Tip: The Pantry Purge

When I think of summertime in my mother's kitchen, I think of bountiful bowls of grapes. I think of cantaloupe and honeydew, sliced and diced, ready for us to eat. I think of blueberries - my mother has always loved her blueberries. We were never without a bowl to munch on, and (more importantly to a child) there were a myriad of blueberry desserts she tested on us, her very willingly children.

We had survived winter! And the fresh fruit welcomed us into summer.

As the farmers' markets open up for the season, I've taken to decluttering my pantry (and fridge). I am ready to stuff my kitchen with fresh produce, but to make room for the new, I have to clear out the old. So I opened up those cupboards, and pulled out the food stuffed in the back - and set about creating meal plans to purge my pantry in preparation for summertime. It had its humbling moments -- what was I doing with three different types of cornbread mixes? What had caused me to buy three bags of coconut flakes? My grand plans had long been shelved. And now it was time to do something about it. Undoubtedly some items had to be chucked (I'm looking at you, fridge), but the dry goods were a-okay. I'd just all but forgotten about them. I got creative, I tried recipes I always meant to try but somehow never got around to it, and after a few weeks, my kitchen had room for summer's bounty. 

Join me in a pantry purge! After all, the pantry is the closet of the kitchen, and you know how I love to declutter a closet.