For many, March is synonymous with garden planning and seed starting. This joy comes with a reminder—it’s time to use up your 2024 reserves to make space for new harvests.

Whether you have a garden or not, eating locally in Quebec often means preserving food in various ways to last through the winter. But let’s not forget to actually eat what we’ve stored!

Consider this article your friendly reminder to cook with your pantry and freezer reserves. I’ve gathered my best tips into three simple steps.

1. Take Inventory

Start by making a list of what’s in your freezer. Ideally, keep it updated: note what goes in and cross out what comes out. This way, you won’t have to dig through frozen items too often, and you’ll always have a quick overview of your stock.

Your fridge may not need a full inventory, but it’s worth checking. Do you have a marinade or spread that’s been sitting there for ages? Salted herbs or fruit ketchup gathering dust? Write them down and keep the list visible to remind yourself they exist.
Finally, if you do canning, lacto-fermentation, or dehydration, it’s also useful to take stock of your precious jars. These preserves last a long time, but they still need to be eaten at some point!

2. Plan Your Menu

With your inventory lists in hand, it’s time to plan your meals. Whether you’re a meticulous planner or not, simply adjust your meals based on what you have. Here are a few ideas.

Frozen vegetables
Don’t let them sit unused in the freezer! Substitute fresh vegetables with frozen ones in your recipes. To avoid mushy, tasteless veggies, add them directly to your dishes while still frozen. They work especially well in stir-fries or grilled in a pan with a drizzle of oil.

Frozen fruits
Use them in baked goods like muffins, or make delicious smoothies and compotes. Crumbles and fruit crisps can be made with any fruit, not just apples—so get creative!

Tomato sauce
Instead of the usual spaghetti with tomato sauce, try making pizza, shakshuka, chili, tomato soup, or eggplant/chicken parmigiana. This way, you can enjoy tomato sauce weekly without feeling like you’re eating the same meal over and over.

Jams
Of course, you can keep spreading jam on your toast, but there are other ways to use it. Try adding jam to a vinaigrette—it acts as both a flavor enhancer and an emulsifier! It can also add a sweet touch to marinades and sauces. Lastly, use it as a topping for pancakes, cakes, yogurt, or even oatmeal.

Dehydrated vegetables
Dehydrated vegetables are great for quickly preparing soups. You can also add them to saucy dishes like stews, dal, and chili. Lastly, toss them into grains like rice, couscous, barley, or quinoa—just remember to adjust the liquid amount accordingly.

3. Enhance Your Meals

Finally, don’t forget to garnish your dishes and snacks with your reserves. For example, dried fruits can be added to cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt. Pickled or lacto-fermented vegetables can be served at every meal or added to salads and sandwiches for an extra tangy crunch.

Think about all the food resting in your freezer and pantry. Before harvest season returns, now is the perfect time to make good use of your stored goods! The key to success is staying flexible, adapting your recipes to what you have on hand, and daring to experiment. You might even discover new flavors!

If you’re cooking from your pantry, share your creations in the zero-food waste community to inspire others!

Experte de la lutte contre le gaspillage alimentaire

Elisabeth Paradis

Passionnée de bouffe, Elisabeth aime utiliser l'alimentation comme façon de connecter avec les gens. Pour elle, manger est lié au plaisir et au partage, mais aussi à ses valeurs environnementales. Si elle n'est pas dans sa cuisine, vous la retrouverez dans son jardin, sur son vélo, ou en train d'être la fan numéro 1 de ses chats Dumpling et Kimchi.

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