Being off work together as a family – makes it feel like a holiday weekend (although maybe it’s more like Groundhog Day). It the spirit of trying to make things fun, we decided to pretend it was Christmas. We turned on the Christmas music, had the turkey thawed and ready to go, and we even got a little snow and had to turn on the fireplace!
So we’re still trying to use up the “back pantry” items, a few of which are long past their prime and probably should have been thrown out a while ago. I’m not recommending using “expired” ingredients – but I am also not afraid of things that are past their “best by” date provided they are not perishable or damaged. We’ve definitely noticed that by being thoughtful about using what we have and trying to avoid the store that our grocery bills and our weekly trash production are way down.
My late father-in-law and grandmother were children of the Great Depression and never threw ANYTHING away, expired or otherwise. John, my father-in-law, had an extensive collection of expired canned foods, condiments and unrecognizable leftovers that my family cleaned out of his apartment after his passing. Inspired by them, we used what we had to make a holiday-style dinner. We also used my Granny’s dressing recipe, which always makes me think of how resourceful and pragmatic she was. It is measured in soup cans rather than cups (see the separately posted recipe) and everything she made was from scratch, often without a recipe or formal measurements.
With no extended family to share in the bounty, we had a whole week’s worth of food (see the follow up post) that I am also proud to say was completely consumed – nothing wasted or thrown away at the end of the week!
Pantry of Creativity 