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

"mary" > wrote in message
...
> 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 always say it, but never do it.

"mary" > wrote in message
...
> 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 it for a few days and then I lapse into shopping. A party would be a
good way to do it.

Jack FiestaPanty

>From: "Jack Schidt®"

>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 tarts 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

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

"mary" > wrote in message
...
> 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
>
>

>From: "LIMEYNO1"

>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

> 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!

"mary" > wrote in message
...
> 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 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.

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:58:32 GMT, "Jack Schidt®"
> wrote:
>
>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

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

"SportKite1" > wrote in message
...
> >From: "LIMEYNO1"
>
> >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
>
>

mary wrote:
>
> 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" > say:

> 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!

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