April 14th, 2009 by Mary Kochan
This is the last in my series about having and maintaining a pantry as a cost-saving strategy. If you need to catch up, here is part one, part two, and part three. Now, I want to focus here on some of the mental and emotional changes I think you will see in yourself as you pursue this goal, as well as some of the rewards you can enjoy. If you have never had one, starting and maintaining a pantry will change your relationship with food and homemaking. Here are some of the changes I have observed.
Deconstructing Packaged Food
I used to buy a boxed pasta salad that I really liked. One day I took a look at it and realized that I was really paying a pretty exorbitant price for what amounted to about a third of a pound of pasta, a minimal number of dried chopped vegetables and a tablespoon of ranch salad dressing. I have recreated this much more cheaply - not to mention more healthily — and with no more than 5 minutes more work many times. One day I bought a very delicious frozen jambalaya in a plastic bag. Inside was a package of frozen cooked rice, some chopped vegetables, shrimp and sausage, and a package of sauce. With my own rice, chopped vegetables (many from my own garden), frozen shrimp and Kielbasa from my freezer, and a jar of Cajun seasoning, I have recreated this meal many times for my family — it has become one of our summer favorites. One day at a friend’s house, I saw her breaking up spaghetti and adding it to a pan of melted butter. “What are you doing?” I asked, and got the answer, “Making Rice-a-Roni.” Sure enough, a moment later she was adding rice to the browning bits of noodles.
You don’t always have to bring something home to deconstruct it. You can often do it by simply looking at the label. Have a favorite packaged food or restaurant food you want to copy? Look up the recipe for it online.
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