A Fully Stocked Kitchen [Part One- Pantry]

If I had a dollar for every time I've had the what's-for-dinner conversation. It usually begins with El Syd asking,  "What's for dinner tonight?" and then I reply with "I don't know yet - what do you want?" Then, he names something that I have no interest in making.  Followed by me naming something else entirely. But, seeing as how El Syd  is really more of a visual guy, my descriptors do not elicit much in the way of a response from him. The conversation ends with me saying, "I'll figure something out."

On most days, I'm a clutch cook. Sure, there are days or events where I create a fully planned, well-fleshed-out menu. But, for the most part, I throw stuff together last minute.A pantry filled with essential ingredients makes this possible because when you don't have the right ingredients in the house, it is hard to eat well. (Back story: When I first started experimenting in the kitchen, El Syd would ask "where did you get this recipe?"and I, flippantly and indelicately, replied, "I pulled it out of my ass." As luck (or something?) would have it, the name stuck so we have many such labeled dishes.) 

I'm lucky to have a large space to keep food and doubly lucky to also have a nicely sized laundry room to which we have added shelves to serve as a butler's pantry/secondary food storage area. I have teased KK (my soul sister in all things other than cooking)  that rather than go to H-E-B (our local grocery store mecca) when she is in need of an ingredient, that she should always check with me as I could easily be Sta-cee-bee. 

I am a little hesitant to say that what is on my list of essentials is what should be on your list. Obviously, if there is something that you don't cook or don't ever plan on cooking, then it wouldn't make sense to have it sitting in your pantry. But, I think that my list might get you thinking about what you keep on stock, how you might edit that list, and how you can re-frame how you think about what you cook for dinner. Even if you are a full-on planner who has everyday of the week covered by a menu-plan, having a base of pantry items will make it easier and allow for last minute edits if your plans change. Also, don't think that you need to run out and buy everything in one fell swoop. Just add an item or two each time you go to the store for your regular shopping and in no time, you will have shored up your cooking foundation.

Pantry Items: 

• Singin' in the Grains
• Dried pasta - (any shapes and any ingredient content you prefer) I do not cook a lot of plain ol' spaghetti so I tend to head to the shapelier pastas: farfalle, penne, rigatoni etc. I also stock both standard pasta and whole wheat pastas. Remember that this is more than just an Italian dish maker - cold pasta salads are great in the summer and in a pinch, pasta can stand in for Asian style noodles in Asian style dishes, too.
• Rice - Basmati or Texmati for any recipe that calls for white rice; brown rice; arborio if you're entertaining the idea of risottos; wild rice (technically not rice and instead a type of grass)
• Quinoa -(plain, red, black varieties) I haven't noted all that much difference in the varieties other than color -  fabulous grain-like seed that does a great job standing in for rice as a side or main dish. Be sure to rinse the grains well as they have a natural coating of saponin which deters bugs in nature, but can taste bitter like soap in your recipes.
• Couscous -  an amazingly easy 5 minute side dish; many brands come boxed with a flavor packet
• Breadcrumbs - I like plain unflavored, standard bread crumbs, as well as Panko breadcrumbs
• Bake me a Cake...or a cookie...
• Flours: all-purpose, white whole wheat (for bread baking), also for coating meats to make a light crust when pan-frying - If you are gluten-free, then you'll be making different choices here, obviously.
• Sugars: white granulated, powdered or confectioners sugar, brown sugar
• Cornstarch
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Yeast (if you want to try your hand at baking bread)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Evaporated Milk
• Vegetable shorting  (I'm a butter girl so I have some shortening, in sticks, but cannot recall the last time I used it for anything. If you'd like to have it on hand, I recommend the sticks which last much longer than an opened partially used can. The can turns rancid and will wreak havoc if you decide to use it.)
• Chocolate - semi-sweet, bitter sweet and Dutch process cocoa; milk chocolate chips - all of these the best quality that you can afford.
• Canned We All Just Get Along
• Tomatoes: whole, diced, crushed, sauce and paste. Generally, I tend to avoid the pre-seasoned/flavored varieties, but you might find them helpful in creating a quick Italian sauce or a taco-filling. With regards to paste, I recommend the paste in a tube as rarely does one use an entire 6 ounces of paste in one recipe. 
• Beans: Cannellini beans, black beans, chickpeas, refried beans Some will swear by dried beans. However, I find that, while they do generally have a better flavor than canned, if you forget to soak them/cook them, they are useless for a quick pull together meal. My only caveat is with pinto beans. I cook my Charro or Borracho beans from scratch using dried beans. No canned for that ever.(Which also means I don't ever make those last minute.)
• Olives: Black (canned); green (jarred)
• Mushrooms: yes, fresh are better, but in a pinch, these can be added to a pasta sauce or to an Asian stir fry and serve pretty well.
• Artichoke Hearts: great to add to a pasta sauce or to top a "Big Salad"
• Tuna & Salmon - As El Syd has a very unusual allergy to finned fish (and not to shellfish, yes, I know that's bass-ackward to the general food allergy world), I rarely prepare fish (only when he travels on business, then the kids and I have a fish-a-pa-looza). I love a good tuna fish salad for lunch, and salmon patties are also an old-time fave.
• For The Love of Fats: 
• Olive Oil - preferably Extra-virgin 
• Vegetable Oil - I tend to use Canola oil, but I use this very sparingly and find that I use olive oil and butter far more.
• Toasted sesame Oil- a real flavor addition 
• Full of Piss and...:  I have a lot of them on my shelf for many different uses.
• White Distilled Vinegar - can be used for everything from cleaning your house to adding to the water when hard boiling eggs to help reduce cracking.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - for making dressings for slaws, to add a punch of acid to pan sauces; a good all-purpose vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar - excellent choice for dressing salads; drizzling over fruit; adding a slight acid; rich and smooth with a sweetness that is refreshing
• Wine Vinegars (red and/or white) good for changing up the flavor of dressings.
• Rice Vinegar - so good to have in your Asian-inspired arsenal. A nice light vinegar that is wonderful in making an Asian slaw or just sprinkling over sliced cucumbers as a quick salad or snack.
• Shriveled & Withered, But In A Good Way (aka dried ingredients)
• Beans - mentioned above, I stock only dried pintos and on occasion a 15 bean soup mix. 
• Fruits - apricots, raisins, dates and currants - I use them to add a sweetness to rice dishes, salads, reconstituted in pan sauces etc.
• Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera: Some of these are integral ingredients; others are that little certain something that adds depth of flavor to your cooking. Some are shelf stable; others will require storage in the fridge once they are open. Read the container to determine which is which.
• Broths - Chicken, beef and vegetable - I go for low sodium, all organic, in a box. If you're not going to use it all up, go for the smallest available size (you'll pay a bit more that way) or you can use what you need and freeze the rest in smaller portions. Use those frozen broth cubes the next time you need broth. Thrifty!
• Asian Aisle: Hoisin sauce, Soy sauce, Sriracha sauce, Black-bean sauce - saute some vegetables, add a tablespoon of hoisin or blackbean sauce and you have an instant side to go with some soy marinated grilled chicken. 
• Sweet Stuff: Honey and Maple Syrup
• Vino: red and white - only what you would actually consume yourself. It doesn't have to be an expensive wine by any stretch of the imagination. Do not buy that awful "cooking" wine from the main aisle of the grocery store. If you want to get "Fraunchy" you could also stock Marsala and Port, but red and white have served me well.
• The Usual Suspects: Ketchup, Mayo (in addition to the standard, I love mayonesa, which you may or may not have access to, for its mayo plus lime tanginess), Mustard(regular yellow and Dijon), pickles and peanut butter.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and doesn't include every single item I keep on hand, but this is what my base pantry looks like. What must-have items do you keep on hand at all times?

During the next installment of A Fully Stocked Kitchen, we'll hit the fridge.

Happy Cooking!

sld

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