The Pantry Principle

It's commonly advised to make a menu plan every week and stick to it, if you want to stay organized in the kitchen. For a few years I forced myself to make a weekly meal plan (most of the time) but even when that plan was in place it was a rare week that we actually stuck to it every day. Life happens and on any given week there are some unexpected events that throw a wrench into the best laid plans.

Over time, I developed a new strategy that's worked much better for me - the Pantry Principle. Instead of shopping every week for items to make specific dishes, I have determined all the food items I need to have around to make all the meals we like to eat. I simply make sure our pantry always contains these items, and I'm good to go to make whatever we like whenever we want it!
I use the word "pantry" loosely here, as I'm referring not only to what's in my cupboards, but what's in my fridge and freezer as well.

I've found this works a lot better than menu planning for a number of reasons:

1. Flexibility: I can change my mind more easily about our dinner plans when I know I've always got the ingredients to make a wide variety of meals on hand.

2. Makes shopping the sales easier: Because I have a standard list of items I keep on hand, it's easy to see when I'm running low on a particular item and need to stock up. It also saves me from buying so-called "bargain" items that will end up going to waste because we either didn't like them, or they didn't fit in with our usual eating habits.

3. Allows me to focus when evaluating new recipes: If I read a recipe in a magazine or cookbook that uses a lot of items I don't normally keep on hand, I just skip right on by it. I know it's not too likely I'll ever make it if it requires a special trip to the store.

4. Minimizes food wastage: By keeping only "high turnover" foods that we frequently use in the house, there is little chance that any particular item will hang around long enough to spoil.

5. Makes ALL food prep easier, not just dinner time: Traditional meal planning usually focuses only on what's for dinner, leaving you wondering what to do about all those breakfasts, lunches and snacks. The Pantry Principle is more inclusive, making sure you have everything you need to meet your family's food needs all day long, every day!

I should note that it doesn't take a lot of space to have a well-stocked pantry. I have a modest amount of cupboard space, a regular size fridge with freezer, plus an apartment size (7 cubic foot) freezer that easily holds everything we need. Once you root out all the stuff that's just taking up space (but never getting used), you'll probably find you have plenty of space to store the items you actually need.

If you'd like to get started organizing your own pantry, you can find my standard pantry list here.

My Food Philosophy

My food philosophy is summed up as follows:

FAST: As a general rule, I want to get a meal on the table as quickly as possible. Most of my recipes can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Some of them take 45-60 minutes, but generally no more than that. If it takes longer than an hour, it usually merits "Special Occasions Only" status around here!

FUN: I think cooking and eating should both be fun and enjoyable activities. So, I do my best to streamline my recipes as much as possible (recipes that end up with 19 dirty bowls and skillets leave me with a throbbing headache AND a big mess to clean up!) I like to eat fairly simple foods, nothing too fancy or "gourmet", so what you'll find here is mostly good old-fashioned homestyle cooking. I love many different ethnic cuisines (Thai, Indian, Mexican and Middle Eastern are some of my favourites) so you will find echoes of those flavours in many of my recipes.

FRUGAL: I like to keep our grocery budget as low as possible (while still enjoying plenty of good food!) so my focus is on using minimally processed, inexpensive foods. You won't find recipes calling for tuna steaks or scallops since they're not in my budget (except for special occasions). I also cook using a lot less meat and a lot more legumes (beans and lentils) than many people. Don't let that scare you away - this is definitely not a "vegetarian only" blog. I was vegetarian for several years, though, so I will offer up vegetarian versions of recipes where possible.

FABULOUS: When it comes right down to it, it doesn't really matter if a recipe meets the previous three criteria unless it also tastes great! I will only publish recipes that my family and friends have found satisfying and tasty. Of course, not everyone's tastes are the same, so it's not possible to guarantee that you'll love everything we do. At the very least, my recipes should inspire you to create a personalized version that will meet with your family's approval!

ANOTHER food blog? What's so special about THIS one?

Here's the deal: I love food. I love cooking. But I also love to do lots of other things - knit, play with my kids, watch Battlestar Galactica with my husband, read, ride my bike, walk the dog. Add to that list all the things I need to do in a day, and most of the time I don't feel like spending a lot more time than is necessary in the kitchen. Even though I adore cooking, there are so many other things to do in this great big interesting life! I confess that after years of trying to make it a habit, I'm allergic to meal plans - the kind where you sit down at the beginning of the week and painstakingly record all the ingredients for all the recipes you have carefully selected for this week's consumption after poring through your many cookbooks. Usually, I don't like to decide what I'm making for dinner until that day - we might be in the mood for something specific, or we might be having a truly frantic-busy or low energy day. I like to adjust things accordingly, on the fly. But, I still want my cooking to be as streamlined and simple as possible. I've found a way that works for me - I can get fabulous, tasty meals on the table in very little time, with very little advance planning. I will share with you everything I've learned about how to do that, here in this blog.

What you won't find here: Well, to be perfectly frank - eggplant, beets, cilantro and mushrooms; either I or someone in my family genuinely abhors them! If those happen to be your favourite foods, I hope you'll stick around anyway. I believe you should cook foods that genuinely please you and the people you're cooking for. I also believe that a good recipe is fluid, rather than carved-in-stone; it can shift easily to accommodate both your personal taste preferences and whatever's about to expire at the bottom of the vegetable crisper. As far as I'm concerned, the only rule in cooking is THERE ARE NO RULES. If you don't like the way I've suggested, by all means do it your way instead! Have fun, improvise, experiment - it's all good!

Why am I qualified to write this blog? Food has been a passion of mine for most of my life. I think I was born with a wooden spoon in my hand! From the time I was very young, I was playing around and experimenting in the kitchen. Surprisingly enough, there have been relatively few cooking disasters in my kitchen career; even as a child I seemed to have an instinct that allowed me to adjust things on the fly and have a finished product that was at least edible (if not quite fantastic). As a young teen I spent hours and hours copying recipes out of my mother's cookbooks to add to my ever-growing personal recipe files (no, as you might have guessed, I was not part of the "cool" crowd!) As a university student, I became more focused on the nutritional aspects of food, and ended up with both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in nutrition. I worked as a Registered Dietitian for a decade, until I could no longer ignore my first true love. I have now come back to playing in the kitchen and devoting as much time as possible to feeding my food passion (no pun intended, of course!)

This blog is the culmination of everything I have learned in over 25 yrs of messing around with food. I'm still learning, inventing and playing more every day, and I'll be sharing as I go! My time in the kitchen has always been at least as much about nourishing my soul as it's been about feeding anyone. It is my deep desire that if you find cooking to be mostly a dreaded chore or a benign necessity, that you can find some ways to make it quicker, easier, and more fun. I hope you will find both inspiration and practical suggestions to make your cooking experience more joyous and satisfying. I hope that anyone stopping by feels comfortable to leave a comment or two, to join in the conversation. I picture us all pulled up at comfy chairs around the kitchen table, sharing a friendly chat about everything to do with food and cooking that's fast, fun, frugal, and fabulous!