Not so fun in the kitchen anymore

A few of you have asked me how the groccery experiment is going. Technically, it is still going strong! Still have not been to the store (aside from the Costco run a while back). But I am starting to cheat: D went to the store the other day to pick up milk, and while he was there I had him pick up eggs and bread too. And he came home with juice too. So, while technically I have not gone to the store, we are supplementing just enough with some staples that I am starting to rely on them for at least one meal a day, and the result is that we are not using up the odds n ends as quickly as before, and our diet is getting less varied. Getting harder to whip up a good meal from what is left in the larder, so I'll feed us on the easy stuff made with the bread, eggs, milk, etc! But we have used up a lot of stuff that I probably would have ignored for at least a few months longer--all that frozen pumpkin is almost gone, much of the dried beans and forlorn but still good bits in the fridge like the pickled beets mom made this fall (overlooked, not underappreciated, all the way in the back of the bottom shelf). But what is left is also more random and potentially not as good: today I am going to see if a bag of dried black beans that was "best before 091707" is still good, and have G make up some jello jigglers from boxes lingering on the shelf (jello being one of those things I buy on a whim every now and then and never make and end up giving to a food drive). When you start serving your family pickles because you imagine they might count as a green vegetable, then it is time to be done with the groccery challenge.

We have experimented with some success (carribean spiced pumpkin oatmeal being pretty good, as is oatmeal cooked with persimmon, raisins, and cinnamon), and our breakfasts in particular have been much more fun since I started this--we were pretty well entrenched in a cereal rut. My kitchen is so much neater than it was, since relatively empty cupboards are inspiration to wash and wipe. I have tried to be a good steward of the bounty which God so graciously provides for us constantly, and it has helped me to be thankful and thinking purposefully of future shopping. And it has even brought up some heart issues, of which I needed to repent, since much of the stuff that is not as natural for me to cook with are blessings from family who bring loads of food whenever they visit us (and the odd variety often makes me feel like we are a convenient place to unload unwanted goods) and I need to accept the blessings as what they are and not resent the intrusion of food I don't want into my cupboards. Hear that: food I don't want. How over-pampered are we, that I could snub perfectly good food just because it is not what I would have bought! And how petty-hearted, to not give genuine thanks for a gift. In fact, I have decided to take the sometimes strange offerings as a compliment--the giver thinks I am a resourceful and clever enough cook to use those things that she could not! ; )

So, all in all, good things came out of this past groccery-shopping free month. But I am craving fresh veggies (never have the humble onion and potato and zucchini been so elevated in my mind) and am already dreaming of the first dishes I will make once I do go shopping. So, today I think I will break down and go to the store. Or maybe tomorrow. ; )