We've finally moved into our awesome Brooklyn apartment with a huge kitchen and many possibilities. One of the most difficult parts about moving across the country from Seattle has been to literally give up any collection of food, condiments, and pantry staples. So now is a time to slowly rebuild, which is both cleansing and a bit frustrating at times (we don't even have flour in the house at this point!).
What I've been super excited about since we found this place in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is the sheer size of the kitchen, meaning I can finally have a real pantry instead of sharing cabinet space with dishes.
I get excited about nerdy things, namely organization, so get used to it!
The next step however, is filling said pantry with the staples we need on a daily basis as well as items that are nice to have around for those "in a pinch" times. This can be accomplished by a one fail swoop shopping trip, but what I like to do is pick up a few non-perishable items each time your at the store. Before you know it, your pantry/refrigerator/freezer will be full with ingredients to throw together and never have one of those "there's no food in the house" realizations. This keeps you from ordering take-out one too many times!
So as I make my shopping list of kitchen staples for myself, I wanted to share with you my foundation for a well-stocked, modern arsenal.
Basics
- Sea Salt Crystals
- Black Peppercorns
- Flour: White and Whole Wheat
- Organic Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Herbs
In The Pantry
- Pastas: Spaghetti, Bowties, Penne, Lasagna, Angelhair, etc.
- Grains: Brown Rice, Cous-Cous, Quinoa, etc.
- Beans: Black, Pinto, Kidney, etc.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Canned Tuna (organic, not Starkist, Trader Joe's has awesome versions)
- Pasta Sauces: Marinara and Alfredo
- Salsas
- Frozen ready made rices (again, TJ's has great frozen brown and jasmine rice)
- Frozen Vegetables and Fruit
- Tortillas (I always have these around for quesadillas and the like)
- Frozen Cooked Shrimp (easy,add-in protein for almost anything)
In The Fridge
- The usual suspects: Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, Mayo, Relish, etc.
- Preserves: Strawberry, Rasberry, Fig, Apricot, etc.
- Shredded Cheese (few things are not made better with this, am I right?)
- Eggs (easy and cheap protein)
Keep in mind this is just a starter list and by no means complete! I will be posting regularly about items to keep around and the meals to make with them.
What can you not live without in your kitchen?
No comments:
Post a Comment