New recipes in the works.... taking stock and a challenge

 I've been working up a storm in the kitchen recently.  Cleaning, organizing, taking inventory of our "stock", and just doing a little overhauling.  This will give you an general idea of what I've been dealing with.

These are my spice drawers.  The right hand one does contain a single packaged spice mix and our boxed jello (however I also have "bulk" jello in mason jars in the cabinets above as well.)  But the rest is herbs and spices!  There are two thin green boxes stacked on top of each other which contain small quantities of of "potent" spices, things where you only need a pinch or two.
  
This will give you a better idea of the contents of the left drawer.  The tin box is what I pull out and use on an almost daily basis.
                       

And here is the overflow on the top shelf of the cabinet above my spice drawers and I have one of those plastic lazy susan's in my cabinet next to the stove filled with extracts, small jars of powdered mushrooms and veggies, finishing salts, and "ethnic" salts/flavorings.

I also have various sized jars filled with dried mushrooms, candied citrus peels, various dried peppers, dried veggies,  grains, a minimum of 4 types of vinegars, cooking "spirits",  and numerous oils (some out and some in the fridge.)

What "normal" person has all these ingredients?  (and has NO oregano!  how did that happen??)  Did I mention that I use this stuff?  Not ALL on a daily basis but often enough.  And that I also grow my own herbs?  We only had a couple of "staples" in our garden last year but since it is a work in progress more will be added this year.

Because of all the craziness in the kitchen everything else if being neglected, not that my it matters to the rest of my family.  They are loving the cooking frenzy going on! :)  So today a new recipe in is the works... if it comes out as planned it will be the backbone for many a dish to include but not limited to: green chile, BBQ pork, pork "taquitos", and pork fried rice.

I thought you might get a kick out of this shot!  Yes I have to stand a "stool" in order to take photos from above.  You can say I am a bit "elevationally" challenged!  ha ha!  Don't you love my winter Crocs?  I know I do!  I think I will be heartbroken when the liners wear out in them as I wear them ALL winter long!

Have a great day!  Keep checking back and I'll keep you updated on the cooking "challenge" around here.  Oh did I not mention that?  Sorry!! I have challenged myself to use what we have on hand and use "real" ingredients.  NO purchases except for the following: milk, eggs, cheese, fresh and frozen produce (we are running low on veggies.. AGAIN!)  No meat, no baked goods, no cereal, no pasta, nothing!  Peanut butter is also part of the exception as we go through it.  How long will this "challenge" last?  I have no idea.... until we (I) am in the habit of using what we have and not buying needlessly.  The purpose?  To get back in the habit of using whole foods and to eliminate most processed foods from our diet.  To improve our overall eating habits. Yes I say most as there are some things that my husband has requested I do not make from scratch, peanut butter, Nutella,  and certain crackers.  So I will honor his wishes and will continue to purchase these items.  I will say aside from the peanut butter, the Nutella and crackers are items we do NOT eat on a regular basis.  So if you would like to join me, drop me a line.  If I can figure out how to do it I may even turn this into a Linky party with week or biweekly updates.

Have a wonderful week!