When I was a kid, food was sometimes scarce. My neighbor recounts a time I came skipping over to her house before school, tripping up the stairs, and accidentally slamming myself—lunchbox first—onto the porch…revealing its contents: a plastic bag of three tiny peanuts.
That story has always made me feel resolved not sad. I knew one day I’d be on my own and I’d make sure to always have plenty to eat. And I’ve certainly have made good on that promise.
In the past forty years since that peanut incident, I’ve traveled to dozens of countries eating at roadside shacks and in Michelin-ranked restaurants. I’ve lived in Manhattan for five years eating and drinking through every borough. I have ushered over 70 restaurants into the public eye, and founded a successful restaurant week. And now, I commit myself to being a steadfast home cook who can make culinary magic out of, say, three peanuts.*
My home of over 15 years has never had a pantry. This problem was exacerbated when I did my kitchen remodel two years ago, I wanted an open shelf format so away went those cupboards and with them, my remaining food storage space. Since then, I’ve been shoving cans of tomatoes and boxes of cereal into my utility closet. Hardly sustainable and, as I’ve learned, a total fire hazard.
Thankfully I had a solution. There’s a tricky little space under my stairwell that has been many things over the years: my youngest’s bedroom…a music room…and catch-all for seasonal decor. This time around, I knew I needed to make that space a pantry.
I am terrible at actual construction but I am great at designing space. Fortunately, I teamed up with a soft-spoken handyman named Ben who understood my vision perfectly. I gave him my credit card to purchase wood and brackets and three days later, I had myself a pantry.
What comes next is private, but I can tell you it involved many hours of sliding my hand along the shelves, stacking things meticulously (but not too meticulously!), and feeling grateful that I am a person who has a surplus of food.
In short: I’ve come a long way, baby.
*Smash the three peanuts and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, half a clove of garlic, one chopped Thai chile, a splash of soy, a pinch of brown sugar, a squeeze of lime, and a few bits of chopped scallion. Use as a topping on a serving of steamed halibut, fresh veggies, or rice.
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What I’ve been up to:
Cooking: Frank Prizinano’s Eggs, mushroom picatta, and brats
Reading: Bittersweet by Susan Cain; Motherhood by Sheila Heti
Watching: The Staircase; Candy; and The Floor is Lava
Thinking about: Mental health; intermittent fasting; H’s college
Planning: Summer travel; Costco runs; my porch garden