Tiny living basic pantry goods

I've talked about where and how everything is stored, and showed you some pictures. I had to do some major tidying before I was game to point a camera at my cupboards, so thank you all for helping me do my housework. Small does not always mean tidy I'm afraid.

 

So what pantry goods do I carry?

A lucky find a few weeks ago. Gluten free.
Sticky date is K's all-time favourite desert.

Small amounts of normal and gluten free flours, corn flour, baking powder, sugar in very small amounts as the ants just love sugar, and

Mustard and curry powder, a packet of gluten free gravy mix, gluten free cereal, oats and a variety of nuts are essential.

Given the importance of coffee in my life there are always coffee pods and coffee beans. These live in my caravan oven which I refuse to use as I can't abide cooking smells in my bedroom which is a metre away. Doesn't matter if it is cold or hot I do my baking and frying  outside.  I'll show you my outside kitchen another day.

Loose leaf tea (yes I am fussy about my tea too), sugar sachets, vegemite, peanut butter, dried peas, gluten free pasta and packets of precooked microwave rice complete the very basic dry stores.

 

I decant olive oil that I buy in a larger container into three small bottles. One is left unflavoured and I make chilli flavoured and lemon flavoured olive oil in the other two bottles. Sometimes if the local market has chilli or lemon I use these. Otherwise dried chilli and bottled lemon concentrate have to do.

In the box under the sink there are always a couple of tins of fruit, small tins of corn, mushrooms, tomato and a good tomato puree. K likes to collect sauces and chutney from the towns we go though so there are usually a couple of these ready to put in the fridge when they are opened.

 

The current selection of souvenir sauces and chutneys.

Gunning Wouster sauce. Wild lime chutney

and a pickle from a roadside stall

That list looks pretty boring!  But believe me combined with fresh veg and some meat we can eat pretty well and economically from this lot.



Mushroom and chicken soup with rice.
 

 

However not all is lost because  I cannot resist the temptation to buy new or different things when I do get to wander around a good supermarket or town market.  So sometimes things just leap into my trolley or are  assisted in there by K. Well what else do I expect if I take a man shopping with me!

 

I think K is being a bit optimistic!

Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move 
 
 

Food storage in a tiny space

I'm doing a 300 km round trip tomorrow to teach a half day, attend a PD and shop in the nearest larger town. A chance to stock up while resisting the urge to buy amounts I can't store in my tiny space.



I have to think about food storage in a different way now. I have a three rung pull out pantry drawer, two overhead lockers and a 10 litre bin under the sink. There is a bar size fridge with a tiny freezer as well as our camping 12volt fridge freezer that has the last of the farm grown lamb in it.

 Bulk buys are not practical in this size space so, with the exception of gluten free goods and coffee pods, which we can't get in our little town store, we just store small amounts. Everything has to be safe for travel, as light as we can manage and dry goods need to be airtight as the little ants get into everything.




Pull-out under sink tinned goods tub

 
The 10 litre tub has tinned goods under the sink so as to keep the heavy things at floor level.
 Baking goods, including gluten free flour and bread mix, live in air tight containers tucked up in the end of one overhead locker with more frequently used stock behind the lift up door.

Half the pantry with the baking goods hidden of the left

Small plastic take away food containers sans the lids hold packages of dried peas, gravy sachets and spices.

Spices within easy reach.

An old fashioned spice rack like mum used to have is attached to the wall in a corner. I make my own spice mixes free of salt so the rack has the everyday ones. K bolted this to the wall in an otherwise useless corner of the caravan kitchen. There is a safety rope of black elastic that is tightened around the bottles when we are on the move.





Recycled plastic storage

Half of the second locker has bulk gluten free cereal and nuts in air tight tubs. I use empty fruit containers as they stack in two rows. I usually soak the labels off but I was obviously "too busy" when I filled these ones. Fruit containers are just the right size to fit in the three rung pull put panty as well, a useful fact a fellow camper shared with me one morning over coffee.



Off to make a list so that's all for now.

Cheers Sue
A Ferg On The Move