In case you didn’t notice, I was a little amped up in my last post. Tonight, though, I’m relaxing and taking a break from being in full “AgNerd” mode. It’s Sunday and I’ve just spent the past couple of hours watching the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers lose to Florida in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. (Despite the fact that I picked the Gophers to lose this round 2 game in my brackets, I still not-so-secretly hoped the right Gopher team would show up and beat the Gators anyway. Long story short – that didn’t happen and we lost by 14.)
So instead of celebrating, I’m sitting on the couch, watching “The Good Wife” and chuckling about a random and funny factoid I discovered about myself this weekend. Sometimes a girl just has to lighten up and not think too hard. Sunday nights are perfect for this, yes?
Multiples in the Pantry – Good, Bad or Just Plain Funny?
If one item of something in my kitchen pantry is good, then two (or three or four) is apparently even better. For me, this especially holds true for kosher salt, various spices and sour cream. It’s true! At one point, I had three big boxes of kosher salt in my pantry. Three! Now I am down to two but, let’s be honest, even two is ridiculous. Have you seen the size of these boxes?
Most of the time I accidentally buy doubles or triples of something. For instance, I’m at the grocery store and I can’t remember if I have garlic salt, so I buy a container “just in case.” And then I get home and realize I have two containers already.
Odd but also true: I have absolutely no recollection of why I would have two unopened bottles of liquid garlic juice in my pantry right now. Seriously?
I willingly admit, too, that last week, I purposely bought two boxes of “Danish Dessert” even though a recipe I was going to make called for just one. I knew I really didn’t need two, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. I bought two anyway because it made me feel more prepared. Strange, right?
As I drove home from the grocery store, I thought about this phenomenon of mine and I realized I can blame this little syndrome on my late Grandma Doris. She loved animal prints, a good long island iced tea, cooking for her family and multiples of just about everything in her pantry. It’s in the genes!
I know what you’re thinking – this is hardly an earth-shattering revelation. You’re right! But it makes me chuckle when I think about how sometimes we learn things from our grandmothers or aunts or mothers or sisters without hardly even realizing it. In my case, having multiples in the pantry is quirky, no doubt, but it also brings back fond memories of my grandmother. And for that, I smile.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to search for a recipe that uses a lot of garlic juice! 🙂
0 comments on Multiples in the Pantry – Good, Bad or Just Plain Funny?
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Totally can relate!!! Made me smile 🙂
This brought much comfort to me, knowing I was not the only one. Upon close inspection of my pantry, there is also a wide variety of staples for casual and elegant dining….you know- just in case we have guests or a dignitary visit. I might need 8 Belgium dark chocolate dessert cups for my next dinner party, right? Then the specialty items reserved for the diet-of-the-month: Low fat, low carb, low cal but high carb, high cal but low carb, high fiber, all fiber, high protein, no sugar, no taste….. Then, the stuff only used occasionally, but MUST haves or I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. Like the 9 bottles of various BBQ/hot sauces. 8 bottles of salad dressing. Or the 13 boxes of instant jello, or the 4 extra large bags of potato dumpling mix imported from Minnesota. So, with all those things giving me peace of mind, we now have 12 square inches left for the real go-to stuff. Last year, I filled 2 shopping bags of various items to drop off at the mission in an attempt to give the go-to stuff more real estate in the cupboard. I wonder what the homeless people thought of that great olive tampanade or the jar of orange marmalade. I hope they had crackers…..
Yes, I can totally relate, as well, to the items for possible dinner parties, etc. Or the multiple bottles of salad dressing and jello! It’s funny what I collect and what I think I may need. It’s nice to know I have a kindred kitchen soul or two out there! 🙂
I too have A LOT of things doubled up and yes some are things that I rarely use, but I only have 1 garlic juice in the cupboard and it’s been in there for awhile (like 3 years) and it actually gets used, so Lara you’ll probably have enough garlic juice for many years to come! Any ways, it’s GREAT in marinades/injections, especially for poultry (I typically use it in a “secret” recipe that I got from one of our turkey growers who is an expert at injecting/marinating and smoking birds!)
Jenna – I might need to talk further with you about your secret recipe! 😉 I must have bought the garlic juice to use for some sort of poultry marinade – that would make sense, right? But I have no idea what recipe I originally saw! Of course, that brings up another point … all those old recipe clippings from magazines, etc. that I save but rarely use. Thank goodness I have Pinterest for that now! LOL
That is too funny. What is garlic juice?! Is that a Minnesota thing? 🙂 I tend to do this with parmesan cheese, canisters of bread crumbs, and baking powder. Always have to be prepared for when the baking mood strikes, I guess!
I’m not aware that garlic juice is a Minnesota thing – but then again, I really don’t know what kind of “thing” it is (or how it even got into my pantry) – so I guess I can’t say for sure! 🙂 I do know that I, too, am guilty of having extra Parmesan cheese in my refrigerator!
Another possibility for garlic juice – first thing that hit me. Use as liquid in bread (or part of liquid) for garlic bread? or to marinades – maybe honey garlic chicken or – yes! – turkey! Garlic butter. hmmm…I don’t have any, wasn’t aware of it but now am thinking!
I never thought of that! Definitely will need to try that – plus also some sort of marinade for poultry, too. 🙂 I am guessing that is maybe what I had in mind when I bought it but I absolutely can’t remember! Haha!
I use garlic powder a lot – not sure how strong the juice is to use. Another thing – garlic mashed potatoes! honey garlic butter (for rolls or toast or ??)
We aren’t too big on garlic at all! ha!
Love all your ideas … garlic mashed potatoes? Yum! And why didn’t I think of that?! I will have do some testing to see how strong the juice is … thanks for all your ideas tonight! 🙂