Pantry Challenge 2010: Week One

February 8th, 2010

We rolled through the first week of the pantry challenge without a hitch. The refrigerator is still full from our shopping trip before we kicked the challenge off. The only items we have run out of to date are bananas and avocados. I’ll miss the avocados most.

We also ate well: salad and grilled cheese sandwiches, roasted chicken, chicken enchiladas, leftover beef bourguignon, and beef stroganoff (had a birthday dinner for six). The party was a breeze because we planned ahead. The only thing I’m out of now is birthday candles. Hopefully the next birthday celebrant won’t mind. This week shouldn’t pose too much of a problem either. The month of March is when the challenge really begins because the refrigerator is nearly bare and we rely on what’s truly in the pantry.

The only weakness I felt was shopping at a big box store on day three. I had gone inside to get some picture hanging hardware to rehang our art as part of the clutter reduction and repainting project. By the checkout counters were bins of Whoppers that let out a siren call. Sure, I like Whoppers but can generally take or leave them. But they called loudly with a promise of smooth chocolate and a crunchy malt center. I didn’t buy them, but felt like a dieter on day three. ANYTHING that is forbidden looks good. I came home and had a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

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Streamlining the Kitchen

February 6th, 2010

I subscribe to Prevention Magazine and get an email or two a day with healthful and helpful advice. Earlier this week they had an article the featuring time-saving tricks offered by celebrity cooks. While I don’t know many of the chefs because I don’t watch TV, I did recognize a few names. I selected some of the tips not necessarily by recognizable chef, but because of the value of the suggestion they offered. Sometimes the tips overlapped. Here are some of the suggestions:

• Alice Waters suggests shopping at Farmer’s Markets to ensure that the food is freshest while supporting the local grower. Other cooks suggest eating what is in season.
• Use a variety of different oils for flavoring food. Don’t rely simply on extra-virgin olive oil.
• Nigella Lawson uses scallions more often then onions because they aren’t as teary to chop and are digested more easily.
• Choose dark-colored beef with good marbling rather than bright red without much fat for better flavor. If you do use less-expensive cuts of meat, learn how to braise them for better flavor and tenderness.
• Expensive gadgets aren’t necessarily the best for getting a job done.
• Emeril Lagasse prefers spending time organizing the kitchen, chopping and measuring everything out in advance before beginning cooking.
• Use fresh herbs to season dishes. Toast seeds spices like, whole cumin, before using.
• Entertain simply. Don’t worry about making difficult dishes to impress guests but stick with the tried and true.
• My favorite tip comes from Melissa d’Arabian, who suggests using what’s on hand in the pantry or freezer to make meals. She thinks skipping the grocery store for a week or two is a good way to use what’s already available.

I think that the kitchen should be a pleasant place to work, with enough variety to give interest to dishes, and that experiment should give way to repetition.

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Roasted Chicken, Second Round

February 5th, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a not-too-friendly of Julie Powell’s latest book “Cleaving.” As Powell is fond of food, she included some recipes in the book as well. A couple of nights ago I tried her version of roasted chicken (using one of the seven that I bought in bulk). The flavor of the bird turned out well, but the potatoes were a bit mushy. I’d probably add them in the last 45 minutes of cooking to keep them crisp and let them absorb the flavor of the pan juices.

Here’s an adaptation of Powell’s recipe:

“Home At Last” Chicken

4 red potatoes, not peeled, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds, rinsed and patted dry
Hot paprika
1 half lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the chopped potatoes and onions in a bowl. Pour a healthy glug of olive oil over them, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Set a rack in a roasting pan and arrange the vegetables around and under the rack. (I didn’t have a rack so I just put the potatoes in the pan, which probably made them mushy).

Smear the chicken skin with more olive oil and season it fairly aggressively, inside and out, with salt, pepper, and paprika. Tuck the lemon half into the chicken cavity and place it on the rack.

Allow the chicken to roast for 15 minutes per pound of bird, plus 10 minutes extra. Stir the potatoes a couple of times while roasting so that they don’t stick.

Serve with a green salad. (I served mine with asparagus).

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Book Review: Cleaving, A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

February 4th, 2010

Oh Julie Powell. I had expected more out of you in this book. I read “Julie & Julia” before it became a major motion picture. While I admired your drive to cook through “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” I didn’t like your whiny tone. The book was all about bringing attention to yourself and looking for meaning in your life.

“Cleaving” isn’t much different. Sure, you take on a six-month apprentice to learn butchering and you use cuts of meat as metaphors for writing about your life. Ann Morrow Lindbergh did the same thing with shells in her book “Gift from the Sea.” Yet her book is a gift of revelation. Yours is another rant on why you aren’t happy. After your apprenticeship you travel the world and looking at meat production. While I found the parts you wrote about meat somewhat interesting (after all, I keep a pantry that has various cuts of meat) the rest of the book got to be a bit tedious with your obsessive look at your dis-ease.

I doubt this book will be made a major motion picture.

“Julie and Julia” worked because you had the optimistic figure of Julia Child who inspired you to do something productive with your life. “Cleaving” has no such heroine. The main character is just that—a character, or perhaps a caricature of someone who is still looking for the spotlight that she once held simply because she had connected to a star.

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Rethinking the Yard Sale

February 2nd, 2010

One reason to declutter my house is so that I can have a great yard sale this spring. I’ve been working my way through closets and should have everything sorted through in the next few months. The other reason to do this is that I have too much stuff that has accumulated over the last ten years. Some of this stuff is older than that and has been with me long before my last move. I’ve also been collecting the stuff my parents no longer need or want.

Saturday, as I brought in yet another load of bedding from my parents’ house, my husband asked me if it was worth it—both in terms of time and money—to have a yard sale. Frankly, I’m mercenary about this. The primary reason I’m having a sale is for the money. I plan to sell the stuff and put the proceeds in the bank. But my dear husband pointed out that I would take a couple of days to organize and price everything, then spend another full day putting it outside, selling it, cleaning up, then driving the rest to donate it to a thrift store.

“So you spend three days working on this and how much do you expect to make?” he asks.

“I figure we can make about $150 dollars,” I reply.

“If you divide $150 by three you get $50, which is what you would make in a day. Divide that by an eight-hour day and you are barely making $6 an hour,” he logically points out.

“Yes, but $6 an hour is better than no money per hour. This is extra income,” I say emphatically.

“Use your extra time to repaint the rooms you’ve wanted to. I’ve never understood the mentality of having a yard sale that didn’t bring in a lot of money,” he hammers in.

But as I think about it and look at growing pile of stuff in an extra bedroom, I start to rethink what I am doing.

About four years ago we had a good yard sale, getting rid of tools and excess furniture. We netted just over $400. Two years ago we purged again, selling what we had for about $160. I remember reading in Amy Dacyczyn’s “The Tightwad Gazette” of her having yards sales frequently. The first year brought in a lot of money. Each subsequent sale brought in less, mostly because the good stuff was already sold and what was left wasn’t very interesting. Maybe we’ve already sold most of the desirable stuff.

If I load up my car and drive all these items to the thrift store, I’ll save some time and get a tax deduction if I itemize what I’ve donated. Or I can spend three days and try and sell it. If I simply donate it, I’ll feel like I haven’t made the money back that I could have—that I’m literally throwing the money away. But spending money on the stuff in the first place—that’s where I probably didn’t need to spend it. I can recoup the money I would have made by not buying more stuff at all. Front load the savings? It beats loading up the car later on.

I drove that pile of bedding straight to the thrift store.

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Pantry Challenge 2010

February 1st, 2010

Today officially begins the Pantry Challenge for this year—no grocery shopping for the next two months in an attempt to eat what we have on hand and learn a bit more about self-sufficiency.

Friday I asked my husband if there was anything special he wanted from the store as I was planning on making my grocery run on Saturday. He said that he wanted to go with me. I always enjoy his company but know that when we shop together, our grocery bill goes up about 20%.

We set out early Saturday morning, basic list in hand, to get stocked up. We started with breakfast at a diner, knowing that if we were hungry we’d spend far more than we wanted to. At the store, I bought fifteen pounds of potatoes, ten pounds of onions and carrots, two bunches of celery, and three dozen eggs. We also bought other produce but it will only last a week or two. We bought a gallon of regular milk and two half-gallons of soy milk, as they have a longer shelf life. I stocked up on two pounds of mozzarella cheese, beef cubes, and my husband requested pork chops. I also got a few bags of frozen vegetables.

Once we had the basics, my husband wanted to roam the isles. That’s when I felt myself becoming irrational as I grabbed bags of chocolate chips, cans of chili, and evaporated milk. We already have these items stored but I was anxious that we might run through our stash. My husband bought corn chips and ice cream. We left the store spending just under $200. I didn’t feel too bad about the total (our grocery bill is closer to $50-$80 every couple of weeks) because the food would be tiding us over for the next two months.

We had to stop at another store to get grapefruit, pears, and avocados (the previous store’s quality on those items weren’t good) buckwheat noodles and a quart of maple syrup. We added $40 to the total of our grocery bill.

At home, we lugged in our bounty and my husband quickly reshuffled the contents of the refrigerator to get everything inside. We ended up throwing out a few containers of food and consolidated other where we could. Our freezer compartment and standing freezer are stuffed to the gills.

The lettuces I planted about three weeks ago are nearly twp inches high. They need thinning this week. While not ready to eat now, in another month they will make a welcome, fresh addition to our table.

Although the Challenge formally begins on February 1, our last shopping trip was January 30, adding one day—actually two with leap year—until we shop again in April. We kicked off last night with boeuf bourguignon, the leftovers of which will be pulled out of the freezer in another few weeks.

I think we are more prepared this year and a bit more excited to challenge ourselves. My husband’s participation is a good sign. And having a few of our favorite treats on hand will make the sailing a bit more pleasant.

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Going Too Far for Flavor?

January 30th, 2010

For about a year, I’ve wanted to try Renee Loux’s recipe for intense chocolate mousse, which you can find here http://www.reneeloux.com/recipes/renes_signature_chocolate_avoc/. I finally had enough ripened avocados on hand to try it. In addition to the avocados, I had maple syrup (not cheap), evaporated cane sugar, balsamic vinegar, vanilla, and shoyu. But I still had to shop for some of the ingredients.

Fresh raspberries for $5.99
Coconut butter was $11.99 and I couldn’t find the recommended brand
Ghirardelli cocoa better for $4.99 (a better quality than I had on hand but not what was recommended)

My additional costs just to try the recipe went over $23 with taxes and I didn’t buy the chocolate nibs for the top as suggested.

So how was it? Well, it’s very dark and thick. I liked it, but it was almost too rich and a little went a long way. My husband stopped after one bite. So did a dinner guest. My step-son ate a serving of it.

I may try it again because my production costs would certainly go down. I just need the raspberries and avocados. I’d probably add a bit more liquid to make it lighter and perhaps a bit less cocoa powder to decrease the intensity. And I’m sure my frozen raspberries, thawed a bit, could be as a topper.

Next time I want to try a recipe I may not be so willing to shell out so much money for a one-time experiment.

What have you spent to try a recipe only to find the satisfaction didn’t match the money spent?

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Happy Birthday Pantry Diva!

January 29th, 2010

It’s been a year since the first post of the Pantry Diva hit the blogisphere. The number of viewers has increased steadily each month. Nearly than 250 posts have been shared. The mission has remained steady and consistent.

I wrote in that first post that I wanted to learn better how to create food that came from the pantry that left a feeling of satisfaction rather than just abating hunger. It’s been explored this year—and I’m not going away—and I will continue this quest. I’ll still explore ways to make life more consistent with using fewer resources on the planet.

But what I have learned over this past year is that writing posts and exploring these topics is also very satisfying personally. And having readers who appreciate what I have to say brings additional satisfaction.

Thank you for reading, for joining me on the journey. I hope you find it satisfying too.

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On the Mend

January 28th, 2010

With an intention of using less and consuming what’s on hand, I’ve been mending clothing items that are still serviceable but need a bit of fixing before using again.

My husband has a pair of pants that need the side seam fixed. His workout pants have lost the stitching that keeps the elastic in place. And a favorite shirt of his developed tears in the shirt tails. All of these items have been easy to fix.

I have a pair of red cashmere gloves that a friend gave me for Christmas about five years ago. Last year I developed a hole in the thumb which I was able to mend. This year the other thumb has a corresponding hole from wear.

As we have become more attentive to what we have and use, we are much more conscious about the old adage of “wear it out, use it up, make do, or go without.” The mending took me about an hour of time but more importantly we kept using what we already have rather than simply getting rid of it because they weren’t in mint condition. These items are still serviceable and don’t need replacing—just mending.

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Roasted Chicken

January 27th, 2010

A beautifully roasted chicken is the promise of a good meal. It can be sliced and served as is; diced into salad, sandwiches, or enchiladas; and the bones can make great stock or soup. A whole chicken is a workhorse in the kitchen.

Seems like most grocery and warehouse stores sell chickens ready to go. Sometimes I’ve picked up beautiful birds on my way home only to find the hens rather skinny and the meat dried out.

Last week I stocked up on fresh, whole chickens at the rock bottom price of .59 a pound. While they aren’t free-range or organic, they were plump and affordable. I bought seven of them—as many as my freezer could hold.

I kept one from the dark, cold of the freezer and roasted it, using one of my favorite recipes. It’s from Patricia Wells’ Bistro Cooking. I’ve used it for years with much success. It’s easy and yields good results.

Roasted Chicken

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Start with the chicken at room temperature. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the neck, liver, heart, and gizzard into the cavity of the chicken and truss with string, or just make sure they are securely inside.
• Rub the chicken with either 1 tablespoon butter or poultry fat.
• Season skin with salt.
• Place the chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up, in the center of the oven.
• Every ten or so minutes, baste the chicken with the drippings in the bottom of the pan.
• Bake until the juices run clear. If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 180 degrees.
• Let the chicken rest for ten minutes before carving.

That’s the basic recipe. Wells also discusses how to make a sauce using the chicken drippings. It sounds over-the-top, but it’s quite yummy. Forget monitoring your cholesterol if you take the next steps.

• Add 4 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons water to the remains in the roasting pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add any additional juices that have accumulated from the resting chicken.
• Deglaze the pan over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced and syrupy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

That’s it. A simple, but tasty chicken that’s flavorful and moist. It’s so easy and I am glad that I have more chickens on hand to make it again and again.

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