As an adult I have never lived within
walking distance of shops of any kind - unless you count 4 km (2.5 mi)
walking distance.
For exercise it is; for a forgotten egg in the middle of
dinner preparations, it is not.
Since the majority of my adult
years have been spent in places where there are vast quantities of
snow I have kept a pantry that could feed us for at least a week
(admittedly not always well but that's beside the point).
Because my summer cooking differs from my winter cooking, my pantry
is also seasonal. Standard pantry items will be followed by summer and
winter additions.
Stocking The Main Pantry
- Olive oil for cooking, I use an inexpensive, low-acid extra virgin olive oil
-
Olive oil, the good stuff, a nice, flavorful extra virgin for use in salads
-
Garlic
- Onions
- Shallots
- Sea salt - in a salt mill
- Whole black pepper in a pepper mill
- Dijon-style mustard
- Whole grain brown mustard
- Prepared mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Lemon juice
- Dill pickles
- Capers
- Olives, both green and black
- Chicken stock (broth), liquid, paste or granules I can't buy stock so I use granules. It took awhile but I
-
Beef stock (broth), liquid, paste or granules found some that are not too salty and have a good flavor
-
2 kinds of bite-size pasta, farfalle, rigatoni, fusilli, penne
-
Orzo
- Arborio rice, for risotto
- Basmati rice
- Brown rice, quick-cooking
- Barley, quick-cooking
- Quinoa
- White kidney beans, cannellini
- Red kidney beans
- Molasses
- Sherry, dry
- White and red wine
- Balsamic vinegar
- White Balsamic vinegar
- White wine tarragon vinegar
- Sherry vinegar
- Sesame oil or Walnut oil
Pantry Herbs: dried or frozen for winter; fresh for summer
- Basil
- Bay leaves (laurel),
-
Chives
- Fennel seeds
- Herbes de Provence
- Marjoram
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Summer savory
- Tarragon
- Thyme
Pantry Spices
- Chili powder
- Cloves, ground
- Cloves, whole
- Cinnamon, ground
- Garlic powder
- Ginger, ground
- Dry mustard
- Whole mustard
- Mustard seeds
- Nutmeg - whole in/with a nutmeg grater or ground
- Paprika, sweet
- Dried onion flakes
- Dried shallot flakes
- Sesame seeds, toasted
Fridge Pantry - and used most weeks
- Eggs
- Parmesan cheese, most often in winter
-
Gruyère cheese, most often in winter
- Butter, I don't now and never have used margarine - personal preference
- Feta cheese
- Greek and/or plain yogurt
Winter Pantry Additions
- Green chilies
- Tomato paste, a tube for small amounts, small cans for larger amounts
-
Canned plum tomatoes
- Chopped tomatoes mine are from my garden and in the freezer
-
Tomato sauce (ditto)
-
Spaghetti
- Bread crumbs
- White flour
-
Whole wheat flour
- Cornstarch (Maizena, corn flour)
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Bouquet Garni
Summer Pantry Additions
- Honey
- Pesto
- Tapenade
- Couscous
- Orange marmalade
- Lemon marmalade
- Barbecued beans
- Teriyaki marinade
-
Barbecue sauce/marinade
