Eating Through the Pantry

January is a time for reflection, setting goals, and starting anew.  I, of course, have made a multitude of New Year's Resolutions, one of which is to eat through the pantry this month.  My plan is to cook and eat my way through all the remaining non-perishables I have in my house before replacing or upgrading them.

These pictures were taken several months ago, so I don't currently have everything pictured (although sadly I still have a lot of it).  In the crazy last few months I've had with getting married and adjusting to a new routine of living with somebody else, there simple has not been as much effort put toward cooking as I would typically exert.

Eating through the pantry serves several purposes.  Not only is it a way to clear out the cupboards and make room for the new, but it is also a way to spur creativity and resourcefulness.  It pushes you to be more creative and mindful of what you have on hand.  It will also (hopefully) help us to save money.  My goal for the next couple months is to make weekly meal plans based on what is in the cupboards.  I will, of course, include fresh ingredients.  My challenge will be to purchase only enough for the meals I plan to make.  I am going to try not to buy new canned goods as much as possible, unless they are called for in a recipe that uses a substantial amount of stuff I already have.

We'll see how it goes!  To read more on eating through the pantry, see this post on The Kitchn (one of my favorite blogs).

Project: Chalkboard Plant Tags

Here's an easy project to get you in the mood for gardening this spring:  chalkboard plant tags!

Work in a well-ventilated area

You will need:
Popsicle sticks (collected or purchased from a craft supply store)
Chalkboard spray paint
A surface on which you can spray paint (newspaper, butcher paper, etc)
A well-ventilated area in which to work

 

Instructions:
Lay all the popsicle sticks out on the paper.  Spray with a light coat of paint.  Let it dry, then coat with another light coat of paint.  2-3 coats should cover.

After the first side is completely dry, turn the sticks over and repeat.

I wrote on my sticks with a white charcoal pencil.  It has poured rain for several consecutive days since I stuck these in the ground, and they are still easy to read!

seedlings

Kale seedlings are coming up.  I think spring is finally on it's way!

Have I introduced the ladies?

These are the four new additions to my urban homestead in-the-making.  Hopefully they will be supplying me with eggs starting in July.  They are now about 5 weeks old, but in this picture they are more like 3 or 3 1/2 weeks old.

I'm excited that spring is almost (almost!) here.  I've got my three raised beds composted and ready for seeds, all my seeds are purchased, a few are started indoors.  I just need the stars to align and give me a weekend day where it's not dumping rain or blowing wind for a few minutes, so I can get my early seeds planted!  I have visions of an idyllic garden, where crops burst with vitality and color from the raised beds, pumpkins sprawl lazily on their vines, and the berry bushes are full of juicy, ripe berries for months on end.

We'll see how it turns out.  I realize that this is quite possibly a daydream.

The chickens should have a coop up in the sideyard in a week or so.  They are getting feathered out and are almost ready to be "hardened off" to the reality of living outside.  Yay!  They were all cute and fluffy in that picture above, here they are now:

Oh, what a difference ten days can make.  They grow up so fast.

Protein-Packed Breakfast Bars

I came across a version of this recipe in the comments section of a post on the kitchn.  I modified it based on what I had, and I think it's a keeper!  There is lots of potential for yummy variations, and best of all, it was fast.

You will need:
1 1/2 C. Oats
1 1/4 C. protein powder (any flavor you like/have)
1 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. honey

Directions:
Melt the peanut butter and honey together over a double boiler or in the microwave, until combined.  Add the protein powder and oats.  The mixture can get a little dry, so you may want to knead it a bit with your hands (be careful if the mixture is still warm).  Press into an ungreased 8x8" pan.  Cover loosely with waxed paper and put in the fridge to cool for at least one hour.  Cut bars for serving. Makes 9 bars.

Easy, tasty, and quick in the morning.  I plan on eating these with some fruit and a mug of black tea.

A sampling of the latest dishes

Stir-fried sirloin with garlic, tomatoes, and broccoli

Baked chicken with lemon, tangerine, and fennel

Mexican hot chocolate made with coconut milk

DIY Laundry Detergent

So, I know this isn't food, but I'd like to branch out to include other crafty home projects.  This is one I started a while ago.  I'd thought about making laundry soap for a while, but never took the steps to do so until one of my friends from work told me how easy it was and how well it worked (thanks, Kerry)!

the ingredients

You will need:
1 bar of Ivory soap, grated (I used the fine grate on my box grater)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda (the only place I found washing soda was Fred Meyer, so look there)

this is me stirring fast

Directions:
Grate the bar of soap with your grater.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Put in a container with a lid (a 24 oz container or larger should work best).

the finished product, in its natural environment

And there you have it!  I suppose you could add a few drops of an essential oil if you wanted it to smell scent-y, but I prefer unscented laundry soap.  The soap itself smells like Ivory, but I've found that after washing and drying, the laundry doesn't have much of a smell at all (other than the smell of clean!).  Try it, it's easy and cheap considering how many jars of the stuff you can make after the initial purchase of the ingredients.

Oh, and I almost forgot, you only need to use about a tablespoon of detergent per load.

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

1/2 C diced bacon

4 medium potatoes chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 C water

2 1/2 - 3 C corn (creamed or frozen - I used a combo)

2 t salt

pepper to taste

2 C half-and-half

shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

Saute bacon until crisp; add onion and potato and cook for a few minutes, until onions are translucent.  Add water, corn, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the half-and-half, stir.  Serve with cheese to garnish.  If you want it to look even prettier, reserve a little bacon and chop up some green onions or chives to garnish as well.

A New Year's resolution and some olive oil granola

So I have been very, very bad at posting all fall.  As in, no posts.  Well, guess what my New Year's resolution is?  You guessed it, to post more!  I know it's the same resolution I made last year, but I'm going to go for it again.  If all goes to plan, I will post consistently every Monday.

So, with that said, I found a fantastic granola recipe that I love.  I found it at the kitchn, where they reviewed it over a year ago.  It was originally published in the New York Times.  The link is http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe-review/watch-out-dangerously-addictive-olive-oil-granola-recipe-review-092132  If you follow this link, it will lead you to the original recipe.

This granola uses pistachios, raw pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, and cinnamon and cardamom.  I was going to include dried blueberries, but decided at the last minute to leave them out.  I'm glad I did.  This granola is fantastic, free of dried fruit.

The resulting granola was full of delicious chunks, caramelized, nutty, and cardamom-y.

I made a few modifications from the recipe, due to what I had on hand.  It calls for raw pistachios, but I only had roasted/salted.  They worked fine.  I also didn't have any dried apricots, and thus included no dried fruit.  I had dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar, but I think that just lended itself to the caramelized finish at the end.  Finally, I lined my baking sheet with parchment, which made transferring the granola to a jar that much easier.

I took this granola to work this morning for a co-worker's birthday.  I also brought some ricotta and fresh blueberries to serve with it.  Yum!  I will be making this one again for sure!

Bounty from the garden

Bush beans. I love the purple striations they get when they are still growing.

Walla Walla food adventures!

Burgers w/ green bean and feta roasted potatoes

Truffles. The one in the foreground is shiso sesame.

Farmer's Market is open!

sugar snaps

little tiny strawberries

I'm excited that it's finally Farmer's Market season! Pictured are the sugar snap peas and the strawberries I picked up from the Tuesday evening market. I feel lucky to live in a city that has not one, but four farmer's markets during the summer. That means four times a week that I can go to an outdoor stand and get fruit and veggies picked fresh that day.

The snap peas above were cooked with shrimp in a ginger-soy stirfry over somen noodles. It was okay, but nothing too exciting. The peas were definitely the stars. I prepared the rest of the snaps with a lemon-chive dressing. It is marinating in the fridge as we speak, we'll see how it turns out!

For some reason I have a hard time eating strawberries whole - if I leave them that way they tend to go bad. So I quartered the strawberries and tossed them with blueberries. Yum. That's my favorite summer fruit salad.

More food I made

salted brown butter crispy squares (from Smitten Kitchen)

dill popovers

beef stroganoff with green beans (my first attempt at cooking with mushrooms)

chipotle chicken salad with mango-papaya salsa

December in Food

A quick dinner using leftover stuffing breadcrumbs: cornbreaded chicken and steamed broccoli. Simple, healthy, and very good.

It doesn't look like much, but it's beouf bourgingon (or however you spell it) from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Time-consuming to make, but worth the effort. This was Christmas dinner.

I know I didn't make this, but I have to pay a little homage to the best Friday-night food combo: cheap beer, pretzels, and yellow mustard. Best when paired with bowling. How I miss bowling.

Another thing I didn't make, and technically I ate it on January 1st, not in December, but this lamb burger I ate at Louisa's Bakery and Cafe in Seattle was delicious. It was lamb with a cucumber relish on top. Very tasty.

Sorry for the month hiatus.

It's been a busy month, so I apologize for not posting. Before anything else, I just want to recognize that my Secret Snowman at work (Joli) was awesome, and got me, among other great gifts, some food magazines! I am now in love with "Bon Appetit." I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I think it's mostly the pictures. Beautiful food pictures. Thanks, Joli!

I made some almond coconut cookies. They were chewy, thanks to the use of whole wheat flour, and the whole almond on top added a nice crunch. It was reminiscent of a jordan almond, but in cookie form.

I had a beef rib in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I marinated it in grapeseed oil, soy sauce, ginger, horseradish, and sesame seeds. Then I broiled it with chopped onions and red and green bell peppers. Pretty tasty.

The other thing I made recently was an apple crisp. Chop 6 granny smith apples, mix with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little cornstarch. Put in greased 8x8 pan. Mix oatmeal, a little brown sugar, cinnamon, and some butter together to make a crumbly topping. Sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so, until the apples are tender. I think you don't really have to be exact with something like an apple crisp; just use your judgement. Make sure the apples are coated, but not too heavily. Make sure the topping sticks together.

Thanksgiving!

The turkey - brined and herbed.

Pear, kiwi, and pomegranate "salad" - pretty and tasty.

Sweet potatoes mashed with coconut milk, cardamom, cayenne, and vanilla, then baked for an hour with pecans. The flavors intensified with baking. Delicious and not so goopy-sweet as holiday sweet potatoes often are.

Apple-cranberry-sausage stuffing. This was my contribution to dinner. Tasty, but a bit dry. I would use more stock next time.

Roasted vegetables with ginger. It was broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and yellow/orange/purple carrots. Yum yum!

Garlic mashed potatoes with fried shallots to garnish.

My plate. I think I was only able to eat half of everything. It was yummy :)

Turkey stock made with the carcass, leftover herbs, onion, carrot, and celery. A little cloudy, but I think it will be delicious when I use it!

Ginger Scallops and Brown Rice

I made this dish a while back as a quick and easy meal to use up some veggies I had in the fridge. I had a bag of frozen scallops from TJ's, which I thawed and sauteed with a little olive oil and ginger paste from a jar. I might have added some lemon or lime juice too, but I can't remember right now. Anyway, I sauteed the scallops, removed them from the heat and drained all the water from the pan, then sauteed some julienned carrots and made the ginger/lime or lemon sauce. Then I added the scallops back in and finally tossed in some chopped green onions to add some green. Served over a bed of brown rice. There was enough sauce to cover the rice, so it was pretty tasty!

Pumpkin Curry Soup

I made this soup a few days after the pumpkin coconut bread to use up the rest of my coconut milk and pumpkin puree. I added in some veggies that I needed to use up. First I made a curry paste with butter, flour, and curry powder (like a curry roux). Then I added a box of vegetable stock and the chopped veggies (potatoes, carrots) and brought it all to a boil. Then I added the coconut milk and the pumpkin and stirred it in, and I brought the whole thing to a boil, then I let it simmer for a bit. I added in the green onions at the end. Seasoned to taste (it could have used a bit more salt). Pretty tasty and super fast and easy to make. I think this one might be good to experiment with in a slow cooker, and maybe with chicken and chicken broth.