A LOT.  She returned a huge slice of pecan pie her daughter made and some penuche. I  had never had penuche. It was delicious and more dairy than I should have and I'm a bit snotty.

Anyway, over ate and it was excellent.  Made a coconut milk (powdered coconut milk in the pantry) mocha (cocoa in the pantry) and opened a buttload of treats from various relatives.

I am in town today, this is the office computer, office closed for the week! (we get crazy amounts of time off at full pay) to pick up yet another package.  As much as I love sugary treats, if there aren't any in there, that will be fine.

One Aunt sent a ton of good food for meals and snacks, and another sent chocolates.   Good people.  I got coffee and cookie packs from another friend, every more coffee and chocolate from yet another friend (people know me??), smoked duck from yet another.

I am rolling in good food.

Just did a formal inventory of the office pantry and will take inventory at home as well to restart January.

I won a 5$ coffee shop gift certificate on a radio show on Sunday, more to do with "exclusive listenership" than with my brains or speed dialing abilities, and hope to share that with a friend's grown kid on Sunday.  

I still have one xmas meal out to buy someone as planned, but otherwise, I think things are winding down.

I have 21" of snow, the bottom 1-2" is compacted ice so the total total that fell is more, on the ground at the homesite right now.  Bit sick of it, but it is super pretty.

It was cloudy 5 days running, zero solar gain on the batteries, and that is partly why I ran out of power.  Also, the batteries are getting old, and they are outside and the temp overnight was about 10F.  It will be colder tonight and tomorrow night, maybe also Friday night.  Then rewarming toward freezing during the day and 20s over night.  That is easier on the batteries.

OK, off to pick up that last box as the post office lady will be reopening post lunch now.

More, anon!

Pantry Challenge Day 22 Update

 As expected, holiday gifts and requisite dinners out are contributing to the ease of the project.

Friends are dropping off treats to the point I over eat massively.  Even fasted yesterday to correct a sugar binge from overindulgence in treats.  Too much sugary stuff!!!!  Delicious, but too sugary.

Then, another friend who is not aware of my experiment took me to lunch.  Not going would be rude so I went and said thank you and enjoyed my meal.  

An Aunt (THANKS!) sent a box with a few wrapped xmas gifts and a ton of really nice food!  Just had a bit of the pre-cooked basmati rice with breakfast.  So convenient, healthy and delicious.  

Perhaps the funnest thing in there is peppercorns!   We all know I was low on those when I started the experiment.  So those are especially welcome and will easily get me through January.

Honestly, so many calories of stuff have come in that I've shared some stuff back out to others.  Also, a few things were just too salty or made of dairy (not from the Aunt!  Her stuff is all still with me).   Another friend contributed peanuts and some almond butter from our trip to 2nd harvest.  How fun and delicious.  I could make fried rice with peanuts and the basmati.  I wonder if I can make like a peanut sauce with the almond butter.  I think some jarred chicken with peanut (almond) sauce w2ould be a reasonable flavor match for satay.   

Which points out my favorite part of a pantry challenge.  It spurs creativity.  I haven't even started my sprouts yet.  Jeez.  Must get on that.  Clearly I am not hurting for veggies.  During the restaurant trips I am trying to get lean burgers in lettuce wraps with side salads so I'm getting more of my veg at restaurants.

One jar of fermented carrots wasn't doing well so I refocused and froze them in portions.  Will add to soups later.  Or a pilaf.

It's SOLSTICE

 Woot Woot!

Here comes the sun.

The days will get longer now.  

Enjoy!

Day 17 and All Is Well with the Pantry Challenge...Except

 It gets boring especially when I forget to make something interesting in the evening for lunch the next day.

Hence, today's lunch:  A can of sardines with the last hot sauce packet, a can of pinto beans, NOT gelatin in a mason jar (I forgot to add vinegared berries or sugar and it tastes so bad I am giving it to the chickens...they can turn it into eggs and meat which will be edible), and a microwave spice bread (2 eggs, 1/2c flour and some spices...we'll see if that worked here shortly) and water.

If I'd remembered to make a pilaf or dumplings yesterday I would have had something delicious.

That said, Pantry Challenge has been going great.

Had Pantry lunch with a friend.  I made a variation of the pilaf from the last post, using home canned chicken.  She asked what broth I had used...water.  The elderly laying hen has lots of flavor even after being canned without bones.  Added some spices/herbs from the pantry too.  She brought a cobbler made from things in her pantry, though she is not doing a pantry challenge she was up for a pantry lunch.  And she's an excellent cook so that helps.  We split it with a coworker.  

This is all good practice for the potential situation calling for true pantry living with limited restock options.  I wonder if the folks who buy those sealed buckets of "SHTF" (the last 3 letters are for "hits the fan"), breakdown of society type scenarios actually try to eat what they get in there and live on it.  Last one I looked at gave each person 1000-1400 calories a day for 3 months for some ungodly price and was made mostly of corn/soy derivatives (textured veggie protein, sweetened junk food dehydrated to dust, super processed whatever).  Living under human power, even making the hot water for these icky meals in a solar cooker, would require more calories per day than they provide and the vitamins and fat were lacking.  Also....last time I had a dehydrated camp meal, a very expensive one, it tasted like crap. 

I'm learning to stock more fruit type things, that I have enough coffee in stock at current purchase rates, and that I rely a great deal on grains for my total daily calories.   Also noticing that it's easier to spread the various supplies out when I do not plan to replenish.  I'm only overconsuming dried fruit and sugars (sweet tooth be damned).  Also noting the quick ferments, like gingered carrots and small batches of sauerkraut are very nice to have.  Quick favor additions.   I'm eating more mustard and spices in an effort to make basically the same scrambled eggs a bit different each day.

I got the spiced bread out of the microwave.  It was fine! I put a bit of coconut oil on it and tried to pretend it was butter...it wasn't butter but it wasn't bad.  Noted!

Day 12 Pantry Challenge Update

Well, it turns out I should not be left alone with nuts (heh heh).  Ate the rest of the Dec. ration of walnuts.  Dang it!  AND broke into the Larabars which I meant to save until January. Didn't eat all of them, but more than I wanted to.  It's the deliciousness.  I'm a victim of deliciousness.

So, I did notice that I'm not going through the cocoa powder (baking, not icky instant gross "hot chocolate" mix...barf).   Had cocoa eggs this morning.  Less delicious, more anti-inflammatory.   And lots of coffee.  Have plenty.  Had tea yesterday and will try to keep up with that.

We're mid storm, actually ending in a few hours.  I shoveled the car out, parked by the highway, yesterday.  4 inches of light snow.  But then it was going to turn to drizzle so better to get ahead. NOW there is 6 inches of HEAVY snow. It was 32 degs and snowing so really big pretty flakes that make for sucky shoveling.  It's going to warm up in a bit so heading out soon for more shoveling.

Anyway, back to the pantry challenge.  

I think I achieved peak frugality yesterday.  I was reading (re-reading of course) a volume of the Tightwad Gazette, the thrifty/frugal bible...get it, while eating a pilaf I made with what I had on hand, using a recipe from the TG, a recipe I hadn't used before.   It was DELICIOUS.

Here is the recipe and how I did it:

2 T oil

1 small onion diced up

3 cloves garlic smashed or diced

1/2 C left over meat or cooked beans or canned meat/fish

1 C grain

2 C water or broth...liquid

1/2 C other vegetable

Seasonings as you like.

In a sauce pan that will fit the entire recipe with room to boil/simmer, heat the oil up on medium.

Put in the onion and garlic (if you don't have them, use dry powder or whatever like chives/leeks/shallots/onion flakes/garlic salt (easy on the salt though)

Fry that until it smells good.  Add meat (not canned tuna or other canned fish...ooo...I have smoked salmon at work...that would be delicious) and then the grain.

Fry a couple minutes, then add the liquid and "other vegetable" and if you are using canned fish, add it.  You can add the fish liquid or not, whatever you like.

Add seasonings.

Bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer.  Put the lid on.  It is done when the liquid is absorbed.   

Adjust salt/pepper as needed (protip:  if you put in too much salt and have a potato, slice up the WASHED potato and throw a few slices in for a minute or two and pull them out.  They will pick up some of the salt). 

I used an onion, garlic cloves, a can of tuna, rye berries, water, fermented ginger carrots (only other fresh-ish veg in the house, could used dried and add it with the liquid).  Did not add tuna water.   Added thyme and rosemary from my garden and an indoor potted plant at the office, and cracked pepper.  The tuna was salty enough and I'm watching sodium levels so didn't add any.

It was delicious!  Better than a casserole because no oven needed and no thickener like cream of crap soup which I just don't like even in the vegan versions without the dairy.  If I could handle dairy and had butter, I think frying the stuff in that would be excellent.

There was also some walnut dust in it.  Since I'd just finished the walnuts in jar, I rinsed it with the water going into the pilaf to get the couple of tablespoons of walnut dust out of the jar and not waste it.

I'm going to try it with beans one of these days.  I think hot in a thermos it would be a good food for lunches when I am working outside.

Today I need to get out the week's ration of raisins but might do it right before bed so I don't just eat them all...hopefully!   I  have figs for January.  

Pantry Challenge Day 9 Update

 So, my cooking skillz...are adequate.  It's the rationing skills!  I lost an onion!  It rotted.  Must have had a damp spot. 

Now I am being more diligent on checking the fresh and just eating it.  I might dice up any onions that I haven't eaten and put them in the work freezer next week.  there are only 4 or 5 left.  3 squash. One is tiny.

And one fresh carrot.  I have just over 2quarts fermenting carrots which will stay crunchy and fresh-ish, though they are a tad salty an the rest of this experiment has lead to complete success in keeping my sodium intake at and below the target.  The target number is entirely personal and experimental so I am not going to share it.  Once you do that people have opinions in which I am not interested.

ANYWAY...found the ginger which ferments with the carrots and I'd bought extra so have that to spice up soups and tea and whatnot.  Maybe even try a honey based ginger bready/cake thingy with fresh ginger.

I had sorted out a week's worth of raisin ration as well.  Then I ate it all by Tuesday.  Maybe I will make it to Wednesday next week!  Overdid the walnuts too.  They are delicious.

I used the peruana beans from a previous trip to Santa Fe last evening, with one onion and a buttload of spices to make a bean stew.   REALLY nice, lacks salt (see above keeping sodium numbers low...) so I added a dash of vinegar and it perked up.  Will try more cayenne and cumin next time.  Still really good.  For a bit of heartiness beyond the beans I added in some keto bread that was not great.  It was much better as a fake soup cracker substance.  I have a bit of both left for dinner tonight.

The coffee and tea are holding up well.  I appear to be too lazy to do much with the honey so plenty of that!  I was planning on that as the main sweetener this month and saving the maple syrup for January.  Instead I appear to be eating the white sugar which is supposed to be for the kombucha.  Anyway, it isn't causing a lack of anything and the kombucha will survive either way.

Cooking in the evening when I have the woodstove on is alright.  Something to do.  Mostly soups and some of these experimental breads.  Tonight I'm thinking of trying some coconut oil and baking cocoa chocolates. I have 10 or 11oz of dark chocolate to make treats (like adding nuts and stuff....heh heh...nuts) but once I open it I am A) committed to using it up and 2) likely to eat it all in 2 days (or one).

The hens have put out 2 eggs a day for 3 days!!!  It was 1 egg a day.  I think Porky, the Barred Rock, is back on line.  It's a big light pinky beige egg and I am pretty sure that is her.  I think one of the 2 young hens is trying to start as well.  I've seen 3 TINY eggs.   The one I got before it broke or was pecked, had no yolk but a weird brown scab looking thing.  I picked that out. Anyway, I had done my meat/eggs ration intention based on 1 egg a day so this gives me a buffer if they suddenly stop.  Also have the dried egg.

Speaking of rationing what you've got and using basic ingredients to cook (that 2nd part was subtext, stick with me here), this youtube channel is very helpful:

Utility Jude's Wartime Cookery

It's is a little show the woman put out during covid explaining and re-enacting the rationing and some recipes in the UK during WWII.  I've done a couple of the recipes because they are just basic plans with the assumption that you will need to skimp and substitute on things.  Much better than the detailed "start with a cake mix" or "use top sirloin" type crap recipes.  Lots of the prepper and "survivalist" cooking youtubes work with unrealistic expectations and high priced freeze dried and other nonsense foods.

I've also nearly switched to 2 meals a day with maybe something small in the evening as I'm cooking, mostly tasting the recipe or eating what doesn't fit in the container I'm going to put on the porch-fridge (that's just the porch in winter...sometimes it is the porch freezer).

It's just easier when you are cooking from scratch for 1 and you don't have a regular kitchen and fridge.  Prep and dishes are more awkward and cooking takes time out of what little daylight I have here in the winter.  I'd been toying with intermittent fasting and this just seems to lead to it. I like to have breakfast, but today it was lunch first as I wasn't hungry and was running late to work (early for work, too late to bother cooking a breakfast in the micro or toaster oven, but I did have my coffee).  

Cooking once or twice a day means fewer decisions, less crap to snack on, and less calculating what is in stock and what is low or out.  

I have successfully planned lunches and invited a work colleague who is cash strapped, to a pantry lunch next week.  We'll each cook our own and just eat together at a conference room at work, or each make part of the meal to share.  I could do a pretty mean chicken soup.

Eating from the pantry also influenced my order for lunch at the dept xmas get-together.  I had a lettuce wrapped burger and a salad...I thought there would be pie.  Skipping the bun and fries kept the sodium levels in check, and getting lettuce wrap and salad maximized the fresh veg so I could skip eating my own fresh stuff that day.  I haven't dipped into the sprouting seeds yet.  Probably later this month.  I do like something fresh each day.   

I should do a post on what I am doing on the cheap/free to see if more chickens will lay in the winter.  If I get 3 eggs a day I will have plenty to share which is always nice.  Maybe with a picture of the sad new coop.

Pantry Challenge Day 6 Update

 Well, it's early in day 6 so I can only update really through day 5.  Whatever.

It was the weekend and I had errands including trips to stores that sell food because I'm giving candy bags at the office for xmas and I needed split peas and lentils for the chickens.  I didn't buy any groceries for me, no snack, no kombucha or coffee, nothing.

I brought bread I made (heavy heavy texture, great flavor though...more anon), a mix of walnuts and raisins, and coffee with extra hot water and grounds so I could make a 2nd cup in the travel french press (reusing the old grounds with juts a teaspoon of new ones to freshen it up a bit...it's not fabulous but it's drinkable and hot so good enough).  And water, of course.   Next time I will bring more snacks as I was pretty gnoshy by the time I got home.

The rough bit was heading to a christmas market to pick up something I'd pre-ordered from a vendor.  She was also selling honey, pickled garlic, jams, and other delicious tidbits.  As were many other vendors.  I got nothing.  Just what I ordered.   Which is extremely cute.

Then I bagged it.  I like the antique/thrift store in that town but it was PACKED and it is a county with one of the lowest vaccine rates in Idaho AND one of the lowest mask rates.  I have my vaccines and the booster.  Still.  It was crowded and I didn't see either thing on my list (thrift and antique store hand tools are better and cheaper than new often).  Hence, I bagged it and went home.  OH! I did stop at another place, a friend's house, to buy some chicken feed and drop off a holiday gift.

This exercise has me inspired to parcel out my food.  I got out the raisin ration for the week, and the walnuts for the rest of December, which I think I might go through a tad fast.  I need to put a few back for the holiday meals.  Nuts make bread better. Also pancakes.

I'm also remembering to cook in the evening.  Stuff doesn't last as long as I think.  I made some biscuits last night and boiled up some rye berries so I have the base for some meals this week.  BUT I ate all the biscuits for breakfast today.  I was hungry.  Oops!  I can make more.  Plenty of flour for the rest of the month though I will be putting some of the wheat flour back for the holiday and trying to eat more of the almond flour.  Learning to use the vital wheat gluten too.  First I learned NOT to overdo it...holy gas batman!  (TMI??)

I've been trying to cut sodium in take all of 2021 and like MOST THINGS I know that doing it myself is best.  Cook your own food and you  wont' have a sodium issue.  It works.  DAMMIT.  

Big successes...chicken soup from the home canned chicken with spaetzles.  I don't have much veg to I boosted the soup with just onions and herbs including thyme from my garden.  Really good.  Quickly put half outside on the porch fridge so I wouldn't eat it all at once.  The spaetzles came out pretty good with a bit of nutmeg in them.  Tasty.   The no-sodium baking powder and an egg for leavening and protein boost.  

The yeast bread I did like a refrigerator dough since it is chilly at my house.  And my flour is all whole what so I threw in a bit of vital wheat gluten.  Let it sit over night then backed some up in a little jerry-rigged oven on top of the woodstove.  The oven worked, but the bread was heavy.  I don't mind since I like heavy breads but it isn't what I was shooting for.  Added more flour to the remaining dough and kneaded a bit (all in a giant jar so there isn't flour in every cranny of the wee shed).  Let that sit overnight to rise.  I was still heavy but really tasty from the long rise.  

The biscuits for today where spiced heavily and just flour, gluten, and the no sodium baking powder (which I call "faking powder").  They rose OK, and were delicious with a tablespoon of the coconut yogurt I had on the porch fridge.  I brought that to work to have with breakfasts this week.  

Chickens still putting out an egg most days!  That's good.  I got 2 eggs one day including a TINY one so I think one of the new ladies is trying to start laying.  When I remember, I put a light on them in the morning.  If I was more consistent I might get Gertrude laying again.  For now, Helen is laying and someone else might be trying.  For the last several days I've cooked up the lentils with some cayenne.  They need the lentils for the protein boost, just a tablespoon or so per chicken, and the cayenne might help make them lay.  I'm only half trying on getting them to lay, just playing.  They earn the rest through the winter and with out 8hours of daylight right now, most chickens won't put out eggs.  Just not enough light to trigger them.  

I got 2 orders for mustard, delivered one Saturday, she met me at the market I needed to hit so that was handy, and one more that I am working on.  Should be able to deliver that later this week.  People are ordering by the quart!  Jeez.  The pending order was for red wine vinegar and yellow mustard seed.  I was 2 cups short on vinegar!  I have 4 gallons of vinegar but not that kind.  So, I picked up just a small bottle.  Will have a half cup or so left.  Darn.  I might combine it with some other scraps of vinegar and make something for me.  I do have some more seeds so I might as well mix up some mustard to eat on the meats and fish I have left.  It's all in the pantry so ...it's fair game.

I found my pectin and a good recipe for making cranberry jelly from bottled cranberry juice (which I have) and honey (which I have), so I'm hoping to get to that but the though of spilling cranberry juice or worse, hot honeyed/sticky cranberry juice in the wee shed has put me off..  Maybe if I tarp the entire floor??

Sorted the office food stock a bit today.  Had to bring in jars of stuff because the place might freeze hard this week while I'm at work.  Can't have busted jars for a) the mess and clean up hassle without indoor plumbing and 2) the food loss.

Per my sister's (Hi!) recommendation I am listening to "Moon of the Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice.  The reader has the right accent, the one the characters would have, so it's really fun to listen too.  The story centers around a complete break down of "supply chains" and "communication networks" so people are reliant on what they have and what they can do.   Really a fun listen and inspiring for the pantry challenge and trying to grow a bit in winter, e.g. the sprouts I will start and the carrot tops (parsley substitute) I'm regrowing from the top nubs of 2nd Harvest carrots.  Quite nice.

I'm also watching some youtubes about ration cooking in the UK during WWII.  The supplies are reasonably similar.  Heavy on wheat flour, light on meat and fresh eggs.  Since I have powdered egg, like they did, quite a few of the recipes work for me.  I'll throw links in a blog post maybe for the most useful videos/recipes.

Pantry Challenge So Far, and I Forgot a Thing...

 I forgot another person who will need a meal treat for the holiday/her birthday!  We've done it for 20 years so, I will make an attempt to combine that with the already noted 1 meal out, but unlikely I can pull that off. 

Day 1 of the pantry challenge went fine.

Sardines for lunch (right from the can!  ew but I was headed to the field and in a hurry).  Eggy whole wheat flour skillet bread for breakfast.  It was supposed to be pancakes but they got puffy so they were skillet breads.

I made a couple of other things that were even less creative and interesting.

I figured out about how to divide the stock between December and January so I have some meat and veg left later in the game.  And thought through holiday meal options.  The ones at home.  I have so much to work with that treats are no problem.  Clearly I overstocked on that sort of thing.

It does make it easier NOT to eat the canned/packaged stuff right away.  That will last.  The carrots will make it another week or two, but not likely through January since I have no root cellar.  Same with the onions.  The squash might.  But, I will be working to keep an eye on the fresh and eat it as it gets to the end of good.  Also will get sprouts going as the other fresh food runs low.

I discovered another jar of coconut oil, 15fl oz, and 2 jars of 100% cranberry juice that I had spaced.  Those will be handy for xmas.  I have maple syrup that should go well with the cranberry juice to make a nice sauce for duck.  I've fermented some of the carrots with ginger which is a good tart side as well.  Hopefully will have an onion to roast because those are delicious and cook inside the woodstove.  And I have a little tiny squash that I can stuff with raisins or figs and walnuts and roast up with a bit of maple syrup or honey.  And if I get on the stick, a fresh batch of kombucha will be ready to flavor up.  Also have makings for hot chocolate or a mocha with coconut milk (powdered coconut milk is the bomb to have around), as well as german style pancakes for breakfast.  I reviewed the menu so I remember not to eat up the things I need for that meal.

A friend gave me 2 bags of powdered egg a week ago and that really helps.  If the chickens stop laying, I can still make most things.  Fried egg is a loser from powdered, but baking and pancakes work fine.

I also have gelatine...maybe a cranberry jello mold?  Or a coconut milk based pudding.