My pantry savings account

the pantry, but it doesn't include the closet under the stairs,
where I have baking items and the 16 jars of peanut butter stashed

My pantry is simply bursting at the seams these days. It may even cause a minimalist to break out into hives. But as I was looking through everything, this past week, I surmised that I had about 4-month supply of food, between my pantry, freezer and fridge, if I bought nothing else for that time period.

Yes, I think we could eat well-enough for about 4 months. Sure, we'd run out of milk and eggs, but we would have enough to eat, otherwise. I currently budget $185 per month for food-only groceries. So, at $185/month for 4 months, my "pantry savings account" contains about $740 worth of food that I could draw on in a very lean time.

freezer no.1

Lean times could happen to any of us, at any time. Job loss, medical emergency, unexpected repairs -- keeping a well-stocked kitchen gives me a safety net, should we need to feed ourselves in an extended financial crunch.

freezer no. 2

So, while the neat-nick in me would prefer a streamlined-appearing pantry and freezer, the one who looks after the finances in this family can appreciate the value of having a good stock of groceries. After all, I wouldn't keep my bank account balance hovering at a low dollar figure, simply because I didn't want the mess of all of those 0000s in there.

freezer no. 3

I've seen this mentioned in articles about frugal living -- for some folks, their pantry IS their only "savings account". In the most dire circumstances it's something not to be overlooked, when calculating what you have and can rely on if your income came to an abrupt halt. The contents of that pantry could feed a family a couple of weeks, at least. And any needed spending during that time could be diverted to absolute necessities, giving a family a week or two to begin on a plan out of their financial difficulties.


Twenty-something years ago, my husband was relatively new in a job when on a Thursday afternoon, rumors began flying that the company where he was employed was about to institute widespread layoffs. He was told to sit by the phone on Saturday, and wait for a call. Sure enough, he was one of the ones to lose his job. We'd only been married for a year and a half, had a baby and hadn't really accumulated much in the way of savings. He received a two-week severance pay, and then we had to rely on unemployment comp. There's a gap in receiving unemployment benefits. If I recall, we had to go 2 weeks without any pay at all, before receiving a UE check. And even when the UE checks began arriving regularly, the amount was significantly smaller than our previous, first job, post-student years, pay. (Those first jobs pay practically nothing, for many of us.)

I had been stocking my pantry (as opposed to just buying one week's worth of food at a time) for about 4 months, at that point. I remember that Saturday afternoon vividly. I let my once-per-week Mother's helper go. We turned down the heat in every room, except one, where the baby and I stayed most of each day. We let our landlord know of our circumstances (he was a jolly man, right next door, and very helpful with finding resources). And, I inventoried our kitchen's stock. With what I had right then, I figured that my husband and I could live on what we had, and only buy what we needed for the baby. And it appeared that we had enough in the way of groceries to last us about 4 to 6 weeks. Some of our meals were unusual in combinations of foods used. Some were repetitive. But as I had been stocking up on healthy items, all meals were relatively good for us (I wasn't much of a cook, at that point, so it was definitely "eat at your own risk").

We eventually got back on our feet. But those early days were managed with the knowledge that we had enough to eat for several weeks. At that time, I had been spending about $30 per week on groceries. So I estimate the value of that pantry savings account was about $180 to $240. For a young couple, just barely out of school, with a baby in tow, all those years ago, that $180-240 was a significant amount.


Now, every once and again, I survey my pantry, fridge and freezer and make guesses at how long we could go without buying anything at all. We're pretty well-stocked right now. This isn't the most stocked-up we've ever been, but it's awfully close.

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Do you ever think about how long you could go without shopping, given what you have on hand right now? Do you calculate the value of the food you have stored up? Or am I just a crazy lady, who loves math, and has a few minutes to spare for the calculation?

Just for fun -- if anyone cares to make a guess at the value of their pantry savings account, feel free to share in the comments below! Just make an estimate of how many weeks or months what you have in stock could last, and multiply by how much you spend per week or month. I bet there are some really amazing pantry savings accounts out there!

I roasted my last turkey this past week and used these in the cavity, for our favorite Lemon-Herb Roasted Turkey

I had about 6 of these already-zested and juiced lemon "shells" kept in freezer (a couple of years ago, I posted on using every last bit of the lemon, by saving the shells after zesting and juicing). I didn't even thaw the "shells", but tucked them inside the turkey, still a bit frosty.

With the  herbs in the garden abundant right now, I included a large bunch of rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs.

To enhance the lemon and herb flavors, I brushed the skin of the turkey with a mixture of about 1/4 cup melted butter, 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme.

Using the lemon "shells" and garden herbs was a delicious way to bring flavor to the turkey, at zero extra cost.

You know I like to make use of every little scrap of goodness. I only buy about a dozen fresh lemons per year (using bottled lemon juice for most cooking). So, I try to not waste any part of those precious, few, sunshiny jewels.

Using the whole lemon

For most cooking, I use bottled lemon juice. It's more convenient and less expensive than using whole lemons, for me. But when I have a recipe that I'd like to include some of the zest of the lemon, then I make sure I use every last bit of that lemon -- the juice, the zest and the pithy shell.

Often times, I only need one or two components of the lemon for a particular recipe, usually the juice and/or zest. With the remaining part, I simply freeze it. The zest can be frozen in a small container or zip loc bag. The juice can be frozen in a small container to be used within 6 months to a year. And the pithy portion freezes well for about 6 months (picks up freezer odors after about 6 months), and then used inside whole poultry to be roasted.

Keeping fresh-squeezed lemon juice

If you are keeping freshly-squeezed lemon juice in the refrigerator, it should remain fresh-tasting for about 3 days.  Likewise, if you thaw a container of home-squeezed lemon juice, and can't use it all immediately, use the remaining amount within 3 days. In contrast, commercially bottled lemon juice is pasteurized and contains preservatives, to kill bacteria and extend the refrigerated life of the product, for up to one year. If you have a lot of fresh-squeezed lemon juice to freeze, it may be advantageous to freeze in ice cube trays, then transfer cubes to a zip loc bag once frozen.

Storing whole lemons

I seem to have incredible luck with keeping fresh lemons, as mine can keep refrigerated for several months. This last batch of lemons I bought in May, and I just recently used the very last of the bag. I keep them in the produce drawer in an open, and very loose-fitting, plastic bag. The plastic bag holds in a bit of the moisture, but by remaining open and loose, mold doesn't seem to develop. By the time I used the last of this purchase, the last lemon was not as firm as when newly purchased, but it was still in decent-enough shape to zest, juice and cook with.

Once a fresh lemon is cut, place the cut side down, into a glass dish or container and cover. Use within 3 days.

Freezing lemon slices to use in drinks later

While raw lemons will lose some their original texture in freezing, they can be added to drinks, both hot and cold, even after freezing. Slice whole lemons thinly, and place on a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap on a baking sheet, then freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a zip loc bag. One or two slices of frozen lemon adds both flavor and visual interest to beverages. Surprisingly, they do not come out of the freezer all mushy, as you might expect.



I have one more recipe to make this summer, using a couple of fresh lemons, Lemon-Rosemary Finishing salt. I posted about making the Lemon-Rosemary salt late in 2013. This is such a favorite, here. With an abundance of rosemary this year, I can't think of a single reason to not make another batch. Yum! I can taste it in my mind, already!

Homemade gummy candies using real (canned) fruit and/or fruit juice

A couple of weeks ago, we got to talking in the comments' section about making gummy candy. My friend, Sara, (if you read the comments' section, Sara is a frequent contributor) mentioned making gummy candy with her grown sons. Sara is quite an accomplished cook, so I trust her ability to search out recipes, then tweak them to work even better. I asked her to share her method and recipes for gummy candies, and to our good fortune, she agreed and has provided them, here, today. Thank you, Sara! 

If you have questions or comments, Sara has agreed to make herself available to answer them.

"Good morning, everyone.  I'm very flattered that Lili asked me to share our recipes for gummies with all of you, after the recent discussion of uses for lifetime supplies of unflavored gelatine.

One of our sons originally found a recipe for fruit-and-juice gummies from The Undressed Skeleton site. http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/42764785751   I have done a banana version, and it was very tasty.  This time we used leftover canned fruit; and this would also be good for over-ripe/imperfect fruit that is flavorful but not pretty. This makes a medium-soft gummy with a little tiny bit of texture, in a generous batch.

The recipe for all-juice gummies is from  the Elana's Pantry site. http://elanaspantry.com/gummy-bears/ Elana Amsterdam has many good recipes for other items there, as well.  The first time I used her recipe with papaya juice, it was excellent; but this time we wanted to try and get a stronger fruit juice flavor. For those of you with kids or grandkids who will want the most recognizable, "authentic" gummy, I think that this style may be a better choice, though both types are fun and tasty.  This recipe is fairly small, probably to accommodate the size of molds.

You can buy cute gummy bear molds, but on this blog, I imagine I don't have to apologize for being happier to just use something I already had.  In this case, I used the smallest-circumference cutter from a biscuit cutter set I already had to cut shapes from a sheet of set gelatin in a casserole dish.  If you're going to use molds, please refer to Elana's directions for how much to cool the mixture before putting them into the molds, etc.

Unlike the original recipes, we actually didn't sweeten either of our recipes this time.  We do not eat stevia, and did not think we needed additional sweetening with these flavors.  If you want a sweeter result, however, I did use a little touch of honey for the gummies last time, and they set up just fine. We also altered the order of preparation steps to an order we felt would reduce potential clumping.


Apricot-Pineapple Gummies

1 1/2 cups canned apricots
1 1/2 cups canned pineapple slices
3/4 cup pineapple juice
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup water
5 1/2 packets unflavored gelatine

Put apricots and pineapple into a medium-sized saucepan, and cook and stir over medium heat until hot and softened some.  Transfer carefully to blender and puree.

Measure pineapple juice, lemon juice, and water (cold or room-temperature) in a 2-cup measuring cup.  Then add the packets of gelatine fairly quickly and efficiently, sprinkling it around the surface and jiggling the liquid to keep it dissolving in and keep it from clumping.  (This makes more sense as you do it than when you explain it.)  It should be fairly firm by the time you've poured the last packet.

Return the warm fruit puree to the saucepan, and add the soft-gelled gelatine/fruit juice mixture, whisking constantly until softened and fully-blended. Pour into rectangular casserole dish (ours is metric, but approx. 7" by 11").  Let set in refrigerator until firm (this happens quickly!) 

Cut with knife or shaped cutter. Loosen the first pieces at the edge, if your cutter doesn't pick them up, as ours did some of the time.  The rest should pry up easily with the tip of a fork or little flat spatula.  Store in the refrigerator in a single layer on a plate covered with plastic wrap or in ziplock bags.

Black Cherry-Elderberry Gummies
(We use these two juice concentrates for health reasons as well as taste. You can find them for fairly economical prices on-line at places like Vitacost.com.)

1/4 cup unsweetened black cherry juice concentrate
2 tablespoons unsweetened elderberry juice concentrate (a.k.a. sambucus)
enough water to make 1 cup of liquid total
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 packets unflavored gelatine

Measure juices into 2-cup glass measuring cup, then add water to equal 1 cup.  Pour 1/2 to 2/3 of this mixture into a saucepan and heat to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, add contents of gelatine packets to remaining cold or room-temperature juice mixture, as described above.  When juice is heated, pour gradually back into measuring cup, whisking constantly.  Then continue to whisk until gelatine is dissolved and fully-blended.

Pour immediately into a 1-quart  square casserole (for thicker gummies) or 1 1/2-quart round casserole, and chill in the refrigerator until firm. 

The top surface of this batch was frothy. Flip them over for best presentation.

Cut, move, and store as above, except if your mixture was frothy, flip gummies to display the slick, shiny underside on top.



The number of gummies you are able to make from each recipe will depend on the size of your pan and your cutter, as well as the amount of waste in-between cuttings. 

DO be frugal, though, and plan to eat the "waste" strips and bits.  They may not look cute, but they taste just as yummy (and gummy!)  See photo of our bowl of gummy "ends and pieces"."


Looks good, Sara! I can't wait to try my hand at making these!