Almond paste. It’s the kind of thing you buy for some special recipe. If you’re lucky, you use it all. But more often than not, you’re left with just enough to have nothing else to do with it.
Still, you’re not going to waste it. So you diligently wrap it up and place it in the fridge. Of course, you make a mental note that you should use that almond paste in the next 6 months. For something … TBD.
In reality, you find it while cleaning out the fridge. (So in two years then?) By now that almond paste is hard and dried up. There’s nothing left to do but toss it.
This kind of thing used to happen to me. But this time when I bought almond paste, I added it to my pantry list in kitchenlister. And when I used most of it for my birthday cake, I wrote a note in my pantry notebook. A reminder of when I opened the package.
What to Have for Dessert?
A month later, I was scanning my pantry list for ideas. I find it easier to browse a list of ingredients than to start searching through my cupboards. We’ve organized the most perishable goods to be in the first few categories so I start there. In March, less than 20% of the ingredients I have are perishable. Thus, the list is easy to browse.
A variation on these healthy snacks provided my dessert inspiration. I was happy to use up the ounce of almond paste lingering in my fridge.
It may not look like much, but dates are sweet and so is almond paste. Two satisfied us. In fact, I didn’t even use all the almond paste so the next night, I tried dried apricots. I expected the tartness to provide a better balance of tastes. Maybe it was the cocoa, but I liked these better.
By the way, dried fruits—dates, apricots, figs, and prunes—are great for stuffing with sweet or savory fillings. These are perfect for snacks and desserts. I always keep some combination of dried fruits on hand, even in summer. And you already know what I’m going to say here—I make sure to keep track of them in kitchenlister.
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If you’d like more information about these simple desserts or have questions about kitchenlister, leave me a comment.
The dried fruit desserts detailed in this post were part of my Week in Review meals for March 6–22, 2017.