What do you HAVE to have in your kitchen?

This is one of the posts I started when I was sick, then got sicker again and never finished, so I’m going to post a couple of things retroactively when I have time to finish it up. I am, thankfully, healthy again! Btw, I have not had time to watch the cooking shows again - too much to do!

While I’ve been recuperating I’ve watched more TV than normal, a lot more – kind of scary, really. I have been watching lots of cooking/food shows and one of the ones I really like is called Chopped. It’s all about creativity and efficiency and watching the chefs is pretty amazing. Now I can cook, but as anyone in my family will tell you, I don’t do it quickly most of the time! In fact, I can be incredibly slow.

My daughter automatically doubles whatever the time I tell her until dinner will be ready and much as I hate to admit it, she’s pretty accurate. It’s partly  because I enjoy the process while I’m cooking, so I don’t rush it and partly because I always think I can get things done faster than reality dictates, wishful thinking I guess. 

Plus, I don't have a sous chef - all the prep is done my me and I always clean up as I go (drummed into me by my Grandmother for as long as I remember)! Mea culpa, I do take my time, because it’s kind of “me time” and hungry people waiting on me is just not my main priority – my poor family. Although I have to say, I have really been making an effort to get dinner done in a specific time frame (so good things can come from watching TV!), and have been doing a much better job lately!

If you haven’t seen the show, here’s how it works: There are four chefs and the show is split into three segments, appetizer, entrée and dessert. One chef gets “Chopped” after each segment, leaving one winner who takes home $10,000.00. Each chef gets a “mystery basket” that contains four items (the same four items for each chef). They must create a dish that fits the category and uses each of the four items in some way. There are some seriously bizarre items so it’s a huge challenge to creativity and ingenuity. The chefs have access to a stocked refrigerator and pantry which they can use items from. Then, as if the weird ingredients are not enough, they get ridiculous time limits, 20 minutes for an app, 30 each for both the entrée and the dessert. Anyone who cooks from scratch regularly knows how insane that is. Chopping all your veggies can easily take 15 - 20 minutes!

It’s crazy pressure and I love seeing what they come up with and which chefs rise above the challenges and which fall apart and don’t finish and figuring out why and where they went wrong. I think about what I would do with the ingredients they have, how to get it done fast and what other ingredients to incorporate. On a recent episode, one of the chefs was freaking out because there wasn’t any fish sauce in the pantry. Now this show is all about adapting, but here I agree with her, Fish Sauce is a staple! It should be in everyone’s pantry. It is something that I always have on hand, but obviously those who stocked the pantry for this show, didn’t.

This made me start thinking, what do I consider essential staples? What are the things I absolutely always try to have on hand? So I started making a list and found that what I consider staples results in a very large list, probably why my cupboards are always so full! 

So, these are my kitchen staples, what are yours?

Pantry Staples:

Oils: Olive, Canola, Peanut, Sesame

Non-stick spray – canola & olive oil

Flour – All purpose and whole wheat

Oatmeal

Sugar

Baking Soda

Baking Powder

Salt, table & kosher

Bread crumbs

Corn Meal

Cocoa powder

Coffee

Bullion – chicken, beef & vegetable

Powdered Milk

Onions

Garlic

Pasta, various types

Potato Flakes

Fish Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Molasses

Vinegar – Balsamic, Rice, Red Wine, Apple Cider

Hot sauce

Honey

Red Wine

White Wine

Vodka 

 Refrigerator Staples

Eggs

Butter – salted & unsalted

Milk

Half & half

Eggs

Thai Garlic/Chili paste

Soy Sauce

Lemon juice

Lime juice

Sour Cream

Cream Cheese

Sharp Cheddar

Maple Syrup (REAL!)

Canned Goods:

Coconut Milk

Tomatoes

Tomato sauce

Tomato Paste

Potatoes

Corn – whole kernel & creamed

Green beans

Beans – black, kidney, white

Tuna

Salmon

Jalapenos

Spices & Herbs:

Allspice

Basil

Bay Leaf

Black Pepper (whole, only use w/grinder)

Cardamom – pods & ground

Caraway

Cayenne Pepper

Celery seed

Chili powder – various varieties like super spicy, adobe, chipotle

Cinnamon

Coriander

Cumin

Curry Powder

Dried chili's

Fenugreek seeds

Garlic Powder

Mace

Mushrooms, dried

Nutmeg

Oregano

Paprika

Parsley

Rosemary

Thyme

Sage

Tarragon

Turmeric

Vanilla