Friday 6 July 2012

Behind Closed Doors


They say you never know what lurks behind closed doors.  Well behind these particular doors lurks a bit of a mish mash at the moment.



Last weekend I made a rather large batch of Tomato and Garlic Sauce, I had a HUGE catering size tin of tomatoes (thank you Approved Foods) and we needed some sauce to go with our meal so I decided to open it up and make a fresh batch as we were down to our last couple of homemade pasta sauces.

Of course once you make something that ends up doing two meals for the weekend and then gives you nine jars for future use, you have to be able to store them.  In this house I only have one double fronted wall cupboard for my food stores and that was pretty full to bursting, (regular readers will know that I like to be well stocked (**pulls happy, grinny face**) so where was I to put them?

Tucked in the back of my plate and dish cupboard was lots of jars of jam, these were also to be found in many other cupboards lurking behind pans and bottles of squash, so I decided to work towards getting myself organised. 

You know how it is when you move house, things get put in one place and that doesn't really work but you put up with it for a while, well this had been happening more and more, so I decided that by the end of Summer the kitchen will have all our things in their final resting place (it also gives Lovely Hubby a hope in hell of actually finding things too!!).

I bit the bullet and had a sorting session.




Now this tall cupboard will become my larder.

Jams and sugars are on the top shelf, I don't think I will need to be making any jam this year!!

Beneath them are the sauces and yes, you spotted them on the right, some more jams, these were another bargain from Approved Foods a while ago, Bonne Mamon Jam at less than £1 a jar and well in date, if I bought empty jars (which I don't) for making jams these cost  £1.99 each in our local supplies shop.   So I got yummy jam and jars for future use for well below the shop price on the jam.  Don't you just love Bonne Mamon jars with their chunky shape and cute checked lids.......or is it just me?

Next shelf down, my yogurt maker, jam pans and paraphernalia, pestle and mortar and my electric slicing machine.

Next shelf - a whole selection of recycled and some bought, reusable plastic containers for freezing things and my loaf tins, down a shelf to the empty jar department (starting to sound like the Grace Brothers elevator here), ready to take this years batch of tomatoey sauces. 

And finally on the very bottom, yet more jars (some in boxes), my skillet, a couple of tins and my pasta making machine and a few other bits and bobs.  In the basket (being used here to hold this door open) are the jars of spices waiting to go on my little painted shelf unit.....yes it's painted now, it had it's second coat yesterday and hopefully it will be on the wall tonight and then I can fill it up tomorrow.

So you never know what lurks behind closed doors, hopefully by the end of Summer ALL our food will be in here and the other cupboards will be used for the kitchen hardware and gadgets......well that's the plan.

How do you plan your stores?

Sue xx





Edited in to add - Can You Help?........ nip over HERE and see if you can?

Thank you.

11 comments:

  1. hiya Sue

    I'm lucky enough to have a walk-in larder which is large enough (or small and cramped, depending which way you look at it!) to house fridge and microwave which is just as well cos all I have in the kitchen is a dresser.

    A friend of mine has the best idea tho- she has a small thatched cottage with tiny kitchen at the front and since they moved the front entrance to the side she uses her old front porch as a larder- just took out the little windows and sealed the door and it REALLY keeps food cool!

    have a lovely weekend
    xx

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  2. we are lucky to have a walk in pantry but even with that I have to use the laundry room where I have extra shelves, top of bedroom closets and the linen closet. I would love one big room to house it all!!

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  3. I have a huge walk in pantry, (it even has a window lol) and it is big enough for everything. I also keep some jars of preserve etc in an antique ice box from many years ago. I would really love an underground cellar to keep things in :)

    x

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  4. Love to save those jam jars too! One of these days I'll get done sorting the stuff we moved....

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  5. I see you didn't dare show us the "before" pic....very wise!!
    Jane xx

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  6. We've got a little pantry in our new place but it's got the boiler in there and very little useful space. I need to make up a little shelving unit or something to put all my jams and chutneys on so I can be organised like you! Our pantry also currently has a mouse. This hasn't gone down well with me. mainly because it ate my muesil and I had to miss breakfast the other morning. It;s also eaten the chocolate off the traps without setting them off. I feel a bit Tom and Jerry!

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  7. I dream of a big walk in pantry cupboard....anyway, your cupboard looks great and well stocked! :)

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  8. At the moment I just keep all our preserves in our welsh dresser. It looks pretty, but not much space - I dream of having a massive larder where I can keep all our preserves, jams and homebrew!

    The tomato and garlic looks great - would you be able to post a recipe? I really need to batch cook some pasta sauces for quick evening meals!

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  9. I have pantry envy! We are hoping to convert the downstairs loo into a pantry but it's at the bottom of a long list of jobs!

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  10. Hi Sue, I know you posted this yonks ago, but i'm having a bit of a catch up whilst marooned by the floods! So hope you get this message...anyway, I wanted to ask how you make your tomato and garlic sauces, and how do you treat them in the jars to make sure they don't go off? I do make jam, so wondered if it was the same - hot sterile jars, fill with hot sauce, lids on tight and leave to cool and vacuum? Or do you boil the jars or sth afterwards? I'd be really grateful to know as I make pasta sauces at the moment but then freeze them to store, and my freezer space is about to reduce drastically! Also It would make it more convenient to use - no need to defrost first. Thanks for any tips - your blog is the light of my damp soggy life here in Somerset at the moment x Sarah

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