So, I cleaned my cupboard today.
Well, I cleaned one of them. Most of the other ones are pretty well under control, as the things in them get rotated more quickly(one houses snacks, the other houses mostly cereal). The cabinet in question today though, holds things like canned goods, tea, dried fruit, nuts, and the like. I haven't done a good cleanout of this cabinet in a really long time(as in, probably two years).
A good deal of the contents were not expired and in edible condition, but I did find some things that weren't quite so fresh and which I need to deal with somehow.
Starting from the right, we have half a bag of white rice. I hardly EVER use white rice(we use brown), so I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to buy such a large bag. Actually, now that I think about it, it was for a Cook's Illustrated Arroz con Pollo recipe...they specified a certain brand, and it only came in a large bag. At any rate, I need to make a point of using this up. It's not out of date yet, but it could easily get there, sitting forgotten in the back of my cabinet.
Then there are the three cans of evaporated milk. I think this was on sale, and I had grand plans to make fudge at Christmastime one year. Apparently this was several years ago, because the "best by" date is December 2007. I'm quite sure this is still safe to eat, although it's not going to taste as fresh as it should. I used some today in the dough for our English Muffins. The dough is rising right now, so I'll have to report later on how that worked out. If it gives the finished product a weird flavor, I'm just going to throw out the rest of the milk. There's no point in wasting flour, sugar, yeast, and salt along with the milk!
The Eagle Brand should be easy enough to use up. I have a dessert recipe or two that calls for it as an ingredient, and I'm sure the chocolate and other dessert-y flavors will cover up any off taste the milk has developed.
I really have no idea how old the tuna is. I haven't bought tuna in FOREVER. I'm still trying to decide if I want to give it a try or if I want to throw it away. What would you do?
Neither of the peanut butter jars have a date on them, so I don't know if they're expired or not. No one here is a big fan of natural peanut butter, and so they've just been sitting here, unused. I have a recipe or two that call for peanut butter, so I'm thinking of going that route with these jars.
And lastly, I have a container of steel-cut oats whose best-before date was August 31st, 2008. I bought these with grand intentions of serving hot bowls of them to my family in the mornings, but that never materialized. I have been very successful this month, though, in cooking oatmeal for breakfast, so I may actually give these a try. They're not THAT far past their best-before date, so I'm guessing they'll still taste ok. Any tips on cooking steel-cut oats are welcome, so comment away. I know you have to cook them a lot longer than you'd cook regular oatmeal(which I think is part of the reason I put off using them), but aside from that I'm pretty clueless.
So, there you have it. My goal is to use up all of this food in two weeks, and I'll let you know how well I do.
I'm hoping that this kind of cupboard clean-out won't be necessary in the future, now that I'm planning better and buying more responsibly. With the possible exception of the bag of rice, all of this food was purchased before I started on my no-waste mission. That's encouraging, because it means that my new shopping habits are helping me to avoid unnecessary and redundant purchases and that my new cooking habits are helping me to actually use everything that I buy.
I love to use Peanut Butter to make a quick cheater version of Thai peanut sauce, a little PB, soy sauce and ground ginger. It is great on chicken with a little stir fry.
Two old birds, one stone.
http://latinfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/rice_pudding.htm
Use the rice and the evaporated milk all in one shot.
AO
I see peanut butter cookies in your future--that would use up most of that jar. I don't think you can use steel cut oats in PB cookies unless you soaked them overnight. But then, that's what the internet is for.
Cook your rice and freeze it for fried rice later, using up other leftover bits and pieces.
Tuna? That's really iffy if you can't find an expiration date. That is unless you have cat who would enjoy the treat.
I haven't tried this on the oats myself yet, but it looks good. http://annkroeker.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/overnight-crockpot-steel-cut-oatmeal/
Kristen, don't even bother eating the white rice, make a Bed Buddy or two! They are great for cold feet, sore muscles or toothaches. You can find directions here:
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=4022028
Just scan down toward the middle of the page to "Rice Bag Bed Buddie". I make mine tube shaped, but I sew across in 2-3 places to make smaller compartments, so the rice doesn't shift so much. You can use a cotton sock for these, also. One minute in the microwave for the small ones, two minutes or so for big ones.....you'll love 'em! No synthetic fabrics, they don't microwave well.
Oh, they smell kinda funny when heated, so I suggest adding scented herbs or potpourri.
We marinate chicken for kebabs in peanut butter, soy sauce and chilli - similar to Liz. It goes down well in our house.
Yep, I cook our steel cut oats in the crock-pot. Yummy.
AG, I forgot about that option! I could make bean bags(or rather, rice bags!) too.
From the StarKist website:
All unopened StarKist® products have a recommended shelf life of up to three years, provided the product has been stored under normal conditions and the can or pouch appears normal and is not damaged.
Three years is a pretty long time, it's probably safe.
I mix half white and half brown rice when cooking, to add interest. Or I use any type of white rice for rice pudding. This week I talked about making oatmeal in the slow cooker and I use them in crumble toppings - either on their own or 50 / 50 with flour.
Evaporated milk, we just pour that over fruit for either breakfast or puddings.
Bean bags made with rice work really well - that's Christmas presents sorted then!
Isn't the tuna marked with a date on the tin? I would be using that up with the rice in a rice salad.
Have fun - I love these sorts of challenges and I can't wait to see what you make.
Just something to keep in mind - if that's natural peanut butter it's supposed to be stored in the fridge after opening(no preservatives). I'm not sure what would happen to it, but you might want to check that out if it is already opened.
So many good ideas. I would do the rice pudding too to get rid of the rice and milk. We bake our rice pudding and it freezes well. Just don't forget it's in the freezer.
I only buy the quick oats (when I'm paying attention that is), but I've heard you can soak the rolled oats with fruit overnight and it will cook pretty quickly in the morning when you're ready for it. How about using the oats for homemade granola? I have a box I accidentally bought and that's what I'm planning to use it for.
We also use the evaporated milk as coffee creamer.
As somebody already mentioned fried rice is great because you need to use cold rice anyway.
I made a rice hot pad for my husband's "cold in the kidneys" with white rice in a tube sock, knotted. I didn't keep it that way, though. I'm wary of keeping beans or rice in those homemade heat pads because they will get moldy if they get wet, and I have a lethal allergy to some molds. The rice got cooked afterward and mixed into dog food. Dogs love peanut butter and the all-natural kind is the best for them. If the peanut butter was unopened it is probably all right, unless it is bubbly or has an odor when you open it. If it tastes stale, give it to the dog (or someone else's dog) mixed into food, or make it into dog biscuit cookies.
If food has spoiled, it will poison your pet as surely as it will poison you, so that's a little caveat about feeding old food to animals!
If you call the Starkist 1-800 number, they should be able to tell you if it is ok based on whatever numbers, etc you find on the can. I have done this before with a different company that didn't have an exp. date on the can.
I have cooked steel cut oats in the crock pot directly, not using another pot inside as in the above post. It actually cooked faster than I expected, but didn't get too gunky on the bottom. From there, you can spice it however you want and add fruit, nuts, etc. I am the only person in the house who will eat oatmeal---I love it and will make it for lunch if there are no leftovers, topped with brown sugar and pecans or walnuts and raisins. With the crock pot, it's easy to make a lot of it and that feeds me lunch for a few days...
Also, I try to eat as vegan as possible (no eggs, no dairy) and always use soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk and it comes out perfectly fine. Some people use vanilla soy milk but I prefer plain.
I used some expired( in July 08) steel cut oats this morning. Use 1 cup of oats and 4 cups of water. Put in pot to soak overnight( this cuts the normal 30min cooking time in half). Proceed to cook in the morning. We like to mix some peanut butter in our cooked oatmeal( for xtra protein).
I'm trying to figure out what to do with a jar of wheat germ. I made granola bars once and it was good but nothing I want every day. Any ideas?
Darn it, Elizabeth! I just threw the can out, and now it's outside in the big trash can. Oh well.
Julia, did you cook it overnight?
Randi, that sounds like a good plan to me. I've heard that it's healthy to soak grains anyways. Do you soak them in the fridge or on the counter?
Battra, we sprinkle it on top of yogurt. You can also mix it in with bread dough or muffin batter(although you want to be a little sparing with it, as it can make baked goods too heavy). And I bet if you did a little googling, you could find some recipes that call for it.
I use wheat germ as a coating for chicken, fish, etc, oven-baked. I add to porridge sometimes, too, and as a topping on things like tuna casserole, mixed with a little melted butter.
the most amazing steel cut oats ever are made using this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/steel-cut-oatmeal-recipe/index.html
the only thing i've changed is using 2% milk for the whole thing (instead of buttermilk)...having these topped with cinnamon, brown sugar, and frozen blueberries is the BEST breakfast!
As for that peanut butter, I had a horrible experience with TJ's Natural peanut butter a couple months back. It was unopened and the teeniest spoonful made me deathly sick for over a day.
Check out http://www.katheats.com for some delicious oatmeal ideas. SOOO YUMMY!!!
I just put them in the pot I'm going to cook them in and leave them on top of the stove overnight. Its all ready to go in the morning.
The oats you can grind or run through your food processor and use them in rolls or to replace bread crumbs in meatloaf/salmonloaf recipes. If you are comfortable using the tuna, you could probably make a tuna loaf.
Far after the fact...
I would eat all those items, except maybe the PB since it's organic. For that I'd do some online research and maybe call the mfgr.
Wheat germ sometimes appears in dog biscuits, in addition to the ideas already listed.
In addition to a hot pad, you could use the rice to make a draft dodger. Or to blind-bake a pie crust. I routinely ignore CI's specific brand recommendations unless they give a really good reason. They usually want something hard to get, or expensive, or hard to use in other recipes. 'Tisn't frugal!