The Pantry Game

Sometimes I play a mental game with myself. I look at my pantry and wonder, how long could I make meals out of what's here, without buying anything else? How many days would it be before the pantry was truly bare? And what would I eat after all the best stuff ran out?

A lot of rice and beans, that's for sure:

I'd run out of pasta way before I run out of tomatoes to make sauce:

I would use up the milk in the fridge after a few days but have cereal for weeks. I guess eating cereal dry like a snack isn't the worst thing:

Due to misreading my grocery list several times running, I am a-swimming in Canola oil. Surely it would be one of the last things to be used up. Or maybe it makes good skin lotion?

After running through all the filling soups and tasty cans of food, I'd end up staring at the fancy mustards and such and wondering if I could sell them on the street corner for a burrito or a cup of Starbucks.

The eggs in the fridge would be loooong gone and I'd still have too much sugar:

I'd probably have to develop a love for pumpkin, eaten straight out of the can. Or maybe I could thin it with that can of evaporated milk and add some of the sundried tomatoes for a nice soup?

Meals would grow pretty bleak and weird in a matter of days. Thank goodness I don't have to play The Pantry Game in real life.

But remembering folks who don't have enough to eat right here in my community, here's my idea:

Thaw the box of  scraps from in the freezer and make soup stock:

(They don't look too beautiful but oh, they make a delicious stock!)

Add some barley to thicken the stock and some chicken broth to boost the richness a bit:

Dice up and toss in whatever bits of veggies are hanging around in the fridge and pantry:

And make a beautiful, hearty soup for dinner, for just pennies.

Then write a check to support my local food bank or soup kitchen. And be grateful that I only have to play The Pantry Game in my mind.