From the Pantry Shelf
Some weeks you cook because you’re hungry.
Other weeks you cook because something needs using up before it becomes a science experiment.
That’s when the pantry starts making suggestions — quietly at first, then more insistently. A half bag of rice. A lonely onion. Something in a jar that’s been opened long enough to feel judged.
That’s not a problem. That’s supper thinking ahead.
This Week’s Recipe: Pantry Rice & Onion Skillet
This dish doesn’t have a proper name because it never needed one.
It showed up when there wasn’t much else around and stayed because it worked. Cheap, filling, and endlessly adjustable — the kind of food that fed families without making a fuss about it.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice (cold rice works best)
1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
2 tablespoons butter or oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional add-ins (use what you have):
– A splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire
– A beaten egg
– Leftover vegetables
– A bit of bacon fat if you’re lucky
Instructions
Heat butter or oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook slowly until soft and lightly golden. Don’t rush it — onions need time to tell the truth.
Stir in the cooked rice, breaking up any clumps.
Season with salt and pepper and add any extras you’re using.
Let the rice sit in the pan for a minute before stirring so it gets a little crisp in places.
If adding egg, push the rice aside, scramble the egg lightly in the pan, then mix it through.
Cook until everything is hot, slightly browned, and smells like you meant to make it.
Serve straight from the pan, preferably with tea.
Pantry Tip:
Cold rice behaves better than fresh. If it’s been in the fridge overnight, it’s already halfway cooperative.
Kitchen Story: The Good Frying Pan
Every kitchen had one good frying pan.
Not the newest one — the trusted one.
It was a little warped, the handle got hot, and nothing matched it anymore. But everyone knew not to put it in the dishwasher. Or scratch it. Or move it without permission.
That pan knew more recipes than any cookbook. It handled eggs, onions, leftovers, and the occasional emergency grilled cheese. If it could talk, it would probably ask to be left alone.
Good pans earn respect. They’ve seen things.
Community Corner
This week’s note comes from a reader in North Sydney:
“We weren’t allowed to waste food, but we were also not allowed to complain about it. My father said hunger didn’t care if you liked onions.”
If you have a kitchen memory, saying, or long-standing food rule, we’d love to hear it. Some of the best recipes never get written down — they just get remembered.
There’s always room for one more.
Shop - From Our Kitchen to Yours
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