My Pantry Part I

Let’s open the virtual doors, why don’t we? Here you’ll find a list of products that I use on a regular basis. Everything from flours to meats and sauces. These are items that have a permanent place on the shelves of my pantry and fridge. They line the doors, get stuck in the back and get used up regularly. Some I’ve found by recommendation, some by shopping, some by searching out. Often they can be found nationally, but some are exclusively local. Things like honey should always be sourced locally. Milk too, if possible. These are foods that boost your immune system by producing enzymes and probiotics from local sources.

You are what your food eats after all.

My son says you know you have a good friend when the first thing they do after walking into your house is go to your refrigerator. So, we’re going to start there because we’re all friends, aren’t we?

In my fridge you’ll almost always find:

Raw milk – This milk is sourced from a number of local farms. It depends on where I’m working that week as to which milk we’ll have in the fridge.

Farm butter from pastured cows – It’s yellow. Naturally. This is purchased from the farmer’s market or directly from the farm that sells at the market. I’ve also purchased Amish Roll butter at times but I’m skeptical about the authenticity of this. It’s whatever’s most convenient for me to get at the time.

Homemade jam – Every year I freeze the fruits I harvest to make jam in the colder months. Typical flavors are strawberry, grape, raspberry jelly and spiced cherry.

Organic Mayonnaise – The kids go through a jar a week and they’ve finally accepted my organic brand although they have not accepted a homemade version yet. I’ll keep trying to find a version they like because it’s really important to me to banish the seed oils.

Organic orange juice – Uncle Matt’s is our favorite but that might be because it’s the only brand available to us. They don’t use flavor packets.

Sour cream – Daisy is our brand. Full fat is our choice. I do occasionally make this myself but homemade has a shorter shelf life. This brand states two ingredients so I can live with it for now.

Fruits & Veggies – During the summer most of the produce is from our garden. If it’s not, it’s from local farmers at the market. Winter produce drawers consist of as much organic produce as possible but not always.

Pastured Meats – I typically keep my meats frozen. We have a pig butchered every year and I purchase pastured beef by the 40 lb. box so my freezer is ever in flux of contents. Pastured chicken is either self-raised or purchased from a local store. In a pinch I purchase organic chicken at the grocery store. 90% of our meat is naturally raised, organic and/or pastured.

Bacon fat – This. This must never, ever go to waste. It’s the flavor creator in so many dishes I can’t even begin to tell you which ones. If it’s not a sweet dish, you can bet it most likely has some bacon fat in it. We always save our fat when we make our nitrate-free bacon.

Almond meal/flour – I make a fair amount of grain-free meals now. This allows me to do so. I keep it in the refrigerator so it stays fresh longer. I also try to buy the most finely ground, blanched flour available.

Stay tuned for the pantry portion of this post. After that I will add the freezer portion!

See my SOURCES page for local markets and stores.

For now,

Live simply, eat well, pray often