In today's Capsule Kitchen adventures, I adapted this recipe for grilled chili lime chicken and this recipe for salsa using canned diced tomatoes to make chili-lime chicken tenderloins with salsa, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream toppings. I will also steam some corn to serve with it. 

The big breakthrough was creating salsa from the ingredients I had on hand. It's virtually indistinguishable from available pre-made salsas (Tostitos & the like), and it's loads less expensive. I mean, if I'd ever thought about it I'm sure I could have figured out how to magic up some salsa from what's in the cupboard, but I'd never thought about it before. In the past I'd have either gone to get salsa or simply disregarded whatever recipe called for it in the first place. 

One of the satisfying things about working only with the capsule list* is thinking creatively to make a recipe work even though what's in the cupboard might not exactly match the ingredient list.  

Minimalist Baking!

When I arrived here in Estes Park for my two months of seclusion, I was admittedly pretty worried about what my stomach might have to say about that. I'm a full-fledged city girl now: I'm used to being able to bike to the 24-hour grocery at midnight, or go around the corner for mung beans at the Asian market. But here, I had to stockpile non-perishables like a bear in hibernation.

That's about the time I discovered Courney Carver's "Capsule Kitchen" challenge. The goal is living off 33 items for 3 months (her favorite rubric). The last photo (above) shows the extent of my diversity, and the full list of my 33 items can be found here. 

By week two, I started to panic. I was worried that my tastebuds would die of boredom. But a funny thing happened: I started to get inventive. 

At a point I had craving for potato chips. So I made them. I'd never made them before, but I had potatoes, and I had an oven, and soon enough... I had potato chips.

Today, I made the gorgeous pumpkin pie you see before you. With whipped topping. And guess what? It contains no sugar. Or gluten. Or dairy. In fact, that whole pie AND its topping are comprised of only 8(!!) ingredients, including my only spice, cinnamon:

For the crust: oats + oat "flour" (i.e. oats put through a blender), Earth Balance butter substitute, honey, and cinnamon.

For the filling: pumpkin puree, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, honey, an egg, and cinnamon.

For the topping: coconut cream, almond milk, honey.

Having constraints really does seem to open the mind up to new possibilities. Hurdles aren't blockades; they're incentives to jump higher. 

For more ideas, here are some of my new fav minimalist foodie blogs:

Stone Soup - health meals made easy

The Vegan 8 - 8 ingredient vegan recipes

Minimalist Baker - simple, delicious food (baking AND cooking)

Sweet Potato Soul - run by the author of the 5 Ingredient Vegan Cookbook

Ok. Here's my 33-item list for the Capsule Kitchen challenge. I threw it together about 5-6 days ago, and although I just spent a few quick minutes revising, I'm not sure it's in its full and final form just yet. I'm approaching this as a process... basically, an evaluation of how I handle food purchase & prep. There will obviously be updates as the project commences.

At first I thought I'd start the project "officially" on March 1, however, you've seen the pics of my fridge. I'm pretty sure I just need to start it now (or tomorrow, after I go to the grocery store).

And now, the list:

boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins

ground beef

beef roast

beef kielbasa sausage

sliced deli turkey

sliced provalone cheese

shredded mexican style cheese

canned beans (black beans, red/kidney beans)

white rice

egg noodles/other pasta (includes yakisoba/udon)

cream of chicken soup

split peas/dry lentils

Wasa crispbread

cream cheese

potatoes

brussels sprouts

green beans

broccoli/broccolini

spinach (fresh or frozen)

frozen veg (corn, peas, mixed)

mini baguettes

onion

green onion

carrots

diced tomato

canned jalapenos

pierogis/ravioli/tortellini

marinara sauce in a jar

lemon juice/lime juice

pink grapefruit sections

granola bars/other packaged snacks

Coke Zero

"splurge" or occasional food, includes: bacon, smoked salmon, cabbage, sauerkraut, goat cheese, premade pot pies, canned soup, mac & cheese, other tbd

I have kind of a mixed format. The list is largely single-item, although there are some combined items/categories (split peas/lentils, egg noodles/other pasta, canned beans [black & red], pierogis/ravioli/tortellini). I also focused on items that I know both my husband and me will both eat, adding an "occasional" category for those items that can't really be considered regular purchases and/or that one of us doesn't really eat.

Honestly, this is pretty much just my regular shopping list. As I expected, I didn't quite reach 33 items... I ended up adding Coke Zero because it's the only beverage we really buy. As I mentioned before, I keep my grocery shopping pretty focused already; this project is a good way to officially examine what I've been doing and see if it can be refined & improved. The list will obviously be revised as I gain understanding of how I really use the ingredients.

I will not be counting:

spices (includes bread crumbs/seasoned bread crumbs)

condiments

butter, cooking oil(s) & vinegar(s)

basics, like baking soda, flour, sugar*

baby food & formula (includes sweet potatoes, frozen fruit, and applesauce)

I have been eyeing Courtney Carver's (of Be More With Less) Capsule Kitchen challenge for a couple of weeks, but I haven't started it yet. I've been working on using up most or all of my perishables in preparation for a cross-country trip to visit my in-laws. We're down to the bare bones in the fridge and it's getting difficult to find coherent things to prepare... this is helping me see what items I don't really need or use! I'll work on my 33 item list while we're out of town, and I think I'll really be able to kick off the challenge by the beginning of March. 

note the bulge in my cheek