The Pandemic Pantry - or - A Storage Pantry

Alternative Title: How to shop when we shelter in place to avoid a pandemic

JP asked over a video call - how to eat and cook ' from the pantry.'  I'll point her back to the first post I did on pantry basics a few years ago but her question yesterday had a different need behind it as we all try to figure out how to not go to the market every day and how to deal with the shortages that are beginning to show up in those markets. How can she eat well if she literally can't go to the market for a couple of weeks?

In light of what is happening in the world, the pantry starts taking on a different - or really, its more original purpose: a place to store food items that will last for longer periods of time.

Our refrigerators and freezers are part of this storage system and need to be maximized. Finally found that chicken you were looking for - buy two and divide them up for the freezer. Which fruit can go in the fridge and store for a long time? Apples and oranges are good bets as opposed to bananas - unless you freeze bananas for smoothies. Onions, garlic, potatoes all last for long periods when kept cool - either in a fridge drawer or in a cold storage area. Whereas avocados and tomatoes (at least store bought ones) will ripen and degrade fairly quickly.

Pantry shopping right now needs to be strategic and, frankly, when you live five minutes away from a market that always has ready available ingredients - why plot out a shopping trip that will feed you for a couple of weeks?

It's also true that we - and I think I'm certainly talking about myself - have gotten use to eating a rather exotic mix of global products. I have habits concerning the choices I want to make around what I eat and the thought of scarcity is almost unthinkable. I am used to indulging my cravings for Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Italian, and other cuisines fairly regularly. I am accustom to taking that craving or want to the market and finding what I need for what I decide I want to cook. It's not just about sustenance and healthy eating - its also about indulging my palate's whims and fancy. 

The thing is, I haven't recognized that for what it is - the ultimate luxury of having the means to shop for whatever I want when I want it. It's seeing what it means being well off in a first world country.

As an example, I went to my local market early last week and they didn't have any chicken. No, let's be clear - organic chicken. I shrugged it off and then noticed that they also didn't have the organic butter or yogurt that I like to eat. Hmmm - an obvious issue concerning the supply line. I checked back a couple days later - still no chicken delivery. I called the next day and no, the truck hadn't come in and was due the next day. The thing I buy the most, I realized, was suddenly not so easy to get. And then all I could think about was chicken. Organic chicken. I had to get me some chicken. Because if I didn't...

... what?

It was pretty quickly apparent that I was focusing in on a single item and dumping a load of anxiety into that hard to find poultry. And yet, it had struck a nerve. I felt a flash of alarm. And this was ridiculous given how  full my shelves are. It feels almost obscene to write about it due to the millions of people who are going without, suffering in ways that I am not right now. But I have a point to this whole - and long tangent: Cooking from the pantry and making sure a person has food to fuel the body isn't about a particular cut of meat or spice - it's about making sure that you can eat for the next couple of weeks. We need proteins, fats, carbs, minerals, vitamins, water... we don't need organic chicken or organic nonfat vanilla yogurt. It's fine if you can get it - but we don't need it.

Strategically planning for the Shelter in Place Pantry:

1. Buy bigger cuts of meat - (whole chicken, big ham, larger roast). Two choices - cut/divide the larger selections into meal planning sizes to freeze or make a big batch of a dish that you can freeze into serving sizes. Example: Ham - cut up for ham steaks but also dice for adding to soups, pastas, salads.  Chicken - Use breast meat for soups and salads/thighs for grilling/ keep a bag of wings/drumsticks in the freezer until you have enough for that Pok Pok wing recipe. Use carcass for stock.)
2. Dried beans, dried chickpeas, and lentils - We can talk recipes but here's what you need to know: beans are protein. 1 cup of dried beans makes about 3 cups of cooked beans. You can't starve with these on your shelf. You just need water and a pot on the stove (or a slow cooker). Ham and bean soup, baked beans on toast, tuscan bean and kale soup, bean dip, curry lentil soup, lentil loaves, lentils make Indian dal dishes - so much goodness right there.
3. Eggs - they last awhile in the fridge. Buy a couple dozen. 
4. Flour - a basic all-purpose flour. You like to bake? get a couple bags. Pasta = flour + eggs.
5. Sugar, salt, pepper - the basics. You can buy kosher salt in a fairly big box. It lasts.
6. Yeast - if you have yeast, flour, and water - you can make breads of all sorts. 
7. onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots, spinach (washed, it lasts longer than most lettuce).
8. Oil ( olive oil, canola oil)
9. Pasta and Rice. Both are great but they don't pack the nutrient content of beans, whole grains, lentils. Wild rice is the exception - wild rice actually has a much higher protein content.
10. Whole kernel grains: Oats, Farro, Bulgar, quinoa, cracked wheat - can do amazing things with these and they store wonderfully (in mason jars). Most just need water to hydrate and then are used to create salads, main dishes. Very filling.
11. A selection of canned vegetables: tomatoes (diced, pureed), beans (cannelloni, kidney, black), corn, olives, pickled veggies - pickles, capers.
12. Condiments: vinegar, dijon mustard, soy sauce, lemon juice
13. Tea/coffee

Pretty much everything above - with the exception of spinach - will last over two weeks. The spinach might make it, but that's a close call. Seriously, the gist of this pantry list is for storage and filling the belly. All sorts of things can be added in - different cuisines around the world utilize dried beans, lentils, and whole kernal grains - and most of these items work fine as simple fare with few additions. It depends on your budget and whether you have access to fresh additions.