Will you be going over things like root vegetables (like potatoes)? I am trying to be better at storing my potatoes so they don’t sprout on me and I can thus keep more on hand. No hurry, but just wondering if it’s something to look forward to!
Thank you for this inspiration and information. I am much older than you, middle aged in fact, and used to keep a deep pantry but we retired and downsized 2 years ago. After moving, I was overwhelmed with having so much stuff and so little space and, unlike my last house, no pantry at all, so I got rid of many supplies and focused on buying less food. Now I’m very much rebuilding my pantry and finding spaces for things wherever I can because I too am concerned about the world. I just read your bio and really appreciate and agree with how you put things, and I agree it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Your series of posts will help me and I’m very much looking forward to them.
Thanks Leah!! I’m especially excited about the couponing one, too. I don’t think we talk about things like soap or toilet paper enough when it comes to a stocked pantry.
I’m really excited about these posts, Hannah! We have a pantry with a big stock of things, although I will say many items are convenience items! We are gradually shifting things! I’ve been looking at placing my first order with azure standard- have you used them before? My sister and best friend both use them and have been impressed!
I have used them before! I always double check prices, just to be sure, but for things like dried beans and maple syrup they’re pretty cost effective! I normally only do two or three big orders a year instead of smaller monthly orders.
This is a great start to the series and I can't wait to read the rest. I have always had a pretty well stocked pantry and it is so helpful. We are currently living in a short term rental away from home for a job and it has been a bit of a challenge to cook meals without my well-stocked pantry.
Thank you, Celeste! ☺️ And cooking without a pantry at your back, especially if that’s what you’re used to, is so difficult! It truly helps make things easier once you’re wired to think that way.
I'm assuming that, at 66 yeas of age, I'm a bit older than you. My parents were Depression kids and my grandparents, aunts and uncles were all born in the last decade of the 19th century or the first decade of the 20th. My wife's family was much the same.
Pantries were part of our growing up and they've been part of our 43 years of marriage. The families we grew up in had lived through hard times and those hard times impacted everything about the way they lived afterwards. Which, of course, impacted us.
We've always bought canned goods when they are on sale and stacked them up. We grow very large gardens and preserve the fruits of our labor through canning, dehydration and freeze drying. We grew up around people that stored food for the bad times because they'd lived it. We store food because it saves us money in the long term and provides a buffer against the trouble life throws at us from time to time.
While we do keep some frozen pizzas around and a couple other sorts of convenience foods for those times when we just don't feel like cooking, most of the foods we buy, grow and store are just ingredients. We know how to cook from scratch because we were raised by people that cooked from scratch. I enjoy cook books and, in fact, collect them. But I don't need them. The best recipes are in one's head, based on the ingredients at hand and the years of experience cooking them.
I'm glad to see that younger people are coming around to the older ways of thinking. Technology and the modern world can be amazing, but it's just a blip in the history of mankind. Hard times will always lurk just around the corner. It's better to understand that and be ready for it than to just get lost in a virtual world of hedonistic delight.
Having a well stocked pantry and the skills to use it is like having money in the bank, especially when that real bank account is running dry.
Tom, you may be older than me but we are definitely kindred spirits! I resonate with so much of this! I appreciate you sharing and I’m glad we’re apart of the same pantry keeping tradition. And I agree, you never know when hard times are lurking around the corner. Better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not have a plan.
Sidebar, I also collect cookbooks (specifically community cookbooks) and very rarely cook with a recipe! 😂
What a great overview. I grew up Mormon, and my parents had a year supply of wheat in the garage. But I’ve spent the last decade living in a tiny flat in Amsterdam, so I kind of gave up on all that. With the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, I’ve noticed myself reverting to some stockpiling, but without a very coherent plan. I’m really looking forward to learning how to do this in a small space, and in a way that fits how I cook.
Thanks, Sarah! I hope my posts continue to be helpful. It’s interesting how we fall back on what we know when things start to get shaky, isn’t it? I’ve found myself doing the same!
It sounds like you don't have a grain mill, and I would love to hear your thoughts on why, or maybe pro/con on it. I have a grain mill that I love and use practically every day, but it does take up a fair amount of space and has a high up front cost, so I totally get both sides.
I actually do have a grain mill, and I started learning how to use it! And then I got pregnant with number four and the learning curve got the best of me. 😅 I’m hoping to get back to it soon! If you can share any resources on the subject you love, I’d appreciate it!
I do think that for most people, they can be time and cost prohibitive. I wouldn’t be surprised if a fair chunk of the people following along here start exploring things like grain mills, but I also want to make sure things stay accessible.
Ours runs every other week. We bake bread weekly and I've found that, if I fill the mill to its limit I can get about two weeks of flour out of it. We generally bake with half fresh milled and half all purpose. It makes for a lighter bread. I put an electric motor on the 99. Hand cranking takes a lot of time and effort. The motor was worth the cost.
Thanks, Sheryl! There are definitely less aesthetic parts, and I’ll be sharing those eventually. But this is the part I can see from my kitchen table where I was writing at the time and I needed a picture to publish with! Haha.
You’ve mentioned that executive functioning isn’t the strong suit of folks in your household- very true for mine as well! My spouse and I both work and we have a toddler. I have some chronic illnesses and both of us are neurodivergent, and while I love preparing home cooked meals and want to save more money, there are so many days where even throwing together a simple meal feels like too much. Is this ever the case for you? Did it take time to work up to?
Will you be going over things like root vegetables (like potatoes)? I am trying to be better at storing my potatoes so they don’t sprout on me and I can thus keep more on hand. No hurry, but just wondering if it’s something to look forward to!
I definitely can talk about root vegetables! It’ll probably be closer to the fall, though. 😊
Awesome, that makes sense, looking forward to it!
Thank you for this inspiration and information. I am much older than you, middle aged in fact, and used to keep a deep pantry but we retired and downsized 2 years ago. After moving, I was overwhelmed with having so much stuff and so little space and, unlike my last house, no pantry at all, so I got rid of many supplies and focused on buying less food. Now I’m very much rebuilding my pantry and finding spaces for things wherever I can because I too am concerned about the world. I just read your bio and really appreciate and agree with how you put things, and I agree it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Your series of posts will help me and I’m very much looking forward to them.
Lisa, thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comment! I’m so glad what I’ve written resonates and is helpful so far. Thanks for being here! ❤️
Oooh, especially looking forward to the dehydrating, canning, and couponing editions!
Thanks Leah!! I’m especially excited about the couponing one, too. I don’t think we talk about things like soap or toilet paper enough when it comes to a stocked pantry.
I’m really excited about these posts, Hannah! We have a pantry with a big stock of things, although I will say many items are convenience items! We are gradually shifting things! I’ve been looking at placing my first order with azure standard- have you used them before? My sister and best friend both use them and have been impressed!
I have used them before! I always double check prices, just to be sure, but for things like dried beans and maple syrup they’re pretty cost effective! I normally only do two or three big orders a year instead of smaller monthly orders.
This is a great start to the series and I can't wait to read the rest. I have always had a pretty well stocked pantry and it is so helpful. We are currently living in a short term rental away from home for a job and it has been a bit of a challenge to cook meals without my well-stocked pantry.
Thank you, Celeste! ☺️ And cooking without a pantry at your back, especially if that’s what you’re used to, is so difficult! It truly helps make things easier once you’re wired to think that way.
I'm assuming that, at 66 yeas of age, I'm a bit older than you. My parents were Depression kids and my grandparents, aunts and uncles were all born in the last decade of the 19th century or the first decade of the 20th. My wife's family was much the same.
Pantries were part of our growing up and they've been part of our 43 years of marriage. The families we grew up in had lived through hard times and those hard times impacted everything about the way they lived afterwards. Which, of course, impacted us.
We've always bought canned goods when they are on sale and stacked them up. We grow very large gardens and preserve the fruits of our labor through canning, dehydration and freeze drying. We grew up around people that stored food for the bad times because they'd lived it. We store food because it saves us money in the long term and provides a buffer against the trouble life throws at us from time to time.
While we do keep some frozen pizzas around and a couple other sorts of convenience foods for those times when we just don't feel like cooking, most of the foods we buy, grow and store are just ingredients. We know how to cook from scratch because we were raised by people that cooked from scratch. I enjoy cook books and, in fact, collect them. But I don't need them. The best recipes are in one's head, based on the ingredients at hand and the years of experience cooking them.
I'm glad to see that younger people are coming around to the older ways of thinking. Technology and the modern world can be amazing, but it's just a blip in the history of mankind. Hard times will always lurk just around the corner. It's better to understand that and be ready for it than to just get lost in a virtual world of hedonistic delight.
Having a well stocked pantry and the skills to use it is like having money in the bank, especially when that real bank account is running dry.
Tom, you may be older than me but we are definitely kindred spirits! I resonate with so much of this! I appreciate you sharing and I’m glad we’re apart of the same pantry keeping tradition. And I agree, you never know when hard times are lurking around the corner. Better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not have a plan.
Sidebar, I also collect cookbooks (specifically community cookbooks) and very rarely cook with a recipe! 😂
What a great overview. I grew up Mormon, and my parents had a year supply of wheat in the garage. But I’ve spent the last decade living in a tiny flat in Amsterdam, so I kind of gave up on all that. With the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, I’ve noticed myself reverting to some stockpiling, but without a very coherent plan. I’m really looking forward to learning how to do this in a small space, and in a way that fits how I cook.
Thanks, Sarah! I hope my posts continue to be helpful. It’s interesting how we fall back on what we know when things start to get shaky, isn’t it? I’ve found myself doing the same!
Great, practical tips! Looking forward to your forthcoming posts.
Thank you, Kelley!
It sounds like you don't have a grain mill, and I would love to hear your thoughts on why, or maybe pro/con on it. I have a grain mill that I love and use practically every day, but it does take up a fair amount of space and has a high up front cost, so I totally get both sides.
I actually do have a grain mill, and I started learning how to use it! And then I got pregnant with number four and the learning curve got the best of me. 😅 I’m hoping to get back to it soon! If you can share any resources on the subject you love, I’d appreciate it!
I do think that for most people, they can be time and cost prohibitive. I wouldn’t be surprised if a fair chunk of the people following along here start exploring things like grain mills, but I also want to make sure things stay accessible.
We've had a Grain Maker #99 for quite a few years. Once you start milling you'll never go back.
I definitely need to get back into figuring out how to use my grain mill!
Ours runs every other week. We bake bread weekly and I've found that, if I fill the mill to its limit I can get about two weeks of flour out of it. We generally bake with half fresh milled and half all purpose. It makes for a lighter bread. I put an electric motor on the 99. Hand cranking takes a lot of time and effort. The motor was worth the cost.
An electric motor is SO smart, and probably easier to repair/replace than buying a mill that already has a built in motor.
This is my dream - to have an organized aesthetically gorgeous pantry. Well done 👏🏻
Thanks, Sheryl! There are definitely less aesthetic parts, and I’ll be sharing those eventually. But this is the part I can see from my kitchen table where I was writing at the time and I needed a picture to publish with! Haha.
You’ve mentioned that executive functioning isn’t the strong suit of folks in your household- very true for mine as well! My spouse and I both work and we have a toddler. I have some chronic illnesses and both of us are neurodivergent, and while I love preparing home cooked meals and want to save more money, there are so many days where even throwing together a simple meal feels like too much. Is this ever the case for you? Did it take time to work up to?
Is that a bamboo popcorn popper?!
It's a grain mill!
Oh! 🤣🤣 that makes more sense🤦🏻♀️ bamboo would probably warp if it go too hot. It’s very cool!
Thanks!! :)