Spring cleaning not only applies to the house, but also to the pantry! This is the time of year when I start to make a concerted effort to eat up goods the goods I preserved last summer. Soon enough I’ll be pulling out the canning pots and filing jars with this summer’s bounty and packing the freezer with fresh berries. This means I must start preparing now. The last thing I want is to end up with jar and jars of stuff from years past and have to throw some of it away. I’m not one to waste food, especially food that I spent time and energy growing and preserving.
This is the perfect time of year to start using up pantry goods. With the coming of warmer weather comes the feeling of optimism. I no longer feel the need to conserve my food resources to make sure they last through the long winter. Those feelings give way to the hope of summer bounty and I finally feel safe eating up the last few jars of tomatoes. I know that in a few months, my tiny tomato seedlings will be producing pounds of fresh summer fruit that will be eaten fresh and canned for next winter.
I find myself often in the pantry looking over jars of goods deciding what I want to make for dinner. If I spot a few jars of tomatoes, pepper relish, fire roasted red & jalapeno pepper, and a few jars of chutney, I’ll make a big pot of chili. From the freezer I’ll add some ground venison, beef stock and some frozen beet greens or spinach. If I’m lucky I’ll have a bottle of beer as well to add for good measure. A few heirloom beans will also get added to the pot if there are any left in the pantry. If we have some frozen milk left from our winter stores, I’ll make some fresh mozzarella, and who doesn’t love a sprinkling of fresh spring chives on top of any dish this time of year?
If I find myself with a lot of extra tomatoes, I’ll make up a big batch of marinara. This will top fresh homemade pasta, or even a pan of lasagna if I have the time and energy to make cheese and noodles.
Not only do all these dishes help clean out the pantry of last year’s bounty and make way for the new, they help save me time during this busy season in the garden. A big batch of of chili can be eaten on for many days as can a big pan of lasagna (and they get better with age). If I make an extra big batch I’ll freeze it in meal sized portions for quick meals during the busy days of spring and early summer. My goal is to have most of the jars in the pantry empty by tomato canning season and to have most of the berries eaten from the freezer before the strawberries come on.
Do you make a concerted effort to eat up items in your pantry to make way for the new season’s bounty?
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Yes! Apparently I went a little crazy with pesto last summer, so that’s what I’m eating for the next month or so!
Me too with chutney. So I’ve been adding it to chili and it makes a wonderful sloppy joe!
Absolutely, I did this a week or perhaps two weeks ago. I found I have more pickles than we needed, but everything else has been quickly disappearing and it is a good thing the summer will bring us more produce.
Yep. The last of the frozen stuff is being used up (we didn’t can last year).
We’ve finished off all veggies, canned and frozen. We’re working on a few last jars of jelly and fruit sauces and that is about it for home-preserved stuff until I start putting it up again this summer. Having all the kids home again put a strain on my pantry that I didn’t expect! Kim
I’m doing the same. My big push right now is using whatever is left from 2008 – it’s all been in very good shape. I like that you identified what I did though – I feel like I hoard over the winter because what if it’s not enough?? Now, I know it’s enough and I can use up the rest of it.
We are working hard on cleaning out our deep freeze and I’m down to the last three cans of tomatoes (gasp!!). More than anything it’s because I don’t have the energy or want to go to the store. I’m too busy planting things to refill my horde!!
I know, I’m down to 3 jars of tomatoes as well, and all the sun dried ones are gone. We do still have some salsa left.
You mention making mozzarella, and it sounds like you do it fairly quickly as well. Do you have a post somewhere detailing how you do that? I would love to be able to make mozzarella – even if it wasn’t a quick process!
I use the recipes from Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses. I use the whey from the 30 min mozzarella to make the ricotta using the recipe from the same book.
Here’s a blog post that shows photo by photo of the mozzarella (I haven’t gotten around to doing one yet). http://www.cheesemaking.com/includes/modules/jWallac e/ChsPgs/1Mo…
I must mention it took me a few tries to get the mozzarella right, so don’t be discouraged if it’s not quite right the first time.
Here’s a whey ricotta recipe: fiascofarm.com/dairy/ricotta.html
Wow. You are amazing. I’m in such awe. You all here have made me see just how much can be done at home and with better results. In fact it’s gotten to the point where there are certain store bought or fast food things I can not stand the taste of anymore. And just a year ago they topped my list of favorite foods.
I can’t, due to health living in town with a small yard reasons, keep up with the pace you all have set, bit I’m ready to at least give some of it a try.
I just stopped to say thanks for some of the things here. And also, wow, your pictures are making me really hungry.
We moved in late summer and I did some serious pantry-busting before we started to pack. Now that we’re settled I’ve been considering making a list to post on the fridge, freezer, and pantry cupboard so I know what we have (even if it’s buried or in the back) to encourage using things up before buying more.
I use a dry erase marker and write it on the front of the freezer what I have inside. For the pantry it’s easy to look and see since it’s all on open shelves in the basement.