Well Stocked

This December I'm participating in An Advent of Gratitude to help remind me of the gifts I already have, what I often take for granted, and what I can and should be grateful for.

Today's challenge said:

Open your pantry. If there is more food than you can consume in 2 days, pay $2.

I do most of my cooking from scratch, and my pantry has a lot of ingredients in it. It would be an interesting experiment to find out just how long we could eat on its bounty.  For purposes of this post I did a quick pantry inventory.

There are canisters of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, white, brown, and powdered sugar, and three types of oats (quick, old fashioned, and quick cooking steel cut). Plastic jugs hold brown rice and cornmeal. One side shelf has dried fruits (raisins, craisins, and plums) and nuts/seeds (always walnuts, almonds, and flax seed. Occasionally peanuts or pumpkin seeds). There's multiple kinds of dry beans ( black, pinto, great northern, garbanzo, and lentils).  .

I have my choice of vegetable oil, olive oil, and non-stick spray. White, apple cider, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. Bottles of soy sauce and several types of hot sauce are ready to be opened, as are jars of yellow and Dijon mustard. If I need liquid sweetness I can pull out jars of honey and molasses. The canned goods shelf has three varieties of tomatoes (diced, sauce, and paste). There are cans of chili, black, and lima beans, a couple of cans of tuna, and one can each of corn and green beans. 

The coffee (regular, decaf, and green beans waiting to be roasted) and tea (bagged-regular, decaf, and herbal) is housed in several different sections of the pantry. One lower shelf holds a selection of salty snacks and crackers. I try to keep sweet snacks out of the house, but what we have is next to the crackers.

My inventory didn't include the selection of spices, which are in a cabinet close to the stove.  And because I took the prompt literally I didn't include the food we have in the refrigerator or freezer.  Yes, we could eat a lot longer than two days on the available bounty.

Five years ago today: Five Star Day