Out With the Old...

...food in the pantry and fridge. Sometimes we forget what we have hidden in our home, stowed away like some squirrels prepared for winter. Actually what I have is not necessarily old, just needs to be used.

Guess what? It is now officially winter (as of about a week ago) and it's the perfect time to use up what you have. There is a pantry clean-out happening at my place and freezer use-up to stretch that grocery budget just a little tighter.

Some things I found and how I might use them, might look like this:

Freezer:
3 cups ground cornmeal - cook up like polenta (see recipe forthcoming for tamale casserole)
1/2 cup carob powder - use to make "fudge" (mix together 1 cup nut butter, 1/2 cup honey, and 1/2 cup carob powder (or cocoa), then freeze
1 frozen ginger root - trim up and use in a stir fry or other Asian dish
2 -3 cups almonds - soak and make milk (then make a drink with frozen ripe bananas & vanilla in a blender, then pour into glasses with ground nutmeg on top - Thanks, Kristen!)
15 frozen ripe bananas - see suggestion above and for more smoothies, of course! =)
8 cups whole wheat grain (or berries) (both hard for yeast bread and soft for non-yeast bread) - grind for flour for bread baking and for other baked goods
3 cups whole rye grain (or berries) - grind and use in Old World Black Bread
2 cups pecans - snacking, cookies
2 cups walnuts - oat burgers
2 cups pine nuts - "better butter"
1 bag frozen spinach - spinach dip or as a topping for homemade pizza
bagged ice - leftover from making homemade ice cream 2 or 3 times worth (wasn't much, got tossed)
25 or so home frozen corn-on-the-cob - use some for lunch today
1 bag frozen peas - green pea salad
1/2 pound mesquite flour - any ideas, anyone? I bought a small package of it a few months ago and want to make something with it or use it in a recipe with something else.

Fridge:
1 cabbage - coleslaw or in a stir fry
2 half bottles of mustard - honey mustard chickpeas, or use in a salad dressing
2 cups maple syrup - pancake meal, use as sweetener in granola
5-6 big leaves collard greens - one batch worth of green smoothie for the family
1/2 tub sweet white miso - salad dressing, dip
2 cups homemade macadamia nut butter - see suggestion above for carob fudge

Pantry:
4-5 packages dried sheet nori - snacking, homemade brown rice veggie "sushi" rolls
2 packages dried shiitake mushrooms - use in "sushi" rolls, homemade spring rolls
1 quart home canned green beans - minestrone soup or other vegetable soup
4 pounds rolled oats - baked oatmeal, cookies
2 cans coconut milk - make ice cream, or use in a curry dish
1 bag lentils - make lentil soup
2 bags other beans - use in various bean dishes and salads, sprout
2 large cans crushed tomatoes - chili and other soups
1 small can tomato paste - ketchup, barbeque sauce, Catalina dressing, red sauce
5 cans pumpkin puree - soup, use in baked goods, make a pumpkin butter (like apple butter)
2 1/2 cups small pearl tapioca - use in pudding, grind up dry for thickener in soups, add to baked goods
1 can water chestnuts - use in spinach dip
1 jar sauerkraut - tempeh reubens
walnut oil - use in small amounts in baked goods
macadamia nut oil - ideas, anyone?
1 bottle Argentine chimi churri sauce (like A1 steak sauce) - marinade for tempeh or tofu?
10 pounds potatoes - baked
6-8 large sweet potatoes - baked or in casserole, sauteed with onions, use in baked goods

This is just a few things I found and some ideas for me to remember. Anyone have other ideas that I haven't thought of?