The Perfect Pantry

The (More) Perfect Pantry: What's out, what's in, and enchiladas

Last week I was talking to my BFF Joyce, who's been my BFF for 37 years, since before anyone used BFF, or IM, or a PDA or even a PC.

We are the kind of best friends forever who can admit to each other their worst sins, deepest fears, mortifying humiliations, unimaginable frustrations, and the occasional politically incorrect thought or George Clooney fantasy.

For the past few months, Joyce has been cleaning out her apartment. Cat-shredded furniture? Gone. Books so old the pages have fused together? Gone. Clothes that don't fit, phones that don't ring, cassettes for a long-abandoned tape player? Gone.

Old spices, older canned beans, mysterious frozen things in her pantry? Gone, gone, gone.

Yes, I confessed, I need to do that, too.

With the Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad in one hand, and this food storage chart in the other, and a flashlight in my third hand, and a copy of The Perfect Pantry database (hmm... is that geeky?) in my fourth hand, I set out to do a bit of pantry tune-up. The time had come to dig into the nooks and crannies of my spice rack, storage shelves, fridge and freezer.

The time had come to set some things free.

[I'm often asked about what's included in The Perfect Pantry. Each item must pass this test: it must be used as an ingredient; it must be something I use more than once; it must be either used in more than one way, or used in one way over and over again. So, while I always have Fresca, for example, you won't read about it here, but you might read about orange or pomegranate juice, because I use it in cooking.]

First, I packed for donation to our town's food pantry assorted jams, jellies, mustards, pasta, and other non-perishable souvenirs we've purchased but haven't managed to use in the past year.

Next, I looked for duplicates, and triplicates, and five-plicates (how much instant couscous do we need at one time, really?) and packed the extras for the food pantry, too.

I set aside all of the spices that are more than a year old, to test them for potency. Any spice in a jar so dusty that I can't see what's inside will likely be a candidate for the compost pile. I hope the deer and rabbits who feast on the composting table scraps appreciate a bit of seasoning with their food.

No surprise, but I found some items that no longer meet the test for inclusion in The Perfect Pantry. I'd kept them in my pantry, thinking I would use them more often, or more creatively.

These still have a place in the kitchen, but in a supporting or occasional role:

• Frozen artichoke hearts (haven't been making as much paella lately; for everything else, I prefer fresh artichokes)
• Sliced bread (I'm off most bread and on to oat-bran pitas, so I only keep frozen sliced bread for sandwiches for house guests)
• Maple-chipotle grill sauce (it was a fad)
• Cowboy ketchup (another fad)
• Curry leaves (can't find them very often)
• Dried galangal (a poor substitute for the fresh galangal rhizome)
• Fruit sherbet (other than stuffing it in lemons, or putting some on fruit salad, we eat it straight from the carton)
• Pickling spice (I have all of the individual components, and can mix my own)

Now there's room for some new things, like:

• Fino sherry
• Aji amarillo peppers
• Sweetened condensed milk

Best of all, I discovered, lurking in the recesses of the pantry, some ingredients that inspired me anew:

• Mexican chocolate: in chocolate pudding, maybe?
• Curry powder: a potato salad calls to me.
• Five-spice powder: a noodle salad calls to me.
• Frozen fruit: 'tis the season for fruit soups.
• Sherry vinegar: some panzanella variations?
• Chickpeas: I want to learn to love them. Truly love them.

The inventory in my more perfect pantry today stands at a slimmed-down 226 items.

Have you looked through your cupboards, spice rack, fridge and freezer lately?

What's out? What's in? What's new?


VEGETABLE ENCHILADAS
Adapted from the Stonewall Kitchen web site, this recipe will use the last of the Maple-Chipotle Grille Sauce in my pantry. If you don't have this, use your favorite sweet barbecue sauce. Serves 8.

1 tsp canola oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups zucchini, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 can (4 oz) green chiles, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or this time saver from the supermarket)
1 bottle Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce (or 11 oz sweet barbecue sauce of your choice)
8 (8") flour tortillas, warmed for 10 seconds in the microwave until flexible

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Add zucchini and bell pepper, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Stir in 1 cup corn, plus the canned chiles and cumin.

Spread 1/2 cup Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce in the bottom of a 13"x9"x2" baking dish. Mix another half cup of sauce into the vegetables. Place generous 1/3 cup vegetable filling in the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese and roll to enclose the filling. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup corn and remaining shredded cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, 30-45 minutes. Serve hot.

Also in The Perfect Pantry:
Roasted halibut tacos with mango salsa
Smoky chipotle balsamic salad dressing

 

Happy Blogsday! We are two. And we have brownies.

On June 14, Elvis Presley graduated from high school (1953), Turkey appointed its first female head of state (1993), and the first Henley Regatta was held (1839).

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of an American national flag, and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 Flag Day.

On June 14, 1846, California declared independence from Mexico.

On June 14, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811), Margaret Bourke-White (1906), Pierre Salinger (1925) and Burl Ives (1909) would have celebrated their birthdays. Boy George (1961) and Donald Trump (1946) were born on June 14, too. Can you imagine all of them together at a birthday party?

On June 14, 2008, The Perfect Pantry turned two!

And in so many ways, my second blog year was perfect.

Two guest bloggers joined The Perfect Pantry: Arlo, who writes from the very urban, multi-cultural Ottawa, Canada; and Peter, who writes from the mountain region of Minas Gerais, in the interior of Brazil. Their voices, their stories, and their own perfect pantries have been a joy to share. Thank you for welcoming both Arlo and Peter.

Also, I became a mother of two -- two blogs, that is. Through the Adopt-a-Blogger program, I adopted Rebecca, whose From Argentina with Love has just been named best new blog of the year by FN Dish. And then I adopted Sandie, whose even newer blog, Inn Cuisine, took shape before my eyes. Both blogs feature travelers' tales and wonderful recipes. If you've been blogging for a while and would like to share what you've learned, there are many bloggers looking for mentors; it's fun, easy, and rewarding to adopt a blogger.

A two-year blogiversary celebration calls for something sweet. Something made with chocolate, just like last year. Something made from items I have on hand.

Something ooey and gooey, made for you, because you are the most important ingredient in The Perfect Pantry.

It's been a perfectly wonderful blog year, because you've been here to share it.

Thank you, times two.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE-CHIP BROWNIES
From Martha Stewart's Quick Cook, this recipe makes 16 two-inch brownies. To freeze, wrap the brownies in plastic wrap, and thaw them in the wrapping.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter + *1 tsp
2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch-square glass pan (use the *1 tsp butter for this), or spray it with baking spray.

Melt the stick of butter and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler (or in a microwave); remove from heat and stir well. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter-chocolate with the sugar, flour nuts, baking powder and vanilla. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overcook. The brownies should be moist and chewy. Cool thoroughly before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Also in The Perfect Pantry:
Outrageous brownies
White chocolate brownies
Chocolate truffles
Chocolate-banana ravioli
Chocolate refrigerator cake

 

We're experiencing technical difficulties....

Thanks to all of you (especially Internet Explorer users) who reported that The Perfect Pantry has been less than perfect over the past few days.

Typepad and I are trying to fix whatever is ailing this blog. Maybe it's the heat wave we've been having here in Rhode Island, but more likely it will just take a bit of shifting things around.

If you've tried to leave comments, thank you. Please try again.

And, if you wouldn't mind, please send some good blog mojo in this direction!

Drop In & Decorate cookies for Mother's Day

We interrupt our regularly scheduled pantry exploration to bring you this word from Julie Komenos, Associate Director of Abby's House in Worcester, Massachusetts, which provides shelter and support services to women who are homeless or victims of abuse :

Thank you doesn't begin to say how we feel about the beautiful cookies we received today.  They are a work of art and a special gift for the women of Abby's House.  We will give them out tomorrow at our Mother's Day luncheon. We are so excited to have them as they will add that special touch to the tables and a festive feeling for the day. 

Executive Director Tess Sneesby added this note:

As you know, Mother's Day is often a very difficult occasion for women here, either in our shelter or in one of our residences. You will have brightened the day for them not only because of your talent as shown by the wonderfully decorated cookies, but also and most especially because you thought of them!

At our May Day/Mother's Day Drop In & Decorate cookies for donation party last Sunday, more than 30 people dropped in to decorate cookies for Abby's House. Four high school students shot footage for a new Drop In & Decorate video. Lots of new friends came, from as far away as New Hampshire, and two from California who were diverted while vacationing here in Rhode Island.

Around the decorating table were mothers, mothers-in-law, granddaughters, husbands, partners -- a wonderful and enthusiastic group.

It took only four hours to decorate 250 big, beautiful, flowers and butterflies and bonnets and ducks and faces and smiles and tea cups and circles, with pastry bags and squeeze bottles.

Of course, not all of our decorators can be trusted to take those shapes literally!

If you're inspired to host your own Drop In & Decorate cookies for donation party, we have a free How to Host Your Own Cookie Decorating Event guide to help you get started. It's filled with practical information about sources for supplies, recipes for cookies and icing, and tips from others who've hosted their own cookies-for-donation parties.

[If you downloaded the guide before May 1, please be sure to get the latest version, with many updates.]

How about maple leaf cookies for Canada Day, or red, white and blue cookies for July 4? There's sure to be a food pantry, veterans center, or emergency shelter in your city or town that would love some beautiful cookies, and your friends will love getting together to decorate.

And if your friends say, "Oh, I can't decorate," show them this:

Now, how cute is that?!

Happy Mother's Day to all, and special thanks to Rob Banks and his mom, Beryle, for sharing their photos!

 

The top 10 pantry items you absolutely, positively, want to have

When the number of items in The Perfect Pantry's cupboards, spice rack, refrigerator and freezer hit 225, I started to think about what I really need, use, love, crave... and maybe, just maybe, what I could do without, if I had to. Today, the end of The Things We Can't Live Without Week.

After a week of reviewing what we'd need if we were stranded on a desert island (did I mention high-speed internet to keep up with my favorite Top Chef recap, a good santoku, and a few cases of Fresca?), it's time to share the results of our first readers' poll, which gave a choice of all 23 items on our must-have desert island pantry list. Thanks so much to the more than 200 readers who participated.

The big surprise -- where's the salt? Way down at #21 on the list, below balsamic vinegar, lemons, soy sauce and cumin.

Your Top 10 stranded-on-a-desert-island pantry items, in order of popularity:

1. Olive oil: on everyone's list.
2. Garlic
3. Onions
4. Eggs
5. Black pepper
6. Butter
7. Rice
8. Canned tomatoes
9. Dried pasta
10. Stock or broth

And 10 items you added to the essential pantry list, in order of popularity:

1. Red pepper flakes/chile peppers. (Most frequently mentioned, by a landslide. I wouldn't want to live without red pepper flakes, either!)
2. Coconut milk
3. Herbes de Provence
4. Fish sauce
5. Bread flour
6. Olives
7. Canned tuna
8. Peanut butter
9. Limes
10. Tea

Despite all of my planning and paring, I'd have to sneak onto the desert island a few more essential items from my pantry: chili paste with garlic, chipotles in adobo, curry powder, oyster sauce, wonton skins, lentils, coffee, and a decent bottle of wine.

How about you -- what one, or two, or six pantry items would you hate to leave behind?

Previously: 23 pantry items (and 13 items for bakers) you'd absolutely, positively, have to have on a desert island.

13 pantry items every baker absolutely, positively, has to have

When the number of items in The Perfect Pantry's cupboards, spice rack, refrigerator and freezer hit 225, I started to think about what I really need, use, love, crave... and maybe, just maybe, what I could do without, if I had to. The Things We Can't Live Without Week, Day Two.

If I were stranded on a desert island and for some reason got the urge to bake -- though this never ever happens at home -- I would absolutely, positively, be able to make do with this baker's dozen items from my pantry:

1. All-purpose flour
2. Whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
3. Granulated white sugar
4. Brown sugar
5. Yeast
6. Table salt
7. Baking powder
8. Baking soda
9. Vanilla extract
10. Eggs
11. Unsalted butter*
12. Frozen puff pastry
13. Chocolate (chips or bars)

(*Update: Thanks, readers -- how could I forget butter? I substituted for refrigerated pie crust, so don't expect to find any pie on my island!)

What else would be on your must-have-for-baking pantry list?

Previously: 23 pantry items you absolutely, positively, have to have.

Next: Readers' Top 10 pantry items, and surprising results from our poll.

23 pantry items you absolutely, positively, have to have

When the number of items in The Perfect Pantry's cupboards, spice rack, refrigerator and freezer hit 225, I started to think about what I really need, use, love, crave... and maybe, just maybe, what I could do without, if I had to. Welcome to The Things We Can't Live Without Week, Day One.

The pantry items I absolutely, positively would pack if I were planning to be stranded on a desert island -- albeit one with running water and electricity, a gas stove, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, air conditioning, a stand mixer, an herb and vegetable garden, and satellite TV so I could keep up with Top Chef:

1. Kosher salt
2. Coarse sea salt
3. Black peppercorns
4. Soy sauce
5. Honey
6. Canned whole tomatoes
7. Olive oil
8. Peanut oil or grapeseed oil
   
9. Balsamic vinegar
10. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
11. Eggs
12. Lemons
13. Onions
14. Garlic
15. Cinnamon
16. Cumin
17. Hot sauce
18. Long grain rice
19. All-purpose flour*
20. Chicken broth
21. Dijon mustard
22. Dried black beans
23. Dried pasta

*Though I am a confessed bake-o-phobe, I'd never plan to be marooned without a few ingredients for baking. Just in case.

Later this week: stranded-on-a-desert-island items for a baker's pantry, and some surprising must-have pantry items from last week's readers' poll.

Food blogs and birthdays: nothing to fear

When I tell people I'm a food writer, they generally respond in a couple of ways.

Ooooh, that's exciting!

Fun, yes. Lots of fun. But exciting like Andrew Zimmern "put anything in your mouth even when you have to hold your nose" exciting? No.

Ooooh, you must get lots of free food!

I don't, of course.

Ooooh, you must know the best restaurants in town!

Again, no. I'm one of those food writers who doesn't review restaurants. It's not that I'm not opinionated, but I'd rather write about farms and markets, cooking classes and food producers, and food-related experiences I think my readers will enjoy. Also, I live out in the woods, almost twenty miles from the nearest fine-dining restaurants.

Ooooh, where can I see your writing?

Well, in magazines. And I write a food blog.

Food blog? Ummmm.... errrr.....

Uh-oh. That's the conversation stopper.

If I had a nickel for everyone I know who swears that he or she never ever reads blogs (said with the same disdain reserved for standing barefoot in an alligator swamp, or going to the dump on a crowded Sunday, or voting for certain political candidates), I could treat myself to a large coffee at Dunkin Donuts.

It's not that my friends don't read blogs. They love my site, they tell me. They love the recipes. They love learning about new ingredients. They're not talking about my web site, of course. They're talking about The Perfect Pantry. A blog.

I understand. Early on, blogs had a reputation as online brain spill written by self-absorbed people with deeply uneventful and overexamined lives. I steered clear, too, for the longest time.

Like me (I think), blogging has improved with age. Some food bloggers have published, quietly and free to all readers, the equivalent of several cookbooks, teaching basic recipes and techniques, and broadening our collective knowledge of ethnic cuisines and healthy eating.

Through blogs, we explore new places, new ingredients, and new ways of thinking about food. Professional chefs, bakers and talented home cooks share ideas, advice, adventures, beautiful photography, and some darned good recipes.

There's a lot of bad writing out there (my pet peeve, as many of you know), but there is also beautiful, informative, amusing and simply wonderful storytelling.

I hope you find some of those things here, from time to time. Even if you never ever read blogs.

So. On the theme of improving with age: yesterday was my birthday. My friend Kathy calls this my "speed limit" birthday, though, honestly, it's been years since anyone has driven that slowly, at least here in Rhode Island.

I celebrated with my first post on a wonderful group blog called The Daily Tiffin.

What's a tiffin?

It's a lunch box, really several stacked lunch boxes, for moving food from place to place. Each box, or compartment, contains a different part of the meal -- one for rice, one for vegetables, one for bread, and so on. The stack clips together to make a whole meal, just as the sixteen writers at The Daily Tiffin bring together their expertise and viewpoints on a fun and healthy family lifestyle. Mostly women, and one dad, they hail from Germany, England, Malaysia, and the US.

Once a month, I'll be sharing a slightly different spin on some ingredients and cooking tools in The Perfect Pantry, sometimes with recipes. Please take a look.

Ted gave me the beautiful antique tiffin box pictured above a couple of birthdays ago. I love the symbolism of the tiffin -- parts locking together to form a whole -- especially for my birthday, as I often think of my life, and my work life, in those terms.

Yesterday, I filled the compartments with fortune cookies.

Fifty-five fortunes. Fifty-five chances to find happiness, friendship, wealth, wisdom, and a winning lottery number.

It's going to be a good year. I like the odds.

Menu for Hope winners announced

Last month, with your help, Menu for Hope raised a whopping $91,188 for the UN World Food Program and the school lunch program in Lesotho.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to this amazing fundraising effort. Look for your name on the list of winners posted today at Chez Pim. 

Special thanks to Cindy Salvato and Rhode Island Market Tours for the generous donation of our prize: two tickets to SHOPPING FEDERAL HILL: AN INSIDER'S FOOD TOUR.

First light, first pantry, first soup, part two

In my previous post, you met Arlo, a reader from Canada who wrote to me about her pantry box. In subsequent emails she related to me the wonderful New Year's Day traditions of her Cree and Metis family heritage. When she told me about "bullets", I asked her for the recipe. And here it is, a recipe unlike any I've ever received; at its base is water, the most universal pantry ingredient. I couldn't think of a better way to start the year than to share this with you. With Arlo's kind permission, here is her recipe.

BOULLETS (New Year's Meatball Soup)

Fresh ground beef
Flour
Onions (fresh and dried)
Pepper
Salt (added at end)

The origins and variations of this traditional New Year's soup are as old and diverse as the communities and families who make it. My family heritage is Cree Indian, with our home reserve in Saskatchewan being a mix of prairie tribes and French Catholic Metis descendants. Every New Year's Eve, a midnight feast would be held in almost every home, rich and poor, and it was the custom to start visiting each home starting at 12:00 a.m. and continue throughout New Year's day. Each visitor would be greeted and fed, anything ranging from wild meat, roast fowl, pies, cakes, cookies, boiled potatoes, bannock, frybread, strong tea and without fail, bullets (boullets).

Preparation of the baked and roasted goods could be done ahead of time but what had to be hot and ready at the stroke of midnight were the boullets. If your midnight table was popular, you could count on the whole community to eventually stop by. My great-grandfather on my mother's side was a medicine man and elder, so it was up to his wife (my great-cocum) to make sure she had enough food to serve and make sure everyone was well fed. This meant many of the daughters, grand-daughters and great-grandaughters also had to be on hand to help cook and serve. Over the years, the families took turns helping with the New Year's table but bullet-making was still the least-liked duty next to dish washing -- no paper or styrofoam in those days -- because who wanted to spend New Year's Eve chopping onions and up to your elbows in raw meat when others were out round-dancing or jigging?

Each family's version was different. For example, my great-grandparents' bullets were smaller and more brothy while my dad's mother's (a Metis) were large and floury, served in practically a white gravy. When I married my Metis husband, his mother had even another bullet style, medium-size and very flavourful in a slightly-thickened soup base. Despite my attempts to find the True Boullet recipe, I've come to learn that every family and cook had their own signature bullets and half the fun of visiting was to try one of each.

This midnight custom has faded somewhat with many of our peoples migrating to the cities and to other cultures and provinces with much different or extravagant options for New Year's Eve. On the reserves, there is usually a more central event with maybe a potluck or catered buffet served. My great-grandparents lived for 20 years in Winnipeg but still had a New Year's table complete with boullets even if it was just for their extended family and whichever community members were in the city at the time. Back then, no one was turned away on the New Year, that was what new years was all about -- forgiveness, new leafs and resolutions. Maybe I've romanticized it as there were always ancient clan feuds, but nowhere near the gang wars and ideological differences that exist in these modern times.

So, in our house to this day, no matter where we are living, we still make a pot of meatballs for midnight and New Year's day and whoever visits has to have some. I have given up trying to replicate a vegetarian version because you really have to be a carnivore to partake in boullets.

Many people over the years have asked for the recipe and I usually have to explain there is not just one. I usually say, whatever kind of ground meat, flour and onions. Do not add salt until just before serving because it tends to cure the meat and leaves it a mild pink and people think it is not cooked through. Although pepper is a foreign spice, I add it because it's pretty bland otherwise. I remember one time my friend used my recipe but added so many extra fillers, eggs, seasonings and flavourings, it tasted like a cross between Swedish meatballs and puritan beef gravy. Delicious yes, but not really boullets as I know them.

I typically make two pots of what we call Metis Bullets. The first pot is for our immediate family at midnight and the meatballs are the size of tennis balls, easily a third pound or more each. This year, I will cook maybe 10, one for every family member and whoever is going to be around at midnight. The second pot, which I make in the morning, will be walnut and golf-ball size, for whoever stops by and wants a sample. I keep them on warm all day and whatever is left over gets frozen in one-cup containers for lunches or to give to friends who couldn't visit on January 1st.

I use fresh ground beef purchased when the butcher shop opens, right out of the grinder, early on December 31. If possible and affordable, we buy organic, but make sure it is not lean ground. Lean ground will be too dry; medium-ground is best as regular-ground means scooping off lots of expensive fat at the end. It's hard to be exact with the measurements as it depends how much you are making, how moist the meat and how juicy the onions. What I do is dice up 2 mild onions for 10 pounds of ground beef. The size of the chopped onion should not be so large they fall out of the meat ball, nor grated too fine. The size of peas works for us. I usually throw in a handful of crushed dried onions, more if the mixture is quite wet. At this point I divide into 2 batches as working with 10 or more pounds of cold hamburger is too much.

I mix about 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper in 2 cups of white flour, reserving some of the pepper flour in a bowl. I gradually add some of the flour to the meat mixture, working it through with my hands (no rings! another story) until it gets to a pasty stage but not too sticky or too dry. When it is perfect to mold into balls, you will know. You may have to add more flour if you need to, but hold back on the pepper. Shape the balls to desired size, roll in reserved flour and place in a stock pot. Chill at least 1/2 hour, then place on stove and carefully cover with cold water at least 2 inches above the meatballs. Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium low and gently boil until cooked through. This time will vary according to size, but I usually cook mine for over an hour regardless. There will be a foamy layer which you may skim off, but I leave mine in and it returns to the broth for more flavour.

The last step I do is to make a watery flour mixture with the flour from the reserve bowl and more flour if necessary, and pour into the simmering pot in small amounts. If they form little dough balls, this adds to the character and the rest will thicken the soup. Stir carefully, but do not break up the bullets. Add some salt to flavour but leave the rest to the person eating it.

When the soup has simmered to reach the thickness I like (not too thick, not too thin), I turn off the heat and let stand until any fat rises to the top. This I scoop off,  although back in the days of living in a harsh prairie winter, this would be considered sacrilege as fat was a precious source of food energy. These days we can do without beef fat as we get enough of it elsewhere. I then turn the heat to the lowest setting to keep hot to serve, or transfer carefully to a crock pot set on warm. If the soup becomes too thick, I add hot water to return to desired consistency and to make sure there is enough broth for dunking.

Serve with fresh bannock, bread or rolls. Boiled potatoes can also be added when serving. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Arlo. Happy New Year, Pantry readers. Your friendship, encouragement, support and participation are the most important ingredients in my pantry, and I send you and your families all best wishes for a wonderful year.

First light, first pantry, first soup, part one

Ted and I celebrate the dawn of the New Year with friends who live nearby. We light a bonfire out in the middle of their field at sun-up, and greet the First Light with warmth, good wishes, occasional poems and abundantly hot coffee. Most important, though, are the friends, old and new, with whom we welcome each new year.

This year, I'm so pleased to start the year with Arlo, a Pantry reader who sent the following to me in November. Since then, we have shared many thoughts and memories, and a new friendship. With her kind permission, I'm happy to share her letter with you. (The photo is of my own spice rack, which Ted built from an old door we found in our barn.)

Greetings from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I just wanted to tell you how much The Perfect Pantry helped me through a bad time during these past few weeks and to thank you. I will not go through any of the soapy details, but it was not blissful domesticity here for a period of time. I am a mother and wife, with four of my five children still living at home. Every morning, after they all go to school or work, I faithfully look for a job as living in our nation's capital is expensive. After these devotions, I reward myself with exactly one hour of e-mails, visiting my favourite websites and blogs, etc.

Earlier this month, after a particularly depressing morning, I stayed on longer than my 60 minutes. I did not want to do the recycling, find homes for the kittens or ever become employed again. Ottawa can go for days without sunshine in the autumn and this always affects me. So I putzed around following links into many food sites, and not sure exactly how I came across the Perfect Pantry but I stopped surfing after that. Your site made me abandon my morning routine (yikes) and made me smile while doing so.

I love your writing because you share a part of your past, really interesting facts, humour, recipes, alternatives, good causes, a wealth of resources, and above all, pantry items to die for. It is a very satisfying and rewarding read and your photos are truly inspirational. It is these pictures that bring back such wonderful memories. Some of your items I have always had on hand through 30 years of kitchens.

I thought I might share my pantry story.

I was a student and single teen mother in the late seventies; cooking from scratch was a necessity on my thin budget. So, mentored by old and new hippies who knew how to sprout anything that had seeds, make yogurt in glass gallon jars from raw milk, and bake dark loaves that alternated as daily bread or doorstops, I started my first pantry. For the first ten years, my son and I lived like gypsies -- taking classes, working and travelling, but what we always packed first as part of our essentials was what was, and is still, called Mom's Pantry Box.

Inside the pantry box were used jars, colourful tins and unique bottles full of bulk spices and dried herbs, seeds & pods, things such as saffron, nutmeg and whole vanilla beans, extracts and hickory essence. These were things I had spent much time assembling from ethnic markets, health food stores, obscure general stores in the middle of nowhere or had been received from friends and strangers long ago and far away. Not that they couldn't be eventually replaced, given time and money, but I think it was the sentimental value of each piece -- a smooth oval honey jar from my first apartment in Saskatchewan, now used for cloves, a bottle of hot sauce a friend brought back from Guyana refilled with regular Tabasco, a rusty tin of Keens hot mustard powder but kept because it was someone's grandmother's -- that kind of thing. I would see a nice bottle in Chinatown and would buy it, bring it home and promptly dump out its unidentified contents, replacing it with olive oil or syrup. Other things I didn't even open, hoping one day I could read Arabic or Hungarian, but just liked the way they looked on my spice shelf. These all came with me no matter what, and their familiarity comforted me and my son wherever we set up our new home.

As space was always limited when we were moving, I would give away my larger containers of rices, grains, flours, beans, lentils and pastas and shelves of canned tomatoes, preserves, and other condiments. My friends may have been sad I was departing but they always had plenty to remember me by. Did I mention I collect way too much kitchen paraphernalia (junk) and these too had to be left behind in good hands? Many cookbooks, my other obsession, found new shelves as well. 

Before I did the big giveaway, however, I would pack up some starter staples for the new place, even though sometimes I didn't know where that would be. In would go small bags (cloth, plastic, paper) of whatever culled from my bulk supplies; who knew if my next corner store or northern outpost would have kasha, turbinado sugar, adzuki beans or basmati rice? Along side I would tuck in tiny cans of tomato paste, jars of honey, dried fruit, nuts, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, tubes of mayonnaise, mustards, wasabi, boullion cubes, sundried tomatoes, olives, canisters of cocoa, custard, yeast and gelatin powder, coffee beans, tea sampler, sardines, pate, artichokes, capers, soy sauce, bakers chocolate -- whatever could fit.

We did stick to one rule, and that was I could pack only what fit in the pantry box. The only exemption I had was a large square tin of olive oil and a 5 pound sack of kosher salt. Over the years, I had learned to buy small containers -- the prettier the better -- of those things which would be hard to find or substitute and therefore would always travel with us and would be the first to be displayed in my new kitchen. A trip to a local grocery store could replace the rest. Our first meals in any new place always leaned toward the exotic, I have to say.

After 10 years of a nomadic but rewarding lifestyle, I fell in love and married my current husband. He was, and still tries to be, a meat and potatoes hide-the-vegetables man. Much of my treasured pantry items became neglected and my global spice shelf became dusty. Four more children did not allow a lot of time for cooking fusion masterpieces, nor permit a budget for pine nuts, truffles and the like. Convenience and cost became the focus of my pantry and deep freeze. Costco, there I went! Despite the pressure to not add anything to family meals but ketchup and cheese whiz, I kept my colourful spice bottles and recycled mason jars of beans, even if only for that whole food ambiance to impress my equally aging activist friends. Occasionally, I would make a barley & dried mushroom soup which I would eat by myself for three days.

Then I did a terrible thing.

The first motivating factor for this regrettable act was when I had a job that required much traveling. One time my family was at home on the east coast, fending for themselves, and I was on the west coast conducting a meeting. I was interrupted by an emergency call from my young daughter and nearly had a heart attack. In which of my encrypted labeled jars was the Italian seasoning mix, she and her dad wanted to know? They were making spaghetti sauce on their own despite all the money I had left for pizza delivery. Only I knew what was in my jars and even then I had to sometimes guess, resulting in many mystery sauces. I was astounded but also relieved they did not use my lavender-based diuretic herb tea concoction!

Then my children became older and wanted to start cooking for themselves. Two of them had part time jobs in the restaurant industry, and were now exposed to meals that weren't called hamburger helper or needed to be cooked from frozen in the microwave. They wanted flavour and zing. It was becoming a nuisance to have to accurately describe which substance was in each jar, so I decided to do a full inventory. Good grief. Plus we were moving to a bigger house with a fancier kitchen and I was embarrassed by my motley assemblage of obscure jars and greasy tins -- the neighbours will judge me, I predicted.

I decided a full make-over was in order and immediately went and purchased three dozen glass and stainless steel square jars of various compatible sizes, and a fancy label maker. In a week I had a spice and pantry unit that could be featured in Better Homes and Gardens.

I had gently rinsed each jar, tin and bottle that had traveled with me for so many years and carefully packed them in their equally ancient wooden crate, just in case I ever needed them again. My husband later removed the box of them from the kitchen floor, where they had remained for a week, and said he would store them in the garage, safely he promised. He knew I was stoutly determined but grieving none the less. There they stayed until moving day where they were placed, by movers yet to identify themselves, on the curb for recycling, which they were.

Neatly organized, I became more efficient when cooking and the family began to help make more meals but I felt that part of my kitchen's soul was missing. I had tall sleek bottles with precision metal nozzles for my various oils, imported cruets for vinegars and neat wire baskets for everything else, but I missed my little clay jugs and random mustard crocks. My herbs and lentils looked bereft in their sterile cubes, like they were patiently waiting in a bulk food store to be scooped up, taken home and placed lovingly in cork-topped mason jars with handwritten labels. When I saw the many beautiful pictures in The Perfect Pantry, I had a good cry and then gave my head a shake.

I went for my wife-sized crowbar.

As I write this, I am composing how I will explain the absence of the custom shelves over my trendy antique farmer's sink when the owner returns next year for his inspection. I will not mention how many screws it took to mount my old open-faced spice cupboard or how much walking I had to do in Chinatown and Little Italy to gather enough items to display that would make me feel like my kitchen had its heart restored.

My pantry closet, so tidily stacked with generic plastic tubs, is being gradually replaced with huge pickle jars and a hodgepodge of other canisters, colourful products and boxes, and recycled tea and coffee cans. The thrift store will soon receive a load of modern Swedish-inspired herb and spice jars, barely used. 

My pantry shows my life and I am content. Sorry, House & Garden, I tried. So I thank you again, Lydia, for your inspirational Perfect Pantry. Please keep it up.

Arlo, my new friend, I surely will. And to all of you, dear readers, who bring The Perfect Pantry to life throughout the year, I send wishes for a very happy 2008.

[On January 1: First light, first pantry, first soup, part two -- the story of Arlo's New Year's Day traditions, and her recipe for bullets. Really.]

A more perfect pantry?

In addition to the many obsessions I've confessed over the past year (noodle-holism, a collection of two hundred wooden spoons, and an unhealthy relationship with a product that can only, by law, be called salad dressing), I am also a compulsive list maker.

At this time of year, my list-making obsession kicks into high gear.

I keep lists of things to do, of things to sort, of things to buy, of things to cook. I make lists for me, and lists for Ted. The joke in my house: "my lists have lists."

So when Nupur of One Hot Stove, my favorite blog about Indian cuisine, suggested sharing a Best of 2007 list, I was way ahead; I have lots of lists in The Perfect Pantry, and those lists have lists, too.

Best new-to-me ingredient added to the pantry in 2007: agave nectar.

Best item in the pantry that I haven't written about, for no particular reason other than I just haven't gotten to it yet: cornstarch.

Best thing in the pantry that I won't write about, because, like many wonderful homemade products discovered on my travels, it's not available online: a Tabasco-like hot sauce from the Turquoise Mining Museum in Cerrillos, New Mexico.

Best recipe made with the least sexy pantry ingredient: a tagine of chicken with prunes.

Ten best ingredients I'm considering adding to the pantry in 2008:

• Grains of paradise
• Urfa biber
• Nopalitos
• Matcha powder
• Fregola sarda
• Cowboy ketchup
• Miso
• Buckwheat flour
• Jaggery
• Asafoetida

Which of these items are already in your pantry?

What's in your cupboard, spice rack, freezer, fridge, or sitting on your countertop that should be in The Perfect Pantry, but isn't? I'm woefully short of condiments and spices for Indian and South American cooking, I know. What else am I missing? (Use the orange search box in the right-hand column to check on any specific pantry ingredient.)

Here's to building a more perfect pantry in 2008, with your advice and inspiration!

Menu for Hope, culinary walking tour (item #UE12)

UPDATE: Menu for Hope has ended. With your help, we raised more than $81,000 this year to support the UN World Food Program!

For a $10 donation, you could win our wonderful prize, offered by Rhode Island Market Tours:

Item #UE12. Two tickets to SHOPPING FEDERAL HILL: AN INSIDER'S FOOD TOUR, a three-hour culinary tour of Providence, Rhode Island's, most famous Italian food neighborhood. Taste your way through "The Hill" as Cindy Salvato, an executive pastry chef and cooking instructor, takes you behind the scenes and into market and bakery kitchens, sampling bread, cheese, antipasto and vino along the way. Good for any scheduled tour before December 31, 2008 (tours run on Saturdays and some weekdays, throughout the year); tickets are transferable but not refundable. The winner will also receive a lovely bottle of Italian wine!

Treat yourself to a visit to Providence, which has become one hot foodie destination. Visit the Johnson & Wales Culinary Archives, eat at the famous Al Forno or New Rivers or the hip new Local 121. Make the walking tour part of a weekend getaway.

See the list of fabulous prizes here, including items with good odds of winning, then buy your raffle tickets here.

Thank you.

Drop in, decorate, donate more cookies

Last weekend, 85 people passed through my kitchen during the 6th Annual Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation.

The cookies we donated -- to two food pantries, one family emergency shelter, and six shelters for victims of domestic abuse -- were made with a whole lot of ingredients from The Perfect Pantry: 40 pounds of all-purpose flour, 17 pounds of sugar, 30 pounds of confectioners sugar, 45 ounces of meringue powder, 24 pounds of unsalted butter, pure vanilla extract, baking powder and salt, more than 3 dozen eggs and a bit of milk.

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

On the refrigerator door, a poster proudly displayed examples of some favorite cookies from the first five years of our cookies-for-donation tradition (which began, by the way, with six people decorating a few dozen cookies for one family shelter).

Students and chef-instructors from Johnson & Wales University took over my kitchen to make 39 batches of sugar cookie dough.

People dropped in all weekend, so you never knew who you'd meet at the decorating table...

or what they would create with pastry bags full of royal icing, colored sprinkles, and a few toothpicks.

Our cookies (more than 50 shapes) are traditional, and not-so-traditional.

The early morning wrapping crew made sure each cookie looked beautiful when it left the kitchen, on its journey to make someone happy during this holiday season.

Special thanks to everyone who wrote to tell me about a Drop In & Decorate party during the past two months. Each party was different -- some were with a few friends or family or co-workers, some were annual cookie swaps that morphed into cookie donations. You've donated to food pantries, soup kitchens, church bazaars and shelters, and every cookie was beautiful.

If you haven't yet hosted a Drop In & Decorate event, there's always time, and always a need. Agencies welcome these beautiful cookies at any time of year. I know of at least one Drop In party that's planned for Valentine's Day, and we'll be doing a Mother's Day one in my kitchen in the Spring. How about a Drop In birthday party, or workplace activity?

If you have hosted a Drop In party this year, please send a photo or two to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com, with some information about your event or a link to your own blog post. I'd love to do a bit of a round-up at the end of the month.

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Menu for Hope -- only five days left to win this prize...

Treat yourself to a weekend in Providence, which has become one hot foodie destination. Visit the Johnson & Wales Culinary Archives, eat at the famous Al Forno or New Rivers or the hip new Local 121. Start with our Menu for Hope prize, generously offered by Rhode Island Market Tours: 

Item #UE12. Two tickets to SHOPPING FEDERAL HILL: AN INSIDER'S FOOD TOUR, a three-hour culinary tour of Providence, Rhode Island's, most famous Italian food neighborhood. Taste your way through "The Hill" as Cindy Salvato, an executive pastry chef and cooking instructor, takes you behind the scenes and into market and bakery kitchens, sampling bread, cheese, antipasto and vino along the way.

See the list of fabulous prizes here, then buy your raffle tickets here. We've raised more than $24,000 already!

PS: the winner will receive a lovely bottle of Italian wine, too.

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This just in: Barbara in Rehoboth (MA) organized a group of her neighbors this weekend to decorate cookies for My Brother's Keeper, which delivers furniture, household items and food free of charge to those who need assistance. 

Planning a Drop In & Decorate event? Please let me know (lydia AT ninecooks DOT com) so we can share the fun.

To learn more about Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation, including how to host your own party, visit www.ninecooks.com; then stop in at A Veggie Venture, 37 Days, Culinary Types, Nikas Culinaria, Homesick Texan, Food Blogga, The Inadvertent Gardener, Jaden's Steamy Kitchen, La Mia Cucina, One Hot Stove, The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, French Kitchen in America, Veronica's Test Kitchen, Kelly the Culinarian, shawnkenney.com, Thyme for Cooking: The Blog, Chew on That, Nook & Pantry, Cookthink, Tea & Cookies, Mele Cotte, Cream Puffs in Venice, startcooking.com, Shazam in the Kitchen, The Family Quilt, The Daily Tiffin, Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, The Budget Bambino, Baking and Books, What's for Lunch, Honey?, The Pink Hobart and Fun and Food.

Thank you, Slashfood and BlogHer. Thank you, Chow.com and Goodyblog and Woman's Day.

"Thank you and all your elves, helpers, cookers, decorators, delivery people…EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!! who took part in your 6th Annual Drop In and Decorate!! The cookies are awesome, as usual, I tried to look at all the different ones (I only ate one!!) You didn’t bring any broken ones so I HAD too!  So many different ones this year; so creative! I really, really appreciate all the kind thoughts and special efforts everyone goes to for this holiday “cookie treat” to be such a wonderful success!" Nancy Johnston, Director of the Foster (RI) Food Pantry

Menu for Hope, fabulous walking tour

If you don't think that one person can change the world, you don't know Pim.

After the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia five years ago, Pim Techamuanvivit, a California food blogger who was born in Bangkok, organized an international fundraising event, Menu for Hope, uniting food bloggers — and blog readers — around the world to raise funds for the United Nations World Food Programme. In last year's third annual event, Menu for Hope raised a whopping $62,925, through $10 donations. And that, as Pim says, is a lot of tenners.

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with more than 1,000 organizations in more than 75 countries. This year, funds raised will be earmarked for a sustainable school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa, where childhood hunger is epidemic. (Read more here.)

The Perfect Pantry and Ninecooks have a longstanding commitment to hunger relief, and we're pleased to be part of Menu for Hope this year.

Now, get out your credit card, and get ready to have some fun.

Anyone — and that means you — can be part of Menu for Hope, and I hope each and every one of you will join in.

For every $10 donated, you earn one ticket to bid on a prize of your choice, and the prizes are amazing -- specialty foods, gift certificates, cooking lessons, cookbooks, special events and more!

This year, The Perfect Pantry is thrilled to partner with Rhode Island Market Tours to offer our prize for this wonderful fundraising event:

Item #UE12: Two tickets to SHOPPING FEDERAL HILL: AN INSIDER'S FOOD TOUR, a three-hour walking tour of Providence, Rhode Island's, most famous Italian food neighborhood. Taste your way through "The Hill" as Cindy Salvato, an executive pastry chef and cooking instructor, takes you behind the scenes and into market and bakery kitchens, sampling bread, cheese, antipasto and vino along the way. Good for any scheduled tour before December 31, 2008 (tours run on Saturdays and some weekdays, throughout the year); tickets are transferable but not refundable.

This $90 value can be yours for $10 (hint, hint: the more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win).

This walking tour is great fun -- I've taken it twice, and I really do feel like an insider now. In fact, most of the people on my tour were from Rhode Island and had shopped on the Hill often. Cindy tells you which is the best pasta, which store has the best Parmigiano-Reggiano, where to buy the best pannetone, who has the prosciutto to die for. Insider stuff -- enough to fill your own perfect pantry!

If you live in or near Rhode Island, or have family here, or are looking for a fun way to explore one of Providence's most eclectic neighborhoods, Item #UE12 Shopping Federal Hill makes a perfect gift, or a treat for yourself.

Buy as many tickets as you wish between now and December 21. There are lots of prizes to choose from, so if you've already taken the walking tour, maybe you'll like a restaurant gift certificate, cooking lesson from a famous chef, autographed cookbook, or specialty food products. Bid often, bid on one prize or bid on several different prizes!

To see all of the prizes donated by East Coast USA bloggers, stop in at Serious Eats.

To Enter
If you're interested in buying into the raffle, here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3.  Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. Example:

Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice.  For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02. Example:

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9  to see if you've won the items you had your eye on.

Remember, each $10 you donate earns one raffle ticket for a prize of your choice, so now's the time to make your donation. Thank you for participating in Menu for Hope.

Photo by Chris Vaccaro, courtesy of Rhode Island Market Tours

Meringue powder, royal icing

The items in The Perfect Pantry fall into three categories.

Use it once a day (onions, mustard, spices),

Use it less often, but in many ways (pasta, chili paste, rice).

Use it only one way, but for that one way, nothing else will do.

Meringue powder is one of those one-time, one-way items.

Once a year, when I'm organizing Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation events, I stock up on dozens of ounces of meringue powder, which is nothing more than dried egg white mixed with sugar, cornstarch and arabic gums to stabilize and bind it. When mixed with water and confectioners sugar, meringue powder has the same consistency as beaten egg whites, but magically it morphs into royal icing. And when royal icing is colored, applied to cookies, and left to harden, it morphs into a work of art.

I never use meringue powder for anything other than icing, where the proportion of sugar to meringue is so high that no additional flavoring is needed. However, if you use meringue powder in chocolate buttercream or coconut cream pie or buttermilk cupcakes, you likely will want to add some pure vanilla extract or other flavoring to moderate the slight cornstarch aftertaste.

If you're planning to give your baked goods to a shelter or food pantry, it's good to know that meringue powder is gluten free, safe from salmonella, and some brands are certified kosher. Meringue powder has a long shelf life (up to two years), as long as it's kept dry and not contaminated by dipping a wet or used spoon -- or icing-covered finger -- into it. 

Can you substitute powdered egg whites for meringue powder? Absolutely. Can meringue powder be substituted for powdered egg whites? Yes, in recipes that call for beaten egg whites.

DROP IN & DECORATE ROYAL ICING
This recipe makes icing that's fluid enough to flow through the tip of a pastry bag, yet hardens overnight to a perfect and delicious coating. If you don't know how to use a pastry bag, ask for a quick lesson at your local bakery. It’s easy; we’ve had children as young as age 3 decorate cookies with pastry bags. Makes 2-1/2 cups, enough for one batch of cookies.

1 lb + scant 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
5 Tbsp meringue powder
1/2 cup cool water (add more, a teaspoon at a time, if needed for desired consistency)
A few drops of paste food coloring

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine first three ingredients and mix on low speed until glossy and fluffy, 7-8 minutes. To color, place some icing in a small bowl or plastic cup, and stir in a few drops of food coloring until desired shade is reached. Royal Icing hardens quickly when exposed to air, so use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container; it will keep overnight at room temperature. Beat well before using.

*Production note: If you're doing multiple batches of dough, you'll need more icing. An easy way to do this efficiently is to make the icing, one batch at a time, and pour into an airtight container. Make several batches of icing. Then, using a ladle or 1/2 cup measure, place a small bit of the icing in a plastic cup. Mix in food coloring to desired shade, and fill a pastry bag. Repeat until you have all the colors you need. To keep the icing from hardening, place bags tip down in a bowl that has a damp paper towel in the bottom.

**Remember, place the decorated cookies on a tray and leave out overnight, uncovered, to harden. The next morning, package in food-safe cellophane bags or cookie tins.

Also in The Perfect Pantry:
Chocolate refrigerator cake
Spice cake

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It's simple: bake some cookies. Invite family or friends to help decorate. Donate your cookies to a local agency serving people in need.

If you're planning a Drop In & Decorate event, please drop a note to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com.

To learn more about Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation, visit www.ninecooks.com, and Nikas Culinaria, Homesick Texan, Baking and Books, Food Blogga, The Inadvertent Gardener, Jaden's Steamy Kitchen,  La Mia Cucina, One Hot Stove, 37 Days, The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, French Kitchen in America, Veronica's Test Kitchen, Kelly the Culinarian, shawnkenney.com, Thyme for Cooking: The Blog, Chew on That, Culinary Types, Nook & Pantry, Cookthink, Tea & Cookies, Mele Cotte, A Veggie Venture, Cream Puffs in Venice, startcooking.com, Shazam in the Kitchen and The Daily Tiffin.

Thank you, Slashfood and BlogHer. Thank you, Chow.com and Goodyblog and Woman's Day.

"You can't imagine how much my food pantry clients enjoy and look forward to picking out a cookie (or two) every year!  They are amazed at all the different kinds of designs, and everyone has their favorite! Thank you, again, for all your hard work – I know you all enjoy it and have fun, but it's still a lot of work, and I do appreciate it more than you know!" Director of Human Services, Town of Foster RI  

Drop in, decorate, donate, cookies

If it weren't for Martha Stewart, and a friend's absolute belief that we could master the flooded-icing technique Martha uses to decorate cookies, none of this would have happened.

[Anyone who's ever spent time in my kitchen must be consumed with laughter right about now. Me? A baker? A cookie decorator? More perfect than Martha? Hah!]

The year was 2002. My friend Candy and I decided to give this cookie decorating thing a try. She is an artist, and an experienced baker. I am a notorious bake-o-phobe; to me, the word "cookies" generally means the Toll House chocolate chip cookies that are Ted's specialty.

On a Saturday in December, we baked a few dozen cookies with two different types of dough. (Thank me for shortening this story by many, many hours, wherein we waited for gingerbread dough to chill, and get rolled out, and chill again. That was the first and only time we made gingerbread cookies.)

Our husbands helped by mixing the icing colors. Darlings that they are, they just didn't seem to understand that fuschia, aubergine, yellow and something turquoise-ish weren't the ideal colors over the dark brown of the gingerbread.

I rallied a couple of friends to redecorate; they were fantastic and enthusiastic, mixing bright new icing and helping us overpaint those cookies. We wrapped each cookie in a cellophane bag, tied with beautiful ribbons. I called an agency that provides emergency shelter for Latino families, and asked the director if they'd like our cookies.

Oh, my.

When we delivered the cookies, we saw the smiles on the faces of the shelter staff, and heard the gasps ("We had no idea your cookies would look like this!" -- meant in a good way, not the "oh, yuck" way). I imagined how the children's faces would light up when they saw our cookie creations.

I knew just what to do. Sort of.

By the time the next December rolled around, I had a name -- Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation -- and a plan: Come up with a simple cookie recipe. Practice my icing technique, so I could teach it to others (though, in truth, I was counting on my baker friends to teach me). Bake cookies ahead of time. Invite friends and family to drop in on a weekend and decorate. Connect with a local agency that serves adults and children, and that would like the gift of cookies. Find some wrapping supplies.

Turns out, it was easy. I contacted the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which represents six emergency shelters for women and children, and they were thrilled. We decorated enough cookies for them and for our town's food pantry, too.

People had so much fun that they asked to be invited to my next Drop In & Decorate party (Next party? Oh yes, said I, realizing I was on to something, of course I will do this again.), and now, in our sixth year, more than sixty decorators ranging in age from 10 to 70+ will be providing cookies to seven family shelters and two food pantries -- more than 400 families served each year, more than 750 cookies decorated.

But that's me.

Now let's talk about you, and a few things you should know about a Drop In & Decorate event:

• It's fun!
• It's a wonderful way to bring people together to "give back", without spending a lot of money.
• It can be an event for school groups or book groups, neighborhood associations, family reunions, scout troops, or a gathering of friends, OR
  
• It can be you, or you and your significant other, making a dozen cookies and delivering them to your community food bank.
• It's fun! (Did I mention that already? Well, I have to say it twice, because it's true.)
• Everything you need to know, including how/where to donate your cookies, how to organize a decorating party, where to find supplies, and cookie and icing recipes, is available in our free How to Host Your Own Cookie Decorating Event guide.

This year, to help spread the idea of Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation parties, America's oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour, created a baking kit to get you started. In the kit, you'll find cookie and icing mix (enough for your first batch of large sugar cookies), cookie cutters, pastry bags and icing tips, food coloring and decorating sugar.

[Update: kit on sale through January 30, 2008, while supplies last.]

We do not have any financial relationship with King Arthur Flour, but your purchase helps spread the word about Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation and encourages more companies to help support community-based initiatives.

Last year, a group of parents and children as young as three years old, using pastry bags and the flooded-icing technique, decorated cookies for Providence Ronald McDonald House. My friend Mary had a small Drop In party with her family. In December, the Sargent Rehabilitation Center will host its second Drop In & Decorate event, where adult clients and staff decorate cookies for children. Parents and kids at the Meadowbrook Waldorf School will decorate cookies at their school fair and donate them to a local agency. And one of Ted's employees and her friends are organizing their first Drop In party this year.

(By the way, cookie decorating for donation isn't just a winter holiday idea. How about Mother's Day, or your birthday? It's a great way to spend time with friends and family, and agencies need donations year-round.)

To learn more about Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation, and see lots of wonderful photos, visit www.ninecooks.com. And, throughout this week, please visit some of my favorite bloggers who are so generously helping to spread the Drop In & Decorate idea, on their own sites or elsewhere in cyberland: Nikas Culinaria, Homesick Texan, Baking and Books, Food Blogga, The Inadvertent Gardener, Jaden's Steamy Kitchen,  La Mia Cucina, One Hot Stove, 37 Days, The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, French Kitchen in America, Veronica's Test Kitchen, Kelly the Culinarian, shawnkenney.com, Thyme for Cooking: The Blog, Chew on That, Culinary Types, Nook & Pantry, Cookthink, Tea & Cookies, Mele Cotte, A Veggie Venture, Cream Puffs in Venice, startcooking.com, The Family Quilt, Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy and Shazam in the Kitchen.

[UPDATE: Thank you, Slashfood and BlogHer. Thank you, Chow.com and Goodyblog and Woman's Day.]

Lucia, a dedicated volunteer who makes our palette of icing colors every year, says: "Drop In & Decorate captures what I value about the holiday season: fun, togetherness, not consumer oriented, not about spending lots of money, giving to others, creating something unique and homemade."

I couldn't say it better than that.

DROP IN & DECORATE SUGAR COOKIES
Reprinted from the archives, our best, most delicious sugar cookie recipe. See note below for making multiple batches. Makes 16-20 large (4-5 inch) sugar cookies.

3-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups best quality unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp milk
2-1/2 tsp best quality pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a couple of baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar, until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla, and continue to beat until well blended and smooth. Beat flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth. Divide dough in half. Place one half on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper; cover with another sheet and roll to 1/4 inch. Repeat with second half of dough. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to a couple of days (or, if making far in advance, you can freeze at this point. Wrap sheets tightly in plastic wrap). Remove one sheet from the refrigerator; peel off the top wax paper, then replace paper and invert dough. Peel off and discard what is now the top sheet of paper, and cut out the cookies. (cookies will spread, so do not place too close together on the baking sheet). Reroll scraps, refrigerating if necessary to firm the dough. Bake for 6-9 minutes, or until just lightly colored on top and slightly darker at the edges. Rotate sheets halfway through for even browning. Remove pans from oven and let cookies cool 2-3 minutes. Then remove cookies to a rack and let cool completely. (At this point, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks, in layers separated by parchment or wax paper.) After the cookies are completely cooled, decorate with Royal Icing. Place the decorated cookies on a tray and leave out overnight, uncovered, to harden. The next morning, package in food-safe cellophane bags or cookie tins.

*Note: to make multiple batches, do NOT double the recipe. It’s hard to control proportions. Instead, make multiples of the original recipe, one batch at a time, for guaranteed success!

*Another note: Rolled sheets of cookie dough can be made ahead and frozen (or, if you're going to use them within a day or two, you can stack the rolled sheets of dough on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator). Let defrost until dough is pliable enough to be cut without breaking cookies, but not necessarily completely defrosted.

Also in The Perfect Pantry:
Aggression cookies 
Gwendolen's Scotch Shortbread 
Honey gingerbread cookies
Granola cookies