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- Written by: Ross A. Christensen
The first step to starting up a pantry is to find a space that is out of the way. My pantry is in the laundry room just off the kitchen, but if you have room you could place yours right in your kitchen, or in a spare bedroom or out in the garage.
I bought some sturdy stainless steel shelving from a restaurant supply place online, but any really sturdy shelving will do. Then I started the slow process of filling the shelves up.
First of all start with things that you know you are going to need, like spices, dried pasta, muffin mix, sugar, flour, hot sauces, apple sauce and some of those whatchamajigits that you like to snack on. You don’t have to buy all of them at once, so don’t panic about the huge grocery bill. Just remember the next time you go to the grocery store to get one of these kinds of items, pick up two.
When I go to the store I may know that I don’t need vinegar right now, but I’ll pick up a new flavor anyway and throw it in the pantry. If I notice the market is having a special on Valerian root powder, great! I pick up an extra.
Eventually after a couple of years of doing this, you’ll stop one day and look at your pantry and realize that you could feed your family for a long time with just what you have in stock. I love it when I start to think about cooking dinner and I look in the pantry and realize, “I have everything we need to make lentil soup!” PANTRY RAID!
My daughter came to me one day and said she would like it if we had emergency supplies. Smart idea, so I told her that we could start collecting some in the pantry. On my shopping list once a month is “Disaster food,” and it reminds me to pick up one or two items of shelf-stable food. That includes canned ravioli, chili, tuna, ready-to-serve soups (none that have to have water or milk added since in an emergency those two items will be too valuable elsewhere or not available), heat-and-serve, vacuum-packed meals, and don’t forget big jugs of drinking water.
Once a month we buy one or two of these ready-to-eat type meals and every once in a while someone in the family will eat one on a fend-for-yourself night, but I just replace it at the next shopping run.
I’ve organized my pantry into categories. On one shelf is dried beans, rice and pastas, one shelf has baking equipment and ingredients plus things for dessert, one area for home brewing supplies, one shelf for the microwave and toaster ovens (it frees up kitchen counter space), one section for appliances like the food processor, blender, etc. (it frees up cupboard space and makes them much more accessible), one shelf for disaster food, and one for everyday cooking supplies.
On the floor underneath the shelves are half a dozen jugs of spring water. I also have a section that you may call “kid food” so when my daughter has friends over there is enough food for them on a moment's notice. Sodas, chips, dip, smoked oysters (don’t ask me, it’s what they requested) and maraschino cherries for sundaes, just to name a few. Other places in the house have the stocks of paper towels, toilet paper, etc.
I’m a big fan of buying in bulk, I’m the guy you see in the grocery buying 20 pounds of sugar and 18 rolls of paper towels. Following this practice has saved me hundreds of dollars every year just by getting a better price on something that doesn’t spoil or that I’m going to be using soon anyway. It all just gets tucked into the pantry and out of the way.
Something I will warn you about: when storing food in bulk, some food storage containers may look airtight but they really aren’t. For example, I’ve lost a lot of flour and rice to little worms and moths. To solve this, I tend to put everything in a gallon-sized zip-top bag before I put it into storage containers.
Now there are times that I look at my pantry and say, “Why in the world do I have a jar of pickled grape leaves?” And there may come a day when you look into your pantry and ask, “Why do I have a jar of hearts of palm?” When you’ve reached that place, you can feel comfortable that you are ready for any emergency.
We here in Lake County have mild earthquakes practically on a daily basis which keep us relatively safe from the build up of seismic energy, so we don’t have to worry about a massive earthquake. The fact that we live on top of a mountain keeps us pretty safe from disastrous flooding, too, so other than fire danger, and largemouth bass bent on revenge, we’re relatively safe from major catastrophes.
But researchers have predicted with a great deal of certainty that someday (likely very soon) San Francisco is going to shake itself right into the sea. Reports from the 1906 Great Quake tell that during that quake effects were felt even here in Lake County. Things on shelves were rattled off and there were some buildings damaged around the county, so it’s logical to assume that with the mega quake they’re predicting that we will feel its effects here as well, so it’s good to be prepared.
And even if I don’t suffer any damage from the mega quake or aren’t seriously damaged by it, much of my pantry can be sent to people in the Bay Area who will need it (I wonder if this makes my pantry a tax deduction?).
So even if no great disaster strikes you or your family, having a pantry with emergency supplies can be a benefit to someone.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – Weed mowing is believed to be the cause of a small fire that was sparked Friday morning.
The fire was reported at 9:57 a.m. in the 3700 block of Highway 175, said Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells.
“There was a gentlemen out there mowing weeds and it started a grass fire,” Wells said.
The six-acre fire went through an orchard and burned debris around a barn, but no structures were lost, said Wells. The person living at the address reported there were no losses, he added.
Three engines and six firefighters from Lakeport Fire responded, along with an engine from Kelseyville Fire and three firefighters, said Wells.
Wells said Cal Fire also sent two engines, a hand crew and a helicopter, the latter used to make water drops.
The fire was contained at approximately 10:10 a.m., Wells said.
Wells said it was hard to know how exactly how the fire started, although he didn't attribute any fault to the man mowing the weeds with a tractor.
“We tell people not to cut grass after 10 a.m. because the humidity comes down at the temperature goes up,” he said.
The mowing, he added, was taking place right at that cutoff time. Wells added that the fire didn't appear to have been sparked by the mower hitting a rock.
With the season's extreme fire danger, the conditions were just right to start a fire, which could even have been caused by the hot tractor exhaust hitting the very dry grass, he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The Soda Complex has burned a total of 8,652 acres, with 3,043 acres burned by the Mill Fire, which is 93-percent contained, and is the last – and the largest – of the complex' fires to continue burning, according to US Forest Service spokesman Marc Peebles.
Officials expect the complex, located to the north and northwest of Lake Pillsbury on the Mendocino National Forest's Upper Lake Ranger District, to be fully contained Saturday, Peebles said. There are 782 personnel assigned to the fire, a number slightly down from the previous day.
Firefighters on the Mill Fire made good progress holding and performing mop up procedures on containment lines even though hampered by poor visibility due to smoky conditions, Peebles reported. The fire continued to hold with no further advancement into the steep terrain in the southeast portion of the fire.
He said fire suppression repair work continues on numerous portions of the fireline.
Aircraft – used to patrol controlled fire areas and make water drops on the Mill fire – couldn't operate Thursday afternoon due to poor visibility, Peebles reported.
Peebles said excess crews and equipment will begin to be released to assist in other firefighting efforts in California.
Wildfires continue to rage on Forest Service lands in California.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Friday that there are 15 fire complexes statewide – the Soda Complex among them – burning statewide. Approximately 671,939 acres have been burned in those fires.
On Friday, officials reported that 18-year-old National Park Service firefighter Andrew Palmer, working on the Iron Complex of fires on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Redding, died of injuries suffered on the southwest flank of the Eagle Fire late Friday afternoon.
Also late Friday, officials reported that the Yolla Bolly Complex – part of which is on the Mendocino National Forest – has been separated out from the Lime Complex and is once again being managed separately.
Dave Larson’s Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Management Team took over management of the complex, which consists of four fires that have burned 64,658 acres. The complex is 15-percent contained.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell will visit Redding on Saturday where she'll meet with Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore and Shasta-Trinity National Forest Supervisor Sharon Heywood to discuss the wildfire situation in Northern California, the Forest Service reported Friday.
During the visit, Kimbell will meet with firefighters and thank them for their work and discuss rehabilitation of federal lands, along with the effective coordination of resources between local, state and federal partners during this wildfire siege, according to the Forest Service statement.
Air conditions in Lake County Friday continued to be smoky in some areas on Friday, with winds helping to clear away some of the smoke in the late afternoon.
Deputy Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said the smoke in the air basin continues to come from the Soda Complex, as well as the Lime Complex farther north, brought here by north to northwest winds.
He said air conditions – trending toward the unhealthy range on Friday – are expected to improve slightly for Saturday and into Sunday, with west to northwest winds developing. Unhealthy air quality conditions may develop and persist should winds shift to a more northerly flow.
For more information about the forest fires visit Forest Service Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino or www.inciweb.org. For information about other fires around the state, visit www.cdf.ca.gov.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
David Wayne Howard, 19, was tasered during the incident, according to Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman said a training team of two deputies in a patrol car was dispatched to the Robin Hill area on the report of a party in a field late Tuesday night.
The deputies located an intoxicated male adult walking down the middle of the road toward the patrol car, said Bauman.
When they attempted to stop and detain him, Bauman said Howard turned and ran.
“One deputy chased him down and ultimately had to tase him to get him to stop running,” said Bauman.
Lakeport Fire responded to check Howard over before he was taken to the jail, Bauman added.
Howard was arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and being drunk in public, and two misdemeanor bench warrants, according to jail records.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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