Ah, the pantry! I have a love-hate relationship with my pantry.

I love having one, but wish it were larger. To be quite honest I have pantry envy when I see Ina Garten's walk in pantry or when we watch House Hunters and those big fancy houses have those large walk in pantries.

My pantry is pretty stocked. That's a good thing, I think. I keep pasta, beans, canned goods, sugar, crackers, and cereal on hand. I remember a few years ago a gal I worked with kind of looked down her nose at my wedding gift. She didn't cook a whole lot, but had put down many fancy dishes and pots and pans for her kitchen. I bought her the measuring cup she wanted, but then I bought her two large bags of groceries to fill her pantry. I purchased things like salt, pepper, lemon pepper, ketchup, mustard, canned soup, and crackers for the food part and then bought her a few cleaning supplies. She thanked me, but I could tell she wasn't thrilled. A friend of hers who was like a second mother told her that my gift was very generous and very practical. A couple of months later after she and new hubby started running out of items and she had to replace them, she realized that it wasn't such a bad gift after all.

When I got married over 20 years ago, none of us made a whole lot, so people did two things -- they chipped in and bought me a toaster and they filled a laundry basket with canned goods. What a terrific wedding gift! I was thrilled because I had already bought cleaning supplies for my house and I realized how expensive everything was. It also made me try things I wouldn't normally buy. What a blessing!

I know I've blogged before that my parents grew up during the depression and instilled in me the fear of running out of food. I think that's why I find it vital to keep lots of things on hand. I was reading Ina Garten's new cookbook (checked out from the library) and she said she thought a well stocked pantry made cooking easier, and I would have to agree. Not having to run out and buy a can of this or get some flour or sugar or a spice sure makes it easier to get a dish put together. Plus, I try to buy items on sale so I'm not paying full price. Just today the store I often frequent had a special on Hunts ketchup -- 69 cents a bottle. We don't use a huge amount of it, but I can store a bottle for a couple of months. I like saving money too!

I've been rolling along on this alphabet theme and I had a difficult time today choosing what I would put for "p" because I had lots of choices. I could put pasta, potatoes, pepper, popcorn, pineapple, pizza, pomegranate, peanut butter, peppermint, pretzels, pudding and peas. I am happy to say that other than the pizza and pomegranate and peas, I have all these other items in my pantry! Wouldn't Ina be proud?