Part Three : Chapter Thirteen : Dry Goods Identification

It's been another hectic week at work, and we've also had after work plans, so I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and write in a few days. I've been using the few meals we've had at home to use up ingredients from the fridge and pantry. It's another one of those "get creative" phases to clean stuff up a bit. I even cleaned the kitchen this weekend! The stove needed a good scrubbing, that's for sure. I decided to take this slow night as an opportunity to read a chapter of my textbook, and get one step closer to the real cooking!

Speaking of cleaning out the pantry, this chapter comes at the perfect time. I've collected quite the assortment of oils, vinegars, spices and rubs and some of them really make me wonder if I'll ever need them for another recipe. That's when it's time to start making stuff up...and concoting! Just like produce and meats though, these dry goods lose quality over time, so on a somewhat regular basis, I go through my stock, and throw anything with a passed expiration date in the trash. Sometimes, it's just better to start with something fresh.

I tend to store my grains and flours in screwtop containers. I rip off a piece of the label and place it at the top of the container so that I know what is in each one, but it's more organized this way because everything is a bit more uniform. It's hard to reseal those bags anyway!

I have quite the collection of spices, and I'm still coming up with ideas on the best way to store them. I have too many to fit in any one spice rack, and I always end up taking all of them off the shelf, just to find the one I'm looking for at the moment. When I come up with a system that works, I promise I'll share it with you!

After 35 pages about flours, wheats, spices, grains and legumes, I'm finally at the end of Part Three. In my next lesson, we'll start in on Part Four : Stocks, Sauces and Soups! I couldn't have come sooner and I will begin to gather the ingredients I will need for the first lesson...and get down to it! Look forward to many more pictures with this next part of the book, because what I learn, I will then share with all of you! Can't wait!!