Author: Chaya Foedus

Flour on the ceiling. The ugliest vintage apron collection you've ever seen. And an affinity for old-fashioned kitchen skills that center on health, preparedness, and family meal-time. I am passionate about helping people find their kitchens and then teaching them what to do once they get there.

Why Green Cleaning Is Frugal

homemade cleaners

Edna is our cleaning contributor to Pantry Paratus; she is back with a persuasive piece on making your own cleaners as a way to cut down on your budget!

If you are new at green cleaning, or have not even begun yet, there are a few very important things you need to know about it caring for your home in an ecological way.   You have likely read all about its benefits to the environment and how it is not dangerous to people’s health, those facts are all true. But what you might have missed or did not pay attention to is the fact that green cleaning is also economical and frugal.

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Preparedness & The Simple Life: Announcing a Free Summit to Get You Started

Preparedness and Simple Living

Preparedness.  The Simple Life.  Self-Sufficiency.

 

God never meant us to live this way, I’m convinced.  There are people who never see the light of day, never talk to a neighbor, never eat something out of the ground. They may never sit at the table for a meal, be asked how their day went by a loved one, or pet an animal.  This is not normal.

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Last Minute House Guests? 6 Tips & Tricks

Produce, Prepare, & Preserve Your Harvest

I love having people over.  I detest the undue stress I place on myself when I have fair warning that guests are coming.  I actually thrive with the unexpected variety, because no excuses shall be made: yes people, this is how we live…well, sort of.  I do pull some last minute trickery, and I’m going to let you in on my secrets.  But then I thought that perhaps I am missing a few great tricks, too!  I put the question about last minute house guests to our facebook fans on the Pantry Paratus page…and wow–they’ve got some great advice I’m going to try next time.

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12 Minute Recipe: Buttered Fish in White Wine with Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Buttered Fish in White Wine with Cranberry Sauce

I originally posted this recipe in 2013, and it is a family favorite.  Yesterday, I served it to a last-minute house guest who made 2 major comments: it was delicious and he’d “have to remember this recipe” himself, and that he would never have thought to pair a cranberry sauce with fish.  It definitely has a Norwegian taste combination that is a sure hit with family and guests alike!  If you’ve not made this one, plan it for a busy day this week when you know you won’t have time for more than a…12 minute meal!

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Soup Night: A Food Storage Recipe that Pops!

Vegetable and Sausage Soup

Wow!  This was amazing, and multiple helpings were had by all.  My inspiration, as nearly all good soups are, was based upon a recipe from the book, “Soup Night.”  These recipes are fantastic just as they are and I rarely make changes.   I do, however, utilize my food storage to keep up a rotation of it, and this recipe is a perfect mix of flavor and practicality. Enjoy this food storage recipe for the pop of flavor!

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Small Kitchen Storage: Pots and Pans

Edna joins us again to share her tips for making the most of storage in small kitchens. 

If you have a small kitchen, you should organize it so that the utensils and tableware in it take less space. Let’s discuss some ideas on how to store your pots and pans so that they will be handy without taking up too much valuable room.  Use one of these ideas to make your kitchen tidy and functional. Once organized, cleaning your kitchen after use will take less effort and take less time.

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Pressure Cooking: Controversy & Science

Pressure Cooking: Controversy & Science

(originally published on Pantry Paratus in 2012, this piece has circulated quite a few times! We’ve made some updates…enjoy!)

Some swear by pressure cooking because of high altitude living constraints, meat tenderizing, energy reduction, nutrient preservation, or convenience.  Other advise against pressure cooking because it leaches antioxidants, makes meat stringy and dry, or because they believe it to be a dangerous procedure.  So which is it?

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5 Foods You Can Easily Grow in your Backyard

5 Food You Can Easily Grow

This is an inspiring guest post with the effect of getting us all to start small and branch out from there.  There is so much we can do–even 10-15 minutes a day spent growing food will save you real cash and nourish your family.  Enjoy!

If you want fresh and organic options for your meals, fruits and vegetables from your home garden are a good choice. Not only does growing food save you money, but it also assures you that the foods you’re eating are not treated with pesticides and other chemicals. Start growing food today!

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DIY Tile & Grout Cleaner

DIY Tile & Grout Cleaner

Our guest post today is from Edna, who is a maintenance expert.  Be sure to read more about her at the end of this article; but in the meantime, let’s sparkle!  You know that my advice would always be to try the safest, most natural remedy first.  Edna gives us a few to choose from so that we can work up to the right solution. 

The trouble with grout is that it shows every speck of dirt, making your bathroom really unappealing. The same goes for your tiles. It’s really difficult to get stains off your bathroom surfaces, considering that they provide the perfect conditions for growth of bacteria and mold. Well, don’t panic. Here are a few homemade grout and tile cleaner recipes that may work wonders to keep your tiles free of dirt and stains. Check it out.

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Tastes Like Lemon: The Time I Ate Ants (& more about eating insects)

Photo of Beondegi by Alpha

This is the most self-deprecating thing I have ever posted online.   But you know what they say: If you can laugh at yourself, you will never cease to be amused.

My interest in this topic started with one of only a handful of regrets I have obtained through life. I’m just not prone to regrets, apparently, given that this makes that short list.

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Kitchen Self-Sufficiency Skills: 11 Places to Start

kitchen self sufficiency

Some of us might jump into the middle of this list of kitchen self-sufficiency skills; some might have more to learn. I personally find I am overwhelmed with what I don’t know, but that once I have a plan to tackle something I can shake off the paralysis. If the light-bulb has come on over your head and you’re thinking “gak—I only have enough food in the fridge for 3 days,” start here.

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Walking the Plank of Politics Simply Because I Like Real Food

Walking the plank of politics because I like real food

The people who shop at Pantry Paratus and the people who interact with us through Facebook and email are often very different from one another. There are self-described hippies and conservatives (and even people like me who get accused of both quite often). There are Christians, Atheists, Pagans and other faith representations. We have vegans, traditional foodists (bring on the bone broth!), paleo, and conventional-food lovers who are exploring what it might mean to make a change. There is the pro-wheat crowd and the gluten-free one. There are city-dwellers, homesteaders, farmers, and busy suburban moms just trying to abate food allergies or illness….the differences abound.

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Chia Seeds: Nutrition & Cooking Tips

Chia Seeds Nutrition

I am a traditionalist in most things, including food; I rarely jump on a bandwagon for the newest healthy thing out there, because most of it is bunk.  But then, in our modern age, many of us are still discovering the traditional foods that other people groups have been eating for centuries.  Such is the case with chia seeds.  This nutty, delicious seed spiked in popularity about a year or so ago and is now falling into the shadows of the latest-coolness; but I do not consider it a “bandwagon” at all—rather, we were all a bit late to the party and shouldn’t make an exit too soon.

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