Creating a Workable Pantry

by Wardeh Harmon

Many health-conscious cooks and mothers of large families often make bulk food purchases. It not only simplies shopping but often rewards the family with great savings in food costs. My family is no exception. We purchase non-perishables to last for one or two months or more. To make purchases this way requires workable pantry storage. My dream is to have a walk-in pantry for all pantry items. We don’t have that, and perhaps we never will. Even with more than adequate cupboard space in my kitchen, some items just won’t fit. This is often the case with bulk food purchases.

Would you like to develop a workable, efficient and even fun-to-use pantry? You don’t have to get fancy with store-bought solutions to get your pantry storage in shape. To make your time in the kitchen delightful and efficient, keep these things in mind.

PANTRY STORAGE TIPS

1. Think outside the box. It is probably true that most of us don’t live in our dream house with a huge walk-in pantry. Therefore, we must reconsider what “pantry” means to us. It is perfectly acceptable to have a pantry that extends through several cupboards and even into extra space of other rooms in the house. For instance, you might have extra space in a bedroom or family room where you can creatively conceal food items. I would encourage you to store infrequently used items this way, because the hassle required in fetching items more often used could eventually discourage you.

2. Take time to consider your needs and the possible solutions. Don’t start rearranging your pantry until you’ve taken some time to think. Consider what doesn’t work and what does in your current set up. Brainstorm possible solutions. Put it down on paper, even draw a picture, if it helps you picture your current situation and possible improvements. Taking this time will help you in the long run, saving you time because you’ll have a plan in mind. However, you might find that there are some pieces of the puzzle that aren’t clear at first. It may be helpful to accomplish a few rearranging and organizing tasks before the solution comes to mind.

3. Keep like things together for better efficiency and enjoyment in the kitchen. By “like things” I actually have two similarities in mind — similarity of purpose and similarity of container size. Many cooks keep all baking supplies together. Some might do this just for a season, while others do it year round. Also keep in mind that similarly sized items stack and fit well together, maximizing your storage space.

4. Break up the task of organizing your pantry into workable stages. If your kitchen storage isn’t ideal or if you have a seemingly insurmountable task to get it workable, please don’t be discouraged. Break it up into manageable tasks. Take one cupboard or area at a time. Once you accomplish the first task, that accomplishment will motivate you to tackle the next. Work at it a little every day, if necessary. If it takes you 2 weeks, that’s okay! My children recently sang a song at church with these encouraging words:

5. Use recycled containers and boxes to solve storage issues. You needn’t run out and purchase fancy storage solutions for every nook and cranny of your cupboards. Containers from other food or household purchases work great to store bulk food items. In addition, a handy benefit to buying in bulk is that you eventually end up with some nice, big containers. Boxes slid into a cupboard can contain all your pasta, spices, nuts, etc. I have used priority mail boxes from the post office before because I had some left over from Christmas shipping. It is okay if it isn’t fancy. Wouldn’t you rather have something that works, which may look plain, but prevents an unworkable mess in your cupboards?

6. After you’ve exhausted what you have on hand, consider making a few necessary purchases. Even though I’m a great advocate of making do, there may come a time when making a purchase of a baker’s rack, a couple of lazy susans,in-cupboard shelving, or food-grade buckets would be very helpful. Go for it! Save up if necessary. In most cases, these decisions are best made over time, when you’ve had time to consider what you really need.

7. Rearrange as needed to make things work. Pantry storage is never static or settled. I am constantly changing how my pantry functions to get it right. Food needs change from season to season. You may need to find more space in one place or another. I had a new need come up last week — the kids couldn’t reach baking supplies and spices, which made them less able to be a help in the kitchen. So I cleaned out the spice & baking cupboard and put the items that the kids need to reach on the bottom shelves. Be willing to take the time to make changes. I am certain that if you keep up with things in this way, you will enjoy your time in the kitchen more.

8. Get your whole family involved. Explain to them how your pantry storage works and ask them to help you keep it functioning. Seek their opinions about what works well and what could be improved. They may have some great suggestions to offer you. Finally, let them know that you enjoy cooking for them very much, and that you would appreciate their help in keeping things organized… for everyone’s sake!

Having a workable pantry requires patience, thought and a little creativity. If you have any thoughts to add on the subject — perhaps some tips or suggestions — please leave a comment below or email me at wardeh@t2chk.org. On my Such Treasures blog, I have made an entry including pictures to show my own pantry storage solutions. Feel free to take a peek.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.

Too Much Of A Good Thing

I had to do something drastic about how I spend my time- on the computer in particular. So I deleted my blog. I found I was spending so much time on my blog and reading others’ blogs etc that I was not being the woman God wanted me to be. My own home was being neglected because I have such limited energy- I would be too zapped out to do what needed to be done after sitting on the computer. It came to a head the other day when Chris mentioned that he wasn’t happy seeing my on the computer all the time. I felt really convicted to get off and devote only a portion of my spare time to it. Also it was causing health problems with me gaining extra weight and RSI and back problems. So I prayed about it and I believe *for me* the answer is not to blog but put into action all the knowledge I have gained over the years and write about. I have trouble limiting my time online and Chris is now a lot happier- and I have more energy/time for our home. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing and then come to realise that what is even better is sliding down hill. Fast. I did love blogging and I do miss it, but not near as much as I would miss Chris. Some things take priority and I realised that I was tearing my house down with my own hands instead of building it up. The trick is to stop being in denial with any addiction- (and the computer is an addiction for me)- and then address the problem. For me, it meant deleting the blog- a drastic action but one that has made Chris happy. So an hour a day is all the time I am allowing myself online- because one can have too much of a good thing to the detriment of something that is even better and that has eternal consequences.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Varying Grains

by Wardeh Harmon

Just think for a moment… what grains do you normally use in your family’s meals? If you’re like most people, the list will include rice, oats, wheat, corn and maybe barley. Those are wonderful grains and we cook with them frequently, too. But I’ve taken to incorporating other grains like kamut, millet, wild rice, quinoa, rye, and spelt in our cooking. In addition, we like to try different varieties of a grain. For rice, we like brown jasmine, brown basmati, and wild rice. We enjoy the different flavors, varied textures and diverse nutritional benefits.

We vary our grains for a few reasons. First, we strive to honor God’s creation by seeking out foods He created about which we might not have known previously. We believe this pleases Him, because we embrace more of the foods He created for our consumption.

Also, every grain has a different nutritional composition, which we believe God designed for our benefit. To include a rotation of grains ensures that we maximize these different nutritional benefits. One type of grain may have more B vitamins, while another grain may have more protein and less carbohydrates. Yet another grain may have more heart-healthy fats. It just makes good sense, nutritionally, to vary our grain sources.

One more reason for varying grains has to do with their behavior in different cooking or baking environments. Because God created the grains with unique nutrient compositions, the grains behave differently according to how they are used. Some are better in breads, some work perfectly in hot breakfast cereals, and some others are very attractive in main dishes.

In addition, many individuals develop intolerances or allergies to certain foods. The grains corn and wheat are among the foods that most often trigger allergies in people. Many professionals speculate that these allergies develop because of a lack of diversity in our diets. So our family likes to rotate our grains, our aim being to avoid developing any allergies or intolerances because of too little diversity.

So you can see that there are many good reasons to vary our grains. Now you might wonder which ones you should try and how you should try them. I would like to add a disclaimer to my writing — I am nowhere near as experienced as I would like to be in using different grains. I simply don’t know or haven’t tried all the possibilities. What I do know, I will share here, as a starting point for your own explorations.

The following grains are those with which I am or becoming familiar.

BROWN RICE AND OTHER RICE VARIETIES

At the grocery store, you may find long or short grain brown rice. These two varieties are boring, in my opinion. They don’t even compare to the fragrant and pleasing varieties of brown jasmine or brown basmati rice. We use these in every main dish that calls for rice. Then there is the beautiful wild rice, which I often toss into stews and soups. I have yet to try wehani rice, because it seems to be out everywhere I have looked to buy it, but it is on my list of new grains to try.

HARD WHITE WHEAT

I would like to mention this variety of wheat, because I’ve had such good results in baking whole wheat bread with flour ground from it. It has a high gluten (or protein) content, making it ideal for bread. The resulting bread is lighter in taste as well as color and texture, compared to bread made from its counterpart variety of hard red wheat. For more information, visit www.wheatmontana.com.

KAMUT

This is an ancient Egyptian grain. Its history is fascinating, and you can read more about that at www.kamut.com. I like to use kamut flour in baked goods. It has more protein and more fat than most grains. It makes very light cookies and muffins, and I’ve found that it also lightens up whole wheat bread dough. I’ve used kamut flour in tortillas and found that alone, it makes a very fragile tortilla. But when mixed with another flour (such as spelt flour), the resulting tortillas are light and delicious. For more information, visit www.kamut.com.

MILLET

I don’t use millet as the basis for any baked goods, but I do add its flour to muffins and to bread in small quantities. I use it primarily for diversity, but if I add too much, the resulting product doesn’t have the right texture or structure. We use whole millet quite a bit as a grain in a main dish; for instance, we might serve a stir-fry over cooked millet instead of rice. For more information, visit www.chetday.com/millet.html.

QUINOA

Another ancient grain, I find quinoa to be the most attractive. When cooked, the grains turn pearly and there are little tags that pop off and curl up. We often use quinoa instead of rice in a main dish. I also make tabouli – a Middle Eastern salad made from onions, parsley, mint, lemon juice, olive oil and salt — using quinoa instead of bulgur wheat (a cracked and par-boiled wheat).

Before cooking quinoa, you need to place the desired amount in a fine mesh strainer and rinse it under hard cold water for about two minutes. This washes off a bitter coating, called saponin, which would result in bitter cooked quinoa if not removed. Although I have not yet experimented with this, I am aware that quinoa can also be ground into flour and added to baked goods. For more information, visit www.quinoa.net.

RYE

Rye has a unique flavor. Those of you familiar with it will agree. We like to add rye flour to bread just for the flavor factor. I am not experienced enough to speculate how it behaves in bread on its own, however. It is also a delicious whole grain to substitute for rice in a main dish or soup.

SPELT

This ancient grain is quite a bit like oats. It is “thirsty” — meaning one needs to use a bit less of it, or a bit more water, to get the right consistency. I use spelt flour in pancakes, breads, muffins and tortillas. When substituting spelt flour for whole wheat flour, use 1-1/3 cup spelt for each cup whole wheat flour. For more information, visit www.spelt.com.

I hope this will get you started thinking about where to try other grains. Most all unique grains have an organization devoted to promoting their unique and delicious qualities, as well as offering recipes featuring these grains. There are other grains available, too, such as amaranth, teff, and triticale. I do not have experience with those. As I mentioned before, I have much to learn.

You might wonder where to buy these different grains. Food co-ops, health food stores, and even ordering online are options. My family orders from Azure Standard, whose delivery truck drives through each month delivering our order with no delivery charge. If you visit the Natural Food Co-op Directory, you can find out if there are any natural food co-ops in your area. Also, I know many people order grains and flour from Bob’s Red Mill.

If you purchase in bulk locally, you should always choose a store where there is good turnover among the bulk offerings. This will ensure fresh, bug-free grain products. This is a real concern; it has affected my purchases more than a few times! I would also encourage you to buy organic and/or chemical-free grains whenever possible. These are the most nutritious and often the most flavorful grains.

The grains can be purchased as or ground into flour, or used as whole grains. I will often toss whole kamut, rye, or spelt berries into a soup, where they make an interesting, different and flavorful addition. I also might use them as a hot cereal, which does require some planning ahead, since they require more cooking time than oatmeal, for instance. Use the following chart to help you determine how much liquid and cooking time is necessary to fully cook the grains.

GRAIN COOKING CHART
information from “Enchanted Broccoli Forest” by Mollie Katzen

*Soak, don’t cook.
**Rinse first.

Additionally, you may want to look at a few recipes using alternate grains. I mentioned many of these above when I discussed each particular grain.

• Banana-Carob Muffins (featuring kamut and millet flours)
• Hearty Strawberry-Cranberry Muffins (featuring kamut and millet flours)
• Pumpkin Muffins (featuring spelt flour)
• Spelt-Kamut Tortillas (featuring spelt and kamut flours)
• Quinoa Tabouli (featuring quinoa)

I would love to hear of your successes and/or questions that come up from experimenting with different grains. Happy cooking! Please email me at wardeh@t2chk.org or comment below.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.

Letter Writing Binder for Kids

Here’s a neat gift idea for school age children. We’ve given one to each of our children for a 6th or 7th birthday. It encourages them to write thank you cards and letters and gives them a snazzy way to organize all the necessary supplies. We’ve also given them out as gifts to friends, whether boy or girl.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• 1″ binder with clear sleeve
• stickers — to decorate binder, in a “theme” to match the child’s tastes
• stickers — to include with binder for letter writing
• colored cardstock — to match theme
• invitation size envelopes
• decorative edge scissors
• straight edge scissors
• zippered pencil pouch (3 hole punched)
• folder (3 hole punched) or binder divider with pocket
• markers — to decorate binder
• nice pen — to include with binder for letter writing
• sheet of postage stamps
• sheet of pre-printed return address labels (Avery 5267)
• stationery — purchased or homemade

SET UP THE BINDER

Insert your chosen zipper pouch and folder (or binder divider) into the binder.

MAKE THE CARDS

Packages of color coordinated cardstock is available inexpensively at craft and discount stores. When cut in half along the long edge and then folded in half, they make the perfect size card to fit an invitation size envelope (also available inexpensively in the office supply section of most stores). If you wish, use decorate scissors to add a decorative edge to each card.

Since the cards will most likely be adorned by the child’s drawings and/or messages, you will want to make sure to use medium to light colors. Otherwise, what the child adds will not show up.

You may also wish to purchase cards or stationary. Whatever you use, you will tuck them into a pocket divider or folder that fits in the binder.

This is an example of a binder divider filled up with the cards, stationary and envelopes.

This is an example of a folder filled up with the cards, stationary and envelopes.

PREPARE STICKERS, PENS AND STAMPS

Open up the packages of stickers and pen(s) that you purchased and put them all into the zipper pocket. Also, if using, put the stamps in the zippered pocket. Stamps may not be something you wish to include, depending on the child’s age. Most of the time, I elect to leave them out and/or give them to the child’s parent.

An assortment of stickers, which do not have to match the “theme” of the letter writing binder.

The zippered pouch will store the pen and the stickers, as well as the return address labels and stamps (below, if using).

PRINT RETURN ADDRESS LABELS

This step is optional, but does make a really exciting touch for the child who receives the binder. If you have a printer and blank sheets of return address labels, along with word processing software, you can easily prepare a sheet of labels to insert into the zippered pouch of the letter writing binder. I purchase store-brand return address labels that are similar to Avery 5267 labels and then follow the instructions in my word processing software to prepare and print the labels. With a color printer and/or clip art, you can really jazz up the labels for the child.

DECORATE THE BINDER

Use a piece of plain-colored or colored cardstock to match the “theme”, markers and themed stickers to decorate a cover page that you will slip inside the clear sleeve of the binder cover. Also, decorate a strip of cardstock to fit in the spine of the binder.

With all the inexpensive stickers out there, you are sure to find something fun to match the interests of the child who receives a letter writing binder from you.

Haniya was the first of our kids to receive a letter writing binder. At the time, she loved hearts and anything purple or pink. I used pink die-cut hearts to decorate the cover of her binder.

Naomi was really into Strawberry Shortcake when I made her letter writing binder. The stickers made the cover really cute!

And our Mikah is so into Buzz Light Year, so that’s what made sense for a theme for his binder, which I just created last month. He’s really enjoying writing out all his thank you cards for the nice birthday gifts he received from loved ones.

There are so many countless ways to vary how this binder is created. I hope you have fun with it!

I always welcome your comments, questions or suggestions. Please comment below or write to me at: wardeh@t2chk.org.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.