Other People's Pantries #142

From Lea (La Casa de Nanan), in Cut Off, Louisiana:

I inherited my Moma's house and her wonderful pantry. I have maintained her system of storage for spices and potatoes -- old habits are hard to break!  When the house was built in 1963, the pantry originally housed the washer and dryer, those have since moved. It is sort of a walk in pantry -- but not really deep. You can walk in and close the door but you would get somewhat squished.

I try to keep the pantry organized -- but I am not always successful. I took these photos shortly after organizing the pantry! I do have a tomato allergy, hence the lack of tomato products. I do have one jar of prepared tomato sauce for my daughter... for times of desperation when she HAS to have something with tomato sauce. My dad planted lots of tomatoes this year just for her -- she was extremely happy!

I recently developed a love of baking -- yeast is my friend -- so is beer bread -- that is why I have the beer in there! I love green enchilada sauce, and I have trouble finding it, so when I do, I stock up! That and the green chilies. The chemicals I try to keep on the floor, away from the food...

I store my spices and sauces I cook with in the cabinet to the upper right of my stove, along with the sugar, everyday rice, and pancake mix. My husband is Colombian and I am Cajun -- we eat rice every day!

I store my spices in a basket I picked up in Haiti in the mid-90s. Not the most organized thing ever, but it works for me.

I store my potatoes, onions, and oils under the sink. They tend to like dark spaces...

I also have a chest freezer because I like to freeze shrimp during shrimp season. Living in the marsh, along the coast, does have its advantages. I can usually get my seafood for less than the cost of other meat products and freeze them. Most folks who live around here also have extra freezers for that same reason.

Thank you for letting me share my pantry and other storage with you! I really enjoy peeking into the pantries of other folks and getting great ideas!

I try to keep the pantry organized -- but I am not always successful. I took these photos shortly after organizing the pantry! I do have a tomato allergy, hence the lack of tomato products. I do have one jar of prepared tomato sauce for my daughter... for times of desperation when she HAS to have something with tomato sauce. My dad planted lots of tomatoes this year just for her -- she was extremely happy!

I recently developed a love of baking -- yeast is my friend -- so is beer bread -- that is why I have the beer in there! I love green enchilada sauce, and I have trouble finding it, so when I do, I stock up! That and the green chilies. The chemicals I try to keep on the floor, away from the food...

I store my spices and sauces I cook with in the cabinet to the upper right of my stove, along with the sugar, everyday rice, and pancake mix. My husband is Colombian and I am Cajun -- we eat rice every day!

I store my spices in a basket I picked up in Haiti in the mid-90s. Not the most organized thing ever, but it works for me.

I store my potatoes, onions, and oils under the sink. They tend to like dark spaces...

I also have a chest freezer because I like to freeze shrimp during shrimp season. Living in the marsh, along the coast, does have its advantages. I can usually get my seafood for less than the cost of other meat products and freeze them. Most folks who live around here also have extra freezers for that same reason.

Thank you for letting me share my pantry and other storage with you! I really enjoy peeking into the pantries of other folks and getting great ideas!

Comments

Ohh I have just cleaned my pantry too so I will have to get the camera out. It won't stay like it for long with the kids running in and out all day!

I am so envious of you freezer!

if you ever feel like sharing a shrimp dish please let me know and I'll be right over!!

Thanks for sharing pictures of your pantry.....it looks very nice

Love, love, love this pantry. I am hungry just looking at it. And the freezer! Oooh-shrimp! Sorry about the tomato allergy. I can't imagine not being able to eat tomatoes! Thanks for sharing. Warmth, love and good cooking oozes from these photos.

C'est Bon! I love the name of your city - lol, gave me a (childish, I know...) giggle. It's where I *feel* I live most of the time. What a spacious and lovely pantry space - I think it's organized efficiently. Enjoy reading all the tidbits you share...and am dying to have 1/4 of that seafood in my life.
Thanks for sharing - and thank you, Lydia, for hosting this wonderful series!

Your husband is Colombian? I didn't see the Harina P.A.N. for Arepas! ; )
I love your clear canisters for storage of dry goods. It's great to be able to see everything at once.

Thank you Lydia for posting my pantry - I think is still looks somwhat like this - I have managed to keep my husband OUT of it hehehehe. It is a blessing to live in the middle of seafood country - and wild-caught Louisiana seafood is fabulous - nothing better! I just can't make arepas as good as my MIL - she makes the best! - and I can't find Harina P.A.N. down here - so my Hubby gets his arepas when we go to Bogota annually - we go again in Jan! I do make him some once a month or so with the Masa I can find - it just does NOT taste the same. And, by the way - if we have a bit over 2000 people in my "town" which isn't incorporated - you have to have lived here a long while to know the actual boundries hehehehe - I do love it!

I like the basket of spices idea - because you can take the whole basket out at once and if you leave it around on the counter-top it still looks decorative and great.
And are those laundry baskets for the potatoes and onions? great idea!

So awesome! I just redid my pantry, so hopefully I will get off my butt soon and take some pictures to share!

The pantry looks awesome but we've got opposite allergies - tomatoes fine but shrimp sends me on an ambulance ride! what do you do for jambalaya without tomatoes?

You have a wonderful pantry! So lucky to have that. But I would encourage you to store your chemicals somewhere else -- bathroom, linen closet, garage, under the sink, over the washer and dryer. One leaky bottle is too much!

Oh this is the stuff that dreams are made of! I aspire to have a pantry of this caliber. I work little by little to create a food storage pantry in case of emergency and also to have just because it makes good sense!

Hey, I just thought you should know... I read somewhere that you should never store whole tomatoes next to onions. Apparently the potatoes release a chemical that causes both the onions and potatoes to go bad before their time.