The Prudent Pantry: Lessons Learned from Someone Else's Kitchen

I've been cooking in my friend Cassie's kitchen all week while she is on vacation. As I wrote last week, I am trying to avoid taking this as license to eat badly. I've somewhat failed at that, but not entirely.

An unexpected effect of this week's experience has been the affirmation that I am on the right track at home. And? I've got some ideas to make things go even better once I'm back.

Bread. Oh, how I have missed baking bread! Twice this week I have realized that we were abruptly out of (store-bought) bread, and both times I panicked. Silly, I know! But home baked bread is just easier, and so much more cost-effective.

Granola and Yogurt. I've written about how to make your own yogurt. I make my granola, too! I had intended to make a batch to bring with us, but time got away from me and I bought a package instead. It is tasty, but over-sweet. And for the price, I could have made two batches, each easily twice the amount of food contained in one package.

Pancakes. I've been making pancakes from a box mix this week. Easy, right? Not so nutritious, though. And you know what I realized? It's no easier than making them from scratch! When I get home, I am going to make up a batch of pancake "mix" to use. It will make it psychologically easier to make them, even though the wet ingredients are the same. And I can use the dry ingredients I want (such as whole wheat flour), with less sugar and no preservatives!

Rice. We've been using the freezer packets of brown rice from Trader Joe's. I love them! But they are far from cost effective, especially when compared to the inexpensive bulk rice I usually buy. It occurs to me that I can make these, too! All I have to do is make up a big batch of brown rice, slightly underdone, and freeze it in baggies.

It may seem that you can either make everything from scratch or use shortcuts in the kitchen, but I think it's possible--and easy--to have both. What shortcuts have you created for yourself?

Annika Barranti is a writer living in Los Angeles and blogging at Through the Looking Glass. She and her husband are raising two children and trying to eat well on a tiny budget.