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In food news this week, Bon Appetit’s Brad Leone posted a video, co-hosted with Charlotte Langley from Scout Canning, in which they canned a variety of seafood. Using a water bath canner. That’s very dangerous!
In our What’s for Dinner segment, Joy’s making a chickpea flour based vegan frittata.
In How’d You Make That, Marisa is into Buttermilk flatbread.
We talk about the challenges of keeping our kitchen lives organized.
And finally, in What We’re Loving, it’s sunflower seeds.
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I loooove thinking about kitchen and pantry organization! I’m constantly tweaking and adjusting. For fridge and freezer, what works for me is grouping like things together (hot sauces, asian condiments, burger condiments, jams, fruits, veggies). I also try to keep everything in one row so I don’t forget about things in the back . It’s just me and my partner in my home, so this is obviously easier if you’re feeding fewer people. For pantry, I have limited space in the kitchen, so items that are opened are stored in the kitchen cabinets, like with like (grains, tea/coffee, baking supplies, etc.). Then I have a small hallway closet that serves as a 2nd pantry. This was a pandemic-induced idea, and it makes me so happy! Here I have only unopened and extra items (pastas, beans, canned goods, etc.) Everything is in one row just like the fridge. I think kitchen/pantry organization is really dependent on the storage you have and what you cook, but my main strategy is like with like and having everything in sight. I also really enjoy rewatching this video from NYT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CShHVulhOvI
I uttered an audible gasp when Marisa talked about the canning fiasco – and then cheered when she threw shade at Brad. Well done. I would have clapped but I was driving to work.
The vegan frittata and buttermilk flatbread both sound amazing! I rarely have buttermilk in my fridge but use the trick that Joy mentioned and “sour” milk by adding a splash of vinegar.
Kitchen organization (and organization in general) is rough for me. My cleaning lady organized my pantry (because she is amazing!) and I love it. I had started moving things into clear containers so I could get a better sense of what I had on hand and she finished the job for me. (And honestly, do I really need 4 containers of the onion salt from Trader Joe’s? No.) The idea of a spreadsheet or master list sounds amazing but I know I won’t keep up with it so I haven’t spent the time to make one.
About kitchen organization, I was reading this article by Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats about how he organizes his extensive pantry. He included a spreadsheet that’s *really* long lol. Thought it might help.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/who-else-is-obsessive-about-their-pantry.html
I can’t wait to try the vegan frittata! I’ll look forward to the recipe when it’s ready.
I have a spreadsheet to track my herbs/spices/botanicals inventory, and another spreadsheet to track all my jars of preserves. At some point it just became really overwhelming not knowing what I had or where it was, so it gives me peace of mind to have it all documented. It helps my husband be more sufficient in the kitchen, too, because if I’m busy he can consult the spreadsheet to find which shelf to find a certain spice. For the spices I keep track of when I bought it, from what source, and when I opened it, as well as where as where it lives in my apartment. With the preserves spreadsheet, I note the number and sizes of jars, when I made it, and from what recipe. Once I open a jar, I move it to a different tab so I can keep track of what’s in my fridge or freezer, and I note the date I opened it. This can also help me note things that are older that I might want to get rid of (or for unopened jars, things that I should prioritize so that I open the oldest jars first). Finally, when I finish a jar, I move it to a “finished” tab so I still have a log of what I made.
Speaking of jars, I didn’t do much preserving in 2020, either, because I still have so much to use up from 2019! Thanks to my spreadsheet I am glad to see I am now down to under 100 jars left — eek, I still have a ways to go.