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!