Old Mother HubbardWent to the cupboard
To get her poor doggie a bone,
When she got thereThe cupboard was bare
So the poor little doggie had none.

-Nursery Rhyme

Inspired by "Julie & Julia" and "The Amazing Adventures of DietGirl," I have decided to cook my way through my pantry without buying ANY nonperishable food items until the pantry is empty. Oh, and I'm going to blog about it.

I have become an avid couponer. And I do get a little thrill when I can combine a coupon with a sale and get an item for free or nearly free. While this is great in theory, I now have not only a burgeoning pantry in the kitchen, but have also managed to fill half of a closet in a spare bedroom with our "surplus." Did I mention that I am feeding a mere family of 3 (husband, 10 YO daughter and me)?

As I plopped 2 large, full reusable grocery bags down in front of that closet today, fresh from yet another round of coupon roullette at our local Harris Teeter, I looked at my cans of garbanzo beans that I brought from PA when we moved to MD - TWO YEARS AGO. My glance hit the jar of thai chili paste - what recipe did I HAVE to have that for? There was the spiced cider mix, also brought from PA. And don't forget what has to be about a dozen bottles of salad dressing in several different flavors - LOVE the buy-one-get-one specials combined with $1 coupons! I took in the shelves of all these surplus bargains and decided: enough is enough.

I am going to use every last item in this closet and in the kitchen pantry before I buy one more box of cereal, one more bag of pasta spirals, or one more jar of "really good," fancy fruit preserves. In fact, before I buy another non-perishable food item. I realize this could lead to some very interesting recipes/combinations. Cocoa-encrusted chicken with a strawberry preserve glaze, anyone?

When I told my family about this project tonight at dinner, the reaction was mixed. My husband Craig said "go for it!" After all, it will drastically reduce our grocery bill for the forseeable future!

My daughter's reaction was less enthusiastic. Sydney kinda listened, took it all in and said..."You mean you're not buying any more Cheez-Its?" (Interesting, since I buy Cheez-Its, like, twice a year but just got 2 boxes today - 2 for $5 + 2 $1 coupons.) "No Cheez-Its, but maybe I'll learn how to make snack crackers," I told her.

She thought a little more. "No more Lean Cuisines??" Although they technically do not fall under the auspices of a "non-perishable pantry food," that would not be keeping in the spirit of the project. So no, no more Lean Cuisines, I told her.

And she was truly disappointed. Really, truly, genuinely disappointed.

Which makes me wonder a whole other point: I spend a great deal of time planning our dinner menus, making nutritious foods that everyone enjoys. With all the time/energy I spend recipee-ing, list-ing, couponing, shopping, COOKING, FOOD is a major investment of resources for me. I am by the accounts of our friends and extended family, a "very good" cook. And Sydney's two biggest concerns are Cheez-Its and Lean Cuisines. ...Things that make you go "hmmmmmmmmmm...."