Sunday, January 16, 2022

Pantry Challenge Update: 1 Month and 16 Days

Going well!   

Had strawberry pancakes made with whole wheat flour, strawberry powder (thanks Pam), and an egg with maple syrup.  WOW was that delicious.  Also coffee and rooibos tea (thanks Chris).  

Lunch yesterday and today is/was duck soup.  Like actual soup made with duck meat, not a movie with the Marx Bro's.  I added my last fresh onion and the last of the non-frozen fermented ginger carrots along with some dried mushrooms (thanks Sher).  Really really good.  Yesterday I made some whole wheat flour dumplings to go with the soup.   Since I would be out and about today, radio show day and laundry day, I made some bread things to go with: almond and coconut flours with psyllium husk and camelina seeds.  Egg and fake (low sodium) baking soda for leavening.  Quite good!  I fried them up last night in the last of a jar of coconut oil.  I have another jar.  I supplemented breakfast with some walnuts.  I have about a pound of those left.  

I have more soup for supper or for tomorrow.  Probably for supper.  I don't work tomorrow so will have time to make beans or something.  I meant to bring home smoked salmon, lunches midweek were smoked salmon and some muffins made in the work toaster oven.  Anyway, forgot the salmon in the office freezer so I have that to eat.  I am thinking it would make a killer pilaf with the rye berries.  It is a low sodium brined fish smoked by a colleague (thanks!) and given to me.  

While I can see some definite gaps in the pantry now, I'm not in any danger of starving any time soon.  The radish seeds I tried to sprout said no...too cold at the wee shed.  Need to move the sprout factory to the office.  I am down to a few cloves of garlic, most of a hand of ginger, and a decent sized pumpkin and those sproutable seeds for "fresh" veg.   Still have dried peppers, dried mushrooms (I know they aren't really a vegetable, neither is a squash if we are playing that game), dried veggie soup mix and a can of artichoke hearts (thanks Chris!).  Plenty of beans which may or may not be a veg depending on your biases.

For proteins I have dried beans and lentils, gelatin, smoked salmon, smoked duck, a big can of tuna, and a couple of jars of duck as well as walnuts, pine nuts, eggs from the chickens and 1 3/4 bags of dried eggs (thanks Cindy).  Like I said, not starving.  Oh, and vital wheat gluten which is both protein and flour-like.  Also camelina seeds...are they a protein?  A superfood?  Something just to get stuck in my teeth?

Still have rye berries, whole wheat flour, almond flour, coconut flour, and that vital wheat gluten.

I'd like to use up the arrow root.  Maybe a pudding with coconut milk?  I have a bag of that left.

Also have tons of spices and dried herbs.  I'll parcel out the squash hopefully between this week and next and then we're done.   

Plenty of coffee, tea, cocoa, coconut oil and olive oil.   I've been using a vinaigrette I got for xmas (thanks Cindy!) for making baking soda leavened whole wheat quick breads at work.  It is really good!  I still have plenty of yeast as well.

My grocery list for the after challenge times is more refined.  Like I eat dried fruit too fast so less of that.  Also nuts in the shell go slowly, nuts out of the shell I eat too fast.  Nutbutters rarely make it into a sandwich much less a recipe.  I just eat them on a spoon which is stupid and pointless.  And expensive.

Tart jams go slowly as well.  Other stuff goes better if I portion it out by week's worth rather than looking at the whole giant quantity.  That's just a pantry reorganization issue for effective use of what I've got.

It is still strange to just skip grocery stores.

I was chagrined today to see the tiny free pantry I usually contribute to when I do groceries, is totally empty!  Usually it has stuff in it.  It is at a church and this is Sunday for pity's sake!  Put your canned goods where your mouth is people!  


OK, time to prep the radio show some more.  Enough bloggery.


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