Thursday, June 30, 2022

Order among the chaos


Wow. June has been a terrible month nationwide because members of the highest court in the land chose to rule by religion and self-interest over what is right and in the best interest of the majority.  Open carry gun laws, overturning Roe vs. Wade, and now tribal rights showcase the absolute right wing nature of the court which should be neutral or at least with some form of equality of viewpoints. I'm afraid for what comes next, like really afraid. We need  to regroup both parties. I seriously struggle with how many people are still blinding following this snake oil salesman Donald. I feel disgusted just typing his name and it blows my mind that he added three (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett) of these conservative judges to the Supreme Court. 

It's mind-blowing to me that these judges elected by a twice impeached president will sway the court for years and years to come. And don't get me started on the many reasons Clarence Thomas should be removed from the court and as well as Brett Kavanaugh.  So I've been upset this past week along with many other humans. Our voices need to be heard because why should my daughter have less rights than I did as a young woman. So I needed to focus on something else for the time being because if something is messed up in the government house then it is time to place your own house as top priority. 

So I've been organizing like crazy to keep my sanity. I've cleaned up the two kids bedrooms upstairs that no longer house kids. I have stacks of books to donate and boxes for Goodwill. I've also worked on reorganizing my kitchen-I feel like for me, with a small kitchen, this is a constant activity when I need space or time or a mental break from the outside world. My spice cupboard is overflowing, my general pantry needs help, and I've recently cleaned out my fridge. All this cleaning made me reconsider what is necessary in my kitchen. So let's compare lists:

Fridge necessities: 

lemons & limes
Smart Balance Vegan butter
unsalted butter
quality Caesar and bleu cheese dressing (like from the produce section)
Romaine lettuce (organic)
Spring Greens - I miss my big city market where I could grab what I needed like a bulk item instead of the clam shells. Luckily, it's summer time!; I have some growing in my garden box. 
A variety of berries
Tamari Sauce
Oat Milk
organic firm tofu
red and yellow peppers/broccoli/cauliflower
a variety of hard and soft cheeses
capers
miso paste
Tahini sauce
almond butter
ginger root
sour cream
Greek yogurt in vanilla and plain (I can get these from a local dairy which is great)

Pantry essentials:

Target Blue chips with chia seeds (funny that this was the first thing I thought of!)
Lots of dry storage-bulk items like large bags of Jasmine rice, jars of dry beans, quinoa, oatmeal, chickpeas, red and brown lentils and most of this gets stored in large canning jars
Back up cans of black beans, kidney beans, garbanzos and cannellini 
cans of Italian whole tomatoes and some pasta sauce
variety of pasta like bucatini and Asian noodles
cans of corn, tuna, chilies, and green enchilada sauce 
dark chocolate in bars and jars of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips (bulk)
I have a box for flour (I buy unbleached flour and always have a back up bag in case I start to make bread a large jar for Turbinado (raw) sugar
fresh garlic bulbs
new potatoes (red or yellow)
cashew and almonds nuts
variety of sparkling waters

Freezer items:

I keep frozen limeade ready in case I want to make margaritas for friends
non-dairy ice cream 
bags of fresh corn
bags of fruit

That's a lot of regular stuff in my kitchen but my favorite thing is being able to make a recipe without running to the grocery store. And all this organizing is keeping me sane with all the conflict in the world. We don't have time to heal from one event before the next moment is shattered.  What's in your pantry? What's keeping you sane? 








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