pantry staples
It's time to be practical. I started a list on my chalkboard. A list of things in my pantry that I can count on. To build a recipe, to improve a recipe, to save a recipe. It's the basics, but my version.
Once I started writing, the list came easily. What do I get at Costco because I go through it so fast? Which containers are at once full in my pantry, half-empty in my fridge, and totally empty in the recycling? In other words, these staples are always getting used in my house. Kevin volunteered a few, too. Here they are, in no particular order: my culinary lifelines.
1. Sriracha hot sauce
So delicious, it's genius. And for a lot of cooks, it's not a condiment, it's an actual ingredient. (An essential component in turkey and pork meatloaf, for example.) Try this soul-warming and super-healthy vegetable soup that uses sriracha as a key ingredient. It's a regular low-calorie weeknight dinner on our menu when we need to lighten things up.
2. Black beans (canned or dry)
Truly a main ingredient, black beans are the star in soups, chilis, tostadas, salads, and side dishes. One of my favorite food blogs recently features two fantastic easy dinner dishes starring black beans. Cookie and Kate's baked tostadas with tomatillo black bean salsa are unbelievably easy. And her vegetarian chili will win over meat lovers, too. (Note: When I make Kate's chili, I sub in diced sweet potatoes for the butternut squash and omit the cinnamon.)
3. Chipotle chiles
Speaking of chili, I rely on canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce for Latin food inspired by some of my favorite chefs, including Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay. I've got a couple of chiles bubbling away in the crock pot with a pork tenderloin as I write this, y'all. Chipotles make perfect veggie or turkey chili and add surprising spice to sweet potatoes.
4. Tomato paste
For a time I actually purchased cans of the stuff in a case at Costco, just so I would never be without rich spaghetti sauce. And I recently discovered you can get fancy Italian tomato paste in a tube to keep in the fridge. If I can get a case of that, then I think I'll be set. The fabulous Deb at Smitten Kitchen uses tomato paste to thicken up a sauce for a budget-friendly pasta with white beans.
5. Chicken or vegetable stock
Bulk. Bulk. Bulk. Sauces, soups, braises, crock pot recipes, and cooking liquid for grains, lentils, greens. It's a must have.
6. Panko bread crumbs
There's no comparison to panko bread crumbs for light, crispy coatings. I keep these on hand to mix in recipes, like the turkey and pork meatloaf, or for breading dijon chicken breasts like Paula Deen does. You can find them at the grocery store with the other bread crumbs in the baking aisle or in the International aisle near the soy sauce and soba noodles.
7. Chick peas (canned)
For a snack or sandwich spread, it's easier than you might think to make homemade hummus. I read recently about an easy approach to making smoother hummus: microwave the chick peas first to break down the starch. Read the whole story and impressively simple recipe published in the Greensboro News and Record. I like to add a splash of tabasco to my homemade hummus. And have you tried roasting chick peas in the oven with spices for a snack? Crispy and tasty. But more often than not, I'm throwing chick peas (plain or crispy-roasted) in a salad to add a little more substance.
8. Arborio rice
Combined with #5 and a little white wine, you can make perfect risotto as a base for just about anything you have in your freezer. Martha can teach you how. In my favorite version, I stir in some sauteed shrimp and thinly sliced zucchini.
9. Chocolate chips
You never know when you might need to bake warm chocolate chip cookies, scones, or a cheesecake. I'm just saying. For cookies, I always use the recipe on the back of the bag or the box of butter. Why mess with perfection? But when we don't have time for all of that, you might find my husband sprinkling chocolate chips on a spoonful of peanut butter for dessert.
10. Pine nuts
Pine nuts are kind of expensive, and they can go rancid quickly, but they keep quite a while when stored in an airtight bag or container in the freezer. Pine nuts are the binding ingredient for traditional pesto, of course, which is so incredibly delicious. I make mine in the food processor, but I enjoy this blogger's description of how to make classic pesto like an Italian grandmother-- with good ingredients and a sharp knife. And I love Sara Forte's lemon pesto with lentil meatballs.
I toss pine nuts in a dry, small skillet to toast them golden brown before using in recipes or in place of croutons on salads. They're delicious with spinach, couscous, rice, or tossed with sauteed green beans. I've also made a heck of a tart crust following Thomas Keller's direction. Hard to beat an ingredient that works so well in sweet and savory dishes.
There you have it, friends. 10 indispensable ingredients that you can always find in my pantry. Time to stock up.
Once I started writing, the list came easily. What do I get at Costco because I go through it so fast? Which containers are at once full in my pantry, half-empty in my fridge, and totally empty in the recycling? In other words, these staples are always getting used in my house. Kevin volunteered a few, too. Here they are, in no particular order: my culinary lifelines.
1. Sriracha hot sauce
So delicious, it's genius. And for a lot of cooks, it's not a condiment, it's an actual ingredient. (An essential component in turkey and pork meatloaf, for example.) Try this soul-warming and super-healthy vegetable soup that uses sriracha as a key ingredient. It's a regular low-calorie weeknight dinner on our menu when we need to lighten things up.
2. Black beans (canned or dry)
Truly a main ingredient, black beans are the star in soups, chilis, tostadas, salads, and side dishes. One of my favorite food blogs recently features two fantastic easy dinner dishes starring black beans. Cookie and Kate's baked tostadas with tomatillo black bean salsa are unbelievably easy. And her vegetarian chili will win over meat lovers, too. (Note: When I make Kate's chili, I sub in diced sweet potatoes for the butternut squash and omit the cinnamon.)
3. Chipotle chiles
Speaking of chili, I rely on canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce for Latin food inspired by some of my favorite chefs, including Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay. I've got a couple of chiles bubbling away in the crock pot with a pork tenderloin as I write this, y'all. Chipotles make perfect veggie or turkey chili and add surprising spice to sweet potatoes.
4. Tomato paste
For a time I actually purchased cans of the stuff in a case at Costco, just so I would never be without rich spaghetti sauce. And I recently discovered you can get fancy Italian tomato paste in a tube to keep in the fridge. If I can get a case of that, then I think I'll be set. The fabulous Deb at Smitten Kitchen uses tomato paste to thicken up a sauce for a budget-friendly pasta with white beans.
5. Chicken or vegetable stock
Bulk. Bulk. Bulk. Sauces, soups, braises, crock pot recipes, and cooking liquid for grains, lentils, greens. It's a must have.
6. Panko bread crumbs
There's no comparison to panko bread crumbs for light, crispy coatings. I keep these on hand to mix in recipes, like the turkey and pork meatloaf, or for breading dijon chicken breasts like Paula Deen does. You can find them at the grocery store with the other bread crumbs in the baking aisle or in the International aisle near the soy sauce and soba noodles.
7. Chick peas (canned)
For a snack or sandwich spread, it's easier than you might think to make homemade hummus. I read recently about an easy approach to making smoother hummus: microwave the chick peas first to break down the starch. Read the whole story and impressively simple recipe published in the Greensboro News and Record. I like to add a splash of tabasco to my homemade hummus. And have you tried roasting chick peas in the oven with spices for a snack? Crispy and tasty. But more often than not, I'm throwing chick peas (plain or crispy-roasted) in a salad to add a little more substance.
8. Arborio rice
Combined with #5 and a little white wine, you can make perfect risotto as a base for just about anything you have in your freezer. Martha can teach you how. In my favorite version, I stir in some sauteed shrimp and thinly sliced zucchini.
9. Chocolate chips
You never know when you might need to bake warm chocolate chip cookies, scones, or a cheesecake. I'm just saying. For cookies, I always use the recipe on the back of the bag or the box of butter. Why mess with perfection? But when we don't have time for all of that, you might find my husband sprinkling chocolate chips on a spoonful of peanut butter for dessert.
10. Pine nuts
Pine nuts are kind of expensive, and they can go rancid quickly, but they keep quite a while when stored in an airtight bag or container in the freezer. Pine nuts are the binding ingredient for traditional pesto, of course, which is so incredibly delicious. I make mine in the food processor, but I enjoy this blogger's description of how to make classic pesto like an Italian grandmother-- with good ingredients and a sharp knife. And I love Sara Forte's lemon pesto with lentil meatballs.
I toss pine nuts in a dry, small skillet to toast them golden brown before using in recipes or in place of croutons on salads. They're delicious with spinach, couscous, rice, or tossed with sauteed green beans. I've also made a heck of a tart crust following Thomas Keller's direction. Hard to beat an ingredient that works so well in sweet and savory dishes.
There you have it, friends. 10 indispensable ingredients that you can always find in my pantry. Time to stock up.
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