Sunday, August 12, 2007

I'm Having a Ball

Actually, I'm rolling lots of yard sale yarn into balls. Since I took that knitting class I've had my eye out for yarn every time I go to a thrift store or yard sale. I must confess, I'm not worried about dye lots so the missing labels cause me no stress.

As a result, I've got quite a supply but it was badly organized. (In truth, it wasn't organized at all. It was all thrown into a closet under the staircase.) I'm about half way through the job. Maybe I'm goofy but I think there's something aesthetically pleasing about a basket of yarn balls. Once the weather cools down I'll be ready to go into a knitting frenzy.

There's an odd feeling to this part of the summer. I hate to admit it but the cool mountain nights remind me that September is not too far off. The time has come to start using up the staples in the cupboards to get things down to winter food storage levels. (Up until this point in the summer if I run low on something that I have a stash of at home, Jim brings it up to me.)

So far we've run out of chickpeas, black eyed peas and white beans but we've still got plenty of limas, red lentils and kidney beans. The whole wheat pastry flour is getting low but I have quite a bit of barley and wheat berries, both of which can be ground into flour. My raisin stash is getting a little low so we're going to rely more heavily on dates and figs for these last few weeks. The goal is to use enough to have room for people in the car on the ride home.

Its really a frugal mind set that works well even if you don't have a summer place. Think about how much lower your grocery bill could be if you depleted your pantry a bit. I don't mean leaving it bare, I just mean exploring it a bit more thoroughly before deciding you have to go out for dinner supplies.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Last month, by the 10th we had completely depleted our grocery budget. I went through the pantry and the freezer and made a list of meals (with sides and everything) that could get us through the rest of the month. We're now one month later and aside from $50 produce purchase in August everything we've eaten has come from that list. I'm so proud of myself and how creative and resourceful I've been. I can't believe how full our pantry is. It's almost ridiculous. I'm now determined to use up all of the stuff that has been sitting in there forever (like the half full box of instant potatoes I bought for some recipe I wanted to make a YEAR ago).

Ruthie said...

I have had a bunch of kidney beans in the freezer for awhile and tomorrow I'm planning on thawing them for a magical loaf with millet and walnuts. :-) Be sure to tell me what you do with yours.

Katie said...

That's exactly what I mean Crystal. Kudos to you!

Ruthie, I'm leaning toward veggie burger concoctions using the red lentils but I'm a little up in the air with my kidney beans. I have some tortilla chip crumbs that would work well as a topping if I do a mexican casserole type dish. I want to peruse a few more cook books before deciding. I'll keep you posted.

Unknown said...

This will sound odd but I am dying to see photos of your kitchen & pantry. You often mention buying staples in bulk and I am always curious about how you store & organize it all. I even want to see your fridge! Kitchen voyeurism!!