Clean Out the Cupboard

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not

buying

Quoted message said:

anything else until they have eaten everything in their cupboard. It might be interesting to do
that, and I guess you would have to be somewhat creative in your meal planning. What would also be
fun would be to get together with neighbors or friends, and have a "round robin?" or pot luck
until everyone's cupboard was clean. After that have a really big party

with

Quoted message said:

what everyone loves to eat.

Tom

I always say it, but never do it.

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not

buying

Quoted message said:

anything else until they have eaten everything in their cupboard. It might be interesting to do
that, and I guess you would have to be somewhat creative in your meal planning. What would also be
fun would be to get together with neighbors or friends, and have a "round robin?" or pot luck
until everyone's cupboard was clean. After that have a really big party

with

Quoted message said:

what everyone loves to eat.

Tom

I do it for a few days and then I lapse into shopping. A party would be a good way to do it.

Jack FiestaPanty

Heck, my hubby says that about our freezers. I've got two of my own and using my dad's temporarily.

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
net.com...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not

buying

Quoted message said:

anything else until they have eaten everything in their cupboard. It might be interesting to do
that, and I guess you would have to be somewhat creative in your meal planning. What would also be
fun would be to get together with neighbors or friends, and have a "round robin?" or pot luck
until everyone's cupboard was clean. After that have a really big party

with

Quoted message said:

what everyone loves to eat.

Tom

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not

buying

Quoted message said:

anything else until they have eaten everything in their cupboard. It might be interesting to do
that, and I guess you would have to be somewhat creative in your meal planning. What would also be
fun would be to get together with neighbors or friends, and have a "round robin?" or pot luck
until everyone's cupboard was clean. After that have a really big party

with

Quoted message said:

what everyone loves to eat.

Tom

I did something like that when I was moving. My husband moved first and I stayed behind to sell the
house and pack. Cupboards weren't the real problem, as I could pack canned goods, but I wanted the
freezer emptied, and I didn't want to buy anything perishable that I might have to throw away
before I left.

At first it was easy enough, but after a while, the combinations got a little more unusual.

mary said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not buying anything else until
they have eaten everything in their cupboard. It might be interesting to do that, and I guess you
would have to be somewhat creative in your meal planning. What would also be fun would be to get
together with neighbors or friends, and have a "round robin?" or pot luck until everyone's
cupboard was clean. After that have a really big party with what everyone loves to eat.

Tom

I do that once a year, cleaning out the cupboard. Anything that is still viable and not terribly
interesting goes to the food bank (the 6 cans of light tuna and the Spam were appreciated, but I'm
not so sure about the water chestnuts and straw mushrooms).

Then my husband complains that there are too many glass jars in the linen closet, so I have to
explain it to him where they come from and why they need to be kept.

I figure the folks who visit the food bank would appreciate my shopping errors more than my
neighbors.

maxine in ri

Hark! I heard "mary" <[email hidden]> say:

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not buying anything else until
they have eaten everything in their cupboard.

No -- I go through my pantry twice a year and donate stuff I'm not using to our local food bank.
AAMOF, we're taking a bus tour of local light displays tonight; the cost is a food donation, so I'm
thinking holiday stuff like bread cubes, canned sweet potatoes, etc. Our big family Christmas isn't
gonna happen this year, so I may as well give this stuff to folks who need it...

--
j.j. ~ mom, gamer, novice cook ~ ..fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!

Jack Schidt® said:

I do it for a few days and then I lapse into shopping. A party would be a good way to do it.

Nothing says "party" like Campbell's chicken noodle soup and curry paste! 8^D

Whenever the local food pantry runs low and always in December, our library offers a deal where you
can donate canned goods instead of paying overdue fines. Even if my books aren't overdue, having
the box on the counter makes it convenient for me to drop off whatever is not getting eaten out of
the cupboard.

This gives me pause for reflection. Why did I buy the no-fat sweetened condensed milk when I never
use it? What was I thinking when I got canned carrot juice and the sweetened cream of coconut? And
what do I think the homeless/need help at the end of the month folks are going to do with the
maraschino cherries?

For serious donations, my congregation is specific about asking for light bulbs, rice, tomato sauce
and disposable diapers. The next time they might ask for canned tuna, all sizes of batteries, pasta
and hand soap. In other words, the folks who run the pantry tell the congregations what they need,
and the needs are always the sorts of things I'd want if I ran out of money.

I try to keep that in mind when dropping off items in that library box.

--Lia

Quoted message said:

From: "Jack Schidt®"

Quoted message said:

I do it for a few days and then I lapse into shopping. A party would be a good way to do it.

Jack FiestaPanty

We have a very small kitchen so stores are limited. Good thing I manage a health food store..heh.
But I think if someone showed up at my door right now the house chef and I could whip something up.

We always have eggs, whole milk, parmasan, bacon, nutmeg and pasta around, so a batch of Pasta
Carbonara would do nicely. I have half a loaf of french bread that I could turn into toasts for the
truffle mousse that has been sitting in the fridge since I got a great price on it.

Then there is the puff pastry in the freezer and a piece of brie I could turn into a tasty
appetizer, topped with some whole cranberry sauce that has been lurking in the cupboard since T'day.
Hmmm...I even have some walnuts left over that could be toasted to top it all off.

Hmmm...I still have a nice head of bibb lettuce, some spring mix and the fixins for a proper asian
style vinaigrette that would go good laying under the vegie potstickers that I've been remiss in
using lately.

Your choice of at least a half dozen teas, a glass of merlot, a couple shots of Jack Daniels are
left from the Bourbon Sweet Potatoes from T'day....hmmm, and of course there are a few beers.
Oh, naturally we have some good organic coffee and I think a few drops of Carolines to sweeten
it up if desired (we prefer that to Baileys, not only becuz it is cheaper, it is almondy
flavored which we like).

For dessert, I always have the fixins for Key Lime pie on hand since I get so many requests for it.
I could make tiny [censored] so they cook and cool quicker.

That should clean things up fairly well. Doesn't take care of all the salsas, but I do have a few
fresh tortillas I could fry up for chips to get rid of those.

Ugh...I'm tired just thinking about this and watching the Diane Sawyer interview with President Bush
at the same time.

Ellen

Quoted message said:

From: "LIMEYNO1"

Quoted message said:

Heck, my hubby says that about our freezers. I've got two of my own and using my dad's temporarily.

Fascinating. Why don't you use up what you have in the freezers?

Ellen

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ever looked at their cupboard, and said that they are not
buying anything else until they have eaten everything in their cupboard.

When the cans start bulging I start throwing them out!

I think it's a throwback from when I was a single parent and having hard times making ends meet.

"SportKite1" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20031216203848.26263.00001002@mb-
m06.aol.com...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From: "LIMEYNO1"

Quoted message said:

Heck, my hubby says that about our freezers. I've got two of my own and using my dad's
temporarily.

Fascinating. Why don't you use up what you have in the freezers?

Ellen