the pantry - Leslie Durso

Archive for the pantry

Ococoa Giveaway

By Leslie · Comments (18) · February 13th, 2012

CONGRATULATIONS TO MELISSA FOR WINNING THE BOX OF CHOCOLATES!! THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL THAT ENTERED! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Happy Valentines Day! What better way to celebrate the day than with gourmet chocolates!? I have to tell you, I’m very picky when it comes to chocolates! I came across these Ococoa chocolates the other day when I was at Unique LA (if you have never been to one of their events you must check it out!!)

What caught my eye was how beautiful they were! I sheepishly asked if they were vegan, knowing that they were probably not… Much to my surprise they are! The owner of Ococoa Diana explained to me that she never set out to make a box of vegan chocolates, but they just happened to turn out that way! These chocolates are sooooo good!! My personal favorites include the ‘sesame fig’, ‘peanut butter’, and ‘cashew apricot’. Ococoa was just named “Best Chocolate in America” by Bon Appetit Magazine!

Now Ococoa has generously agreed to giveaway box of chocolates to one of my readers!! All you have to do to enter is to follow me on facebook and or twitter and follow Ococoa on facebook or twitter AND leave a comment below saying which you do A winner will be picked on Valentines Day! (February 14th!) The contest is open to people in the US only, sorry! The box you will receive is pictured below (it contains one piece that has honey in it, but they will gladly sub it out if you don’t eat honey )

Good Luck!! And Happy Valentines Day!!

xoxo!

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Categories : featured, the pantry

Products I Love: Clearly Fresh Bags

By Leslie · Comments (1) · August 14th, 2011

When the fine folks at Clearly Fresh Bags sent me a sample of their product to test, I have to admit, I was very skeptical. Really, a plastic bag that makes food stay fresh longer?? To say the least, I had my doubts…. So let me be very “clear” when I say THESE BAGS WORK! I couldn’t believe that simply placing produce in these bags would make them last longer. Everything I tested lasted days longer than the produce out of the bags. I personally tested bananas, strawberries, lettuce and basil.

Now there are some steps to ensuring the freshest results. These are the instructions I followed from their website:

“1. Put fresh, dry, un-cooked fruit or vegetables into the bag. For best results put each produce type in its own bag – for example, apples in one bag and bananas in another.

2. Gently push out some of the air from the bag.

3. Zip the top of the bag closed.

4. Store your produce as usual.”

And this is their guide for where to store the produce:

Now with this amazing technology, you may be thinking, well how much is this going to cost? Super excited to say they are only $3.99 for a pack of 10 reusable bags! You can buy them here on the Clearly Fresh Bags website.

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Categories : Look What I Found..., the pantry

How To Stock Your Pantry

By Leslie · Comments (1) · April 1st, 2011

photo source

Congratulations, you are married! Now what? Yes, technically you are supposed to be “nesting”, but what does that mean? Well, in the kitchen it means stocking the pantry with “grown-up” items. No more using leftover packets of ketchup and soy sauce. You are married now, buy a bottle! Having a well-stocked pantry is key for cooking and entertaining. In my pantry right now, I bet I could make at least 5 full meals without going to the grocery store. I think of the pantry as the go-to place for last minute home cooked meals and snacks. I also always keep some ingredients to make last minute appetizers in case friends decide to drop by!

So what to have? It depends on what you like to eat, but here are some suggestions that come out of my pantry!

Two easy ingredients to have on hand are pasta and canned tomatoes. Yes, I said canned tomatoes, not jarred tomato sauce. You can do it, homemade sauce is so easy to make and so much better tasting than jarred! There are about a billion recipes online including on my site : ) These two simple items can be a go-to staple on Sunday nights.

* Rice- makes a great base for whatever you happen to have in your fridge. Stir-fry up all those leftover meats and veggies from the week; serve over rice and voila, a perfect and healthy meal.

* Crackers- I always keep a fresh box of these around in case of impromptu entertaining. On the entertaining note, I always have jarred gourmet olives, marinated artichoke hearts, jarred semi-dried tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers to put together a little antipasto with no effort! Can you imagine how impressed your Mother in law would be if she surprisingly dropped by and you made antipasto in two minutes?

photo source: agoosa.com

* Really good extra virgin olive oil (if you don’t know what really good is, it is because you haven’t had it.) My best advice is to continue to try new brands until you find one that tastes like velvet!

**On a side note, what makes olive oil extra virgin? The term “extra virgin” is the first few presses of the olives; said to have the most flavor. The rest of the presses are used to make regular olive oil.

* Vinegars- I keep like 6 different vinegars around, but it’s probably not necessary to have that many. Just keep whichever ones you like making salad dressing with. I would suggest balsamic or red wine vinegar, these are the most common.

All the things necessary to make chocolate chip cookies! (cause you never know when a craving is going to happen!)

* Dried herbs- Yes, fresh herbs are the best, but when you are putting together a meal with what you have on hand, dried is the way to go. Keep on hand ones that go with what you like to make. I think I might have all of them in my house… Some important ones to have on hand are basil, parsley, oregano, chili powder, cayenne pepper, mustard, ground cumin, paprika and garlic salt.

* Wine! (Need I say more?)

Fresh Food Staples

Some of the fresh food staples that I always have around are:

photo source: eats.com

* Onions – I put onions in everything and they have such a long shelf life, it’s nice to always have these on hand.

* Garlic – ditto to the onion.

* Lemons – great to marinade or flavor meats and pastas. Great to use in desserts or drinks. The best part is, as soon as they start going south, I use them as a cleaner. Cut the lemon on half and rub all over your counters and rinse. They are also great to grind in your disposal so it continues to smell fresh.

* Salad “stuff” – I make salads everyday. They are an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients and lets face it, you can never get enough of those!

photo source

In The Freezer

* Ice cream – just because!

* Frozen fruit – throw some frozen fruit in a small pot with some water and sugar, heat and you’ve got a beautiful sauce to serve over ice cream for a very impressive delightful dessert with little effort! You can also throw these in the blender for delicious breakfast smoothies for when you run out of his favorite cereal, ooops!

* Nuts – I keep nuts in the freezer for a longer shelf life. Nuts can be added to just about any salad, entree or dessert! I love to have almonds, walnuts, cashews and pignoli (pine) nuts around.

What’s in your pantry?

For recipes and more ideas, visit www.lesliesarna.com

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Categories : Misc., the pantry

23. What Foods to Have in Your Kitchen at all Times

By Leslie · Comments (0) · November 11th, 2009

Having a well stocked pantry is key if you want to cook a lot. In my pantry right now, I bet I could make at least 5 full meals without going to the grocery store. I think of the pantry as the go-to place for last minute home cooked meals and snacks. I also always keep some ingredients to make last minute appetizers incase friends decide to drop by!

So what to have??? It depends on what you like to eat, but here are some suggestions that come out of my pantry!

Pasta and canned tomatoes for sauce (can't go wrong with spaghetti on a Sunday night!)

Rice- makes a great base for whatever you happen to have in your fridge.

Crackers- I always keep a fresh box of these around incase of impromptu entertaining

On that note, I always have jarred gourmet olives, marinated artichoke hearts, jarred semi-dried tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers to put together a little antipasto with no effort!

Really good extra virgin olive oil (if you don't know what really good is, it's cause you haven't had it. Continue to try new brands until you find one that tastes like velvet!)
olive_oil_lg

**On a side note, what makes olive oil extra virgin? The term "extra virgin" is the first few presses of the olives; said to have the most flavor. The rest of the presses are used to make regular olive oil.

Vinegars- I keep like 6 different vinegars around, but thats not necessary, just keep whichever ones you like making salad dressing with. I would suggest balsamic or red wine vinegar, these are the most common.

All the things necessary to make chocolate chip cookies! (cause you never know when a craving is going to happen!)

chocolate-chip-cookies-010

Dried herbs!!- Yes, fresh herbs are the best, but when you are putting together a meal with what you have on hand, dried is the way to go. Keep on hand ones that go with what you like to make. I think I might have all of them in my house. . . maybe I cook too much : )

Wine! (need I say more?)

Some of the fresh food staples that I always have around are:

Onions- I put onions in everything and they have such a long shelf life, it's nice to always have these on hand

Garlic- dido to the onion

Lemons- great to marinade or flavor meats and pastas. Great for desserts or drinks. The best part is, as soon as they start going south, I use them as a cleaner. Cut the lemon on half and rub all over your counters and rinse. They are also great to grind in your disposal so it smells yummy : )

Salad "stuff"- I make salads everyday. They are an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients and lets face it, you can never get enough of those!

In the freezer:
Ice cream (just cause!)

Frozen fruit- throw some frozen fruit in a small pot with some water and sugar, heat and you've got a beautiful sauce to serve over ice cream for a delightful dessert with little effort!

Nuts- Yes I keep nuts in the freezer for a longer shelf life. Nuts can be added to just about any salad, entree or dessert! I love to have almonds, walnuts, cashews and pignoli (pine) nuts around.

What's in your pantry?