Eating from the pantry

That's the title of today's food blog at the Columbus Dispatch. Occasionally I have to do that, because I don't plan menus, and increasingly have become careless about planning my shopping (I was quite good about planning ahead when I was working). But if there's one diet and budget trick I've learned over the years, it's DO NOT buy in quantity. You need those fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can't expect them to last. Also, every overweight person I know keeps huge stores of food in the house, and always accumulates leftovers, which they use as an excuse to "clean up" (eat). I doubt that it saves much money if you really keep track of prices. The super jumbo size is not always the best buy per ounce or pound. Also, every grocery store has weekly "loss leaders," and even if you avoid coupons the way I do, you can always pick up a good deal with those.

However, on my grocery shopping day, which is usually Monday or Tuesday, I do tend to clean out the tired and poor that have taken up residence in the frig yearning to be free. Monday this week I made sweet potato soup--and I did make it a few weeks ago, but this one was better because I didn't toss in the slightly sharp fresh pineapple that wasn't very fresh anymore. Cooking tip: pineapple is too stringy to go through an old blender that's about 35 years old. So here's the recipe:

1 can (14 oz) of chicken broth
1 medium onion, cut in pieces
1 medium white potato, peeled and cut in pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and cut in pieces (this is just for color in case your sweet potatoes are pale)
Bring to boil, reduce heat. After the veggies are tender scoop them out and run through the blender.
Add about 1 cup of half and half, or can of evaporated milk, or regular milk.

Return to sauce pan and the remaining broth. Just a smidgen of cinnamon really brings out the flavor.

The white potato is for thickening, just as in broccoli soup, but I suppose you could use flour or corn starch.

This soup was very hearty and thick. My husband scraped every bit out of his bowl; served with a bowl of fresh fruit and sugar free brownie for dessert.

And that's another item. Pillsbury reduced-sugar brownie mix didn't sit long in the pantry. In fact, I made it on Monday. I would give it a B+. It's very hard to make low or sugar free favorites taste right (uses Splenda), but this was very close, and served with a little sugar-free vanilla ice cream, "it wasn't half bad," as my grandpa use to say.