The Pantry

My pantry is a bit of a mess. It contains all sorts of things that I should, in all honestly, check the expiration dates on prior to use. I celebrated my youngest child leaving for college by cleaning the shelves out and found an amazing array of odd jars and cans that had actually traveled with us from our last house. Thirteen years ago.

Note: thirteen years is too long to wait to clean out your pantry shelves.

Still, there are certain things that I use over and over which to me constitute my pantry basics. Being the studious person that I am, I did a little research on line and got myself educated on what the world seems to think "Pantry Basics" mean...

Here's the categories that seem the most prevalent:

• Oils/Vinegars/Condiments
• Seasonings
• Dry goods
• Canned and Bottled items (non refrigerated)
• Grains and Legumes
• Nuts, seeds and Fruits
• Refrigerator basics
• Freezer basics

I won't mention what most of these online resources list as imperative in these categories because its obvious the authors are keeping insane amounts of obscure items on their shelves for a catering business, let's say, or their restaurant or perhaps for their very gourmet eating habits - that aren't quite like mine...

I digress.

But the question is this: What would I stock if I were my daughter who is just beginning on her culinary journey? She cooks mostly for herself and occasionally, when feeling sociable, for the multitude of friends just waiting to be asked over for food and wine. She also is chronically anemic and not inclined to baking. The baker is my daughter-in-law - now that girl could make us all gain 20 in a heart beat. Which is why I fed her my mother-in-law's decadent chocolate cake for her birthday last month - I'm getting my revenge in early...

Off topic ... again...

Let's go down the list with JP in mind. Primarily on my mind is two things: Giving her items on hand that she can create meals that she enjoys as well as a majority of ingredients that won't spoil if stored properly. Example - fresh ginger is great in so many dishes (curries, marinades, smoothies) and it freezes great. That way, she can buy a small chunk, peel it, maybe even slice it up and store it in a Ziploc or container for months in the freezer, pulling out what she needs. Dried mushrooms are another favorite of mine. I love them fresh but now and then I am cooking up something that would just love that earthy addition - not only of the mushrooms but the broth created when I reconstitute them in boiling water.

So - here goes...

Oils/Vinegars/Condiments:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Canola Oil for high heat cooking. Don't use the Olive oil for high heat, it degrades
• Balsamic vinegar
• White vinegar
• Red wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• A small jar of good quality BBQ sauce
• Soy sauce
• A basic Italian vinaigrette - for salads. Eat your greens.

Seasonings:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic salt
• Bay leaves
• Lawry salt or any other seasoning salt of the like
• Lipton (or some organic alternative) Onion Soup Mix. I know, contain your surprise and snarky comments but there are other uses for this than just making dip for chips.
• Options for meats and stews: dried Rosemary, thyme and oregano. Keep in freezer if you don't use them that often. Herbs dry out and lose their flavor/potency.
• Options for basic baking: ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
• Fresh herbs - if you have a sunny spot, grow a small culinary garden pot of herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley. With those four, you can do just about anything. You can also buy fresh, wash, dry on paper towels and then freeze in Ziploc bags. Just try to get the bags as airtight as possible.

Dry Goods:

• unbleached regular flour
• white sugar
• brown sugar - small bag, keep sealed really well or it will turn hard as a rock
• baking powder
• baking soda
• Rolled oats - not the quick oats but the good, old fashion Red Mill brand oats. Keep them in a sealed container (keep the directions on the bag)
• chocolate chips - great emergency chocolate stash. But also great melted over ice cream.
• Dried mushrooms - just reconstitute with hot water (keep the broth and add to stuff).

Canned or Bottled Items

• 28 oz San Marzano crushed tomatoes. The best canned tomatoes, hands down. Go on, get another can.
• tomato paste - small cans, have a couple on hand. Muir Glen is a good choice for paste and when you can't find San Marzano.
• Olives - salty goodness.
• 2-3 cans (or boxes) of soups that you like. Clam chowder, stews, and chicken noodle for when you are feeling sick.
• Stock - The best is homemade and kept in the freezer but that's another post. I really like Saffron Road's Artisan Roasted Chicken Broth (32 fl. oz boxes) when I am making soups and need a large quantity. Most of the time the small jars of "Better Than Bouillon" Beef and Chicken are great because they are concentrated, take up less space in the fridge and you don't have to figure out what to do with the left overs.
• Canned beans - Cannellini beans in particular.
• A jar of good marinara sauce.
• Peanut butter.

Grains and Legumes:

• Pasta. Regular, semolina flour pasta - Penne and spaghetti. I keep some Quinoa pasta always on hand because it packs a lot of protein but it doesn't keep well. Quinoa pasta is good for a one meal type of thing when you are using lots of bold flavors (like a spicy red sauce).
• Brown basmati rice
• Wild rice. Did you know that quite a few blends of wild rice are actually protein rich? They take longer to cook but the satisfaction level is high.
• Dried beans. Really, is anything better than a hambone slow cooking with beans? Beans are the easiest thing to store and they come up to speed in a number of recipes without all that much fuss.
• Bread - either in the pantry or in the fridge.

Nuts, seeds and fruits

• Fruits - cranberried, dates, and apricots. Apricots are high in iron. chop them up into some oatmeal.
• Nuts - Almonds are a superfood. A handful of nuts in the afternoon can make the difference for a 'hangry' person. Not that any of us know about that.

Refrigerator basics:

• Milk
• Butter
• Eggs
• Jam
• prosciutto/pancetta/bacon - some smoked, dried meat. Freeze after opening if not using it all in the next few days
• Cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack are good to have on hand)

Refrigerator basics - Produce:

• Garlic
• Lemon (or jar of juice)
• Yellow onions
• Big carrots (not those little processed things)
• seasonal produce - spinach in the spring, kale in the winter, squash in the fall, tomatoes in the summer.
• Yukon gold potatoes. Just keep a little bag of these gems around and either roast or stew them up with meat. 
• seasonal fruit that doesn't come from Peru. That's my soapbox and I'm sticking to it.

Freezer basics:

• Fresh ginger. I buy it fresh, peel it and throw it in a Ziploc into the freezer.
• Jalapeno chilies - same thing. I don't use a lot but it freezes great.
• Spinach
• Edamame
• Peas, corn - small bags.
• Prepped meat - let's leave this for a future post.
• Spices that I don't use very often. I also buy organic spices/herbs in larger bulk from a great little company down in Oregon. Mountain Rose Herbs.  I keep my jars in the spice drawer full and refill as needed.
• Frozen berries
• Homemade stock.
• Leftovers - learning to make dishes that give you future meals is a great time and cost saver.

And one last necessary category...

Wine and alcohol basics:

• A bottle of white and a bottle of red wine - these are to have on hand for adding to dishes, stews, and sauces. I'd agree with Ina Garten of Barefoot fame - use a wine that you like to drink in your cooking but you don't have to spend a fortune these days on a decent bottle. Have a glass, cook and enjoy - how can you go wrong?
• Beer - one of the best foundations for a marinade or great in chili or beef stew.
• Gin. The best roast lamb recipe I know uses gin. It's just not a bad idea to have some small bottles of various types of alcohol on hand to add a little flavor.

These are basics and a few things that I keep on hand for what I like to cook. As a cook, like my daughter, starts figuring out their favorite cuisines and dishes, other spices and ingredients begin to appear and never go away. That's great; however, with what is above, a person like JP can whip up any number of dishes with just a weekly run to the grocery store for the red meat that she craves.

What else would you add or what do you see that you aren't sure you would use?