Pantry Essentials Part 1: Cans, Boxes and Bags

Learn which canned goods are pantry staples and which should, well, be canned. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The key to pantry essentials is purchasing items that are multi-use, that is, buying one item that you can use to make lots of different things. Essential doesn’t have to mean boring, “fundamentals are the building blocks of fun!”

Although it’s really important to get lots of fresh, unprocessed food in our diets, when it comes to pantry essentials, canned goods are a great start. Here are some ideas for some canned foods that provide a solid foundation for any pantry, with some suggestions for quick and easy meals you can make with them:

DIY Popcorn

Photo source, Wikimedia Commons

Home made popcorn can be a cheap, delicious and nutritious snack. It all comes down to how it's prepared.

A Crash Course in Home Made Yogurt

Good and good for you! Now you can learn how to make your own yogurt at home. Photo source Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

The key to making good yogurt is remembering at all times that you’re dealing with a living food. If you remember this at every step, you’ll avoid most of the pitfalls associated with yogurt making.

In its simplest terms, yogurt is the result of milk being fermented by a bacterial culture. The bacteria eats the naturally occurring sugars, lactose, in the milk. In turn, they give off lactic acid as their waste product. Lactic acid gives us yogurt’s distinctive tangy taste. Secondly, lactic acid changes the structure of the protein molecules in the milk, thickening the previously liquid milk into a semi-solid with the creamy texture that we so enjoy.

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

The flavour of the sweet potato plays nicely with the spices in this warm and hearty dish. Photo source Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

Looking for something a little different to spice up your dinners during those rainy spring days? Crave comfort food that packs a nutritional punch? This Recipe was originally posted in "Unearthing the Mystery of Ancient Grains: An Introduction." 

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

makes 6 hearty bowls of chili

1 can (19 oz/540 ml) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (5.2 oz/156 ml) tomato paste
4 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste

Spelt Pancakes

Mmmmmm, pancakes! Photo source Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

Spelt Pancakes

This recipe was originally posed in "Unearthing the Mystery of 'Ancient Grains': Spotlight on Spelt."

2 cups whole spelt flour or spelt/all-purpose flour blend
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups  milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or vegetable oil), plus more for greasing
2 teaspoons vanilla (optional)

A Little Weekend Egg-citment

So, it's brown chickens that lay the chocolate eggs, right? Photo source Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

Nothing like a long weekend when you're feeling scrambled! This time of year, a lot of folks seem to have eggs on the brain, so we thought we'd give this kitchen staple a standing ova-vation. The Kitchen Pixies are here with egg-citing tips and trivia, so let's get cracking!

• Unlike with cows, the colour of the chicken actually does determine the colour of the egg. Beyond that the difference is only shell deep, brown and white eggs have the same flavour and nutritional content.
  
• Curious about how long that egg has been in the fridge? A fresh egg will sink in water while an older egg will float. As an egg ages, the size of the air cell inside increases, causing it to float.
   
• You may think we're yoke-ing, but eggs are a good choice for your baby after 6 months. Eggs have a protein quality that is second only to breast milk. Click here to find out more! 
  
• Have you ever opened a carton of extra large eggs and wondered if some flimflam artist has switched in smaller eggs? Eggs in Canada are actually measured by weight, not the size of the shell.
   
• Even with washing, grading, packaging and random inspections, the eggs you buy at the grocery store usually arrive there within four to seven days of being laid.

Unearthing the Mystery of “Ancient Grains”: Spotlight on Spelt

Ye old spelt was once a popular staple crop in ancient Europe and the Middle East. Photo source: Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

Note: In our recent exploration of ancient grains, the kitchen pixies have come to realize that quite a few (but not all) of them are actually different varieties or preparations of wheat grains. These grains contain gluten. Please be mindful of which ancient grains come from wheat when cooking for someone with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Spelt, also known as “hulled wheat” or the far more comical “dinkle wheat,” is a type of wheat that was grown in ancient Europe and the Middle East and remained popular until the 19^th century when “common wheat” or”bread wheat” became all the rage. Since spelt doesn't have the same thirst for fertilizers that common wheat does, it has recently regained a bit of popularity on the organic farming circuit. Its sweet, nutty flavour also adds to its appeal. As a species of wheat, it definitely contains gluten. While there are rumours on the internet that the gluten in spelt is more tolerable than in other wheat products, it should still certainly be avoided by people with celiac's disease.