| Reader Questions! |
| SykoAmazon writes: What do you recommend for the Well Stocked Pantry? Stocking your pantry takes time, and a lot depends on your personal preference. For canned goods, the easiest thing to do is buy two of whatever you're getting to make your meal this week. Use one and put the other on the shelf. If you enjoy Mexican food, it makes sense to keep a can each of refried beans and black beans, and a jar of salsa on the shelf. If you love Asian food; seseme oil, soy sauce, black bean paste (very very different from mexican black beans) and ginger (powder) are neccessary. Italian cooking - olive oil, pasta & tomato sauce. Indian cooking? LOTS of spices, tomato paste, and evaporated milk. American home cooking? Cream of mushroom soup, Bisquick, instant mashed potato flakes. You'll still need to get fresh ingredients (fresh tortillas and cheese for your mexican dinner, fresh onions and veggies for your Indian dinner, etc.) but having the main items on the shelf is mighty handy. Look for sales. Don't over-do it, or you'll end up with heavy shelves too full to find anything. Don't get something just because I said so. I keep a can of pineapple and a box of jello on the shelf because I really like a desert made with those two ingredients. If you don't, then there's no point in getting them! |
| Spices, grouped by region. Italian: Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemarry, Sage, Nutmeg French: Tarragon, Rosemarry, whole mustard seed, caraway seed, bay leaves. Asian: Soy Sauce, Hot red Pepper (flakes or powder), Ginger, corriander. Toasted seseme oil. Black bean paste. Middle Eastern: mint, tahini (not technically a spice, but trust me, you need it), cumin. pepper. Rose petals. Mexican: cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes or powder. cinnamon, allspice. Sweets: *Shortcut: apple pie spice mix (or pumpkin pie spice mix), whole sticks of cinnamon. Vanilla extract. Indian. *Shortcut: One package whole garaham masala, and one jar curry powder. |
| Spices. Before I get into regional divisions, here are some goodies that work in too many recipies to count: Bullion Cubes. They come in chicken, beef, and oddly enough, vegetarian. pick your favourite flavor and stick it on the shelf. it perks up sauces, low fat dishes, and anything that seems to "need salt, but maybe a little something else....." Black pepper corns. (WHOLE Black pepper!) Black pepper powder is colored sand. After your first twist of the pepper grinder, as the wonderful, pungent aroma of the real deal is realeased - you'll never go back. Dollar tree sometimes has grinders - you don't need an expensive one. Garlic. OK, I'm famous for my love of garlic, and some folks think I over-do it. Well, the fact is, it's a mainstay of a lot of culture's seasoning. Lemon. A bottle of lemon juice, Mrs. Dash with Lemon, brine-preserved lemons, or even Lemon pepper. Lemon does a lot. I don't have a lot of success keeping fresh lemons around, they get moldy quick. but lemon is good! Paprika. The darker the better. It makes your food pretty, and the truly good stuff has a nice flavor. |
| Sweets: bigger list: cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, caraway. Almond extract, orange extract. Indian: bigger list: all of the sweets listed above, PLUS: green cardomon pods, fenugreek (methi), curry leaves, whole mustard seeds, cumin, calonji, and bay leaves. Also, cumin, mint, cillantro. |
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| What else gives flavor and should be in my pantry? |
| Gimme Some Sugar, Baby! |
| Flour Power! |
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