| "Put on a few eggs, there’s a good fellow!" Gandalf called after him, as the hobbit stumped off to the pantries. "And just bring out the cold chicken and pickles!
"Seems to know as much about the inside of my larders as I do myself!" thought Mr. Baggins, who was feeling positively flummoxed…."
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
It’s fall – time to hunker down and brace for deep-freeze temps. Speaking of which, what’s in your deep freeze? Stocking up your fridge and pantry is a mighty challenge for those of us who tend to live on Ocean Spray tuna and Lean Cuisine all winter. Using the Pantry Personality Profiler, I’ve identified a few common kitchen inventory problems, followed by an excellent grocery list resource for the shopping challenged.
· Costco-mania – Your shelves are stuffed with triplets – or even cases – of everything. This is the sole cause of your current food rut. While it’s cost-effective, you have poor impulse control and your choices are driven by an irrational fear of Armageddon.
· Condimentality – Forget fresh herbs and spices, flavour comes only from squeeze bottles. Your fridge actually has no solid food ingredients. Everything you cook ends up brown. You have serious commitment issues.
· Spartanism – Your fridge only and always contains bread, butter, cheese, mayonnaise and beer. And you wonder why you live on cheese sandwiches and have a drinking problem. You struggle with taking risks.
· International Invasion – During periodic bursts of ethnic enthusiasm, you have collected jars and bags of concoctions with names you can’t pronounce. These expired products have survived three residential moves and are the tangible evidence of chronic intentions, never realized.
According to international food stylist and author Donna Hay, a well-stocked pantry solves the "nothing-for-dinner dilemma." Her cookbook, Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry, offers an invaluable grocery list with all the ingredients you need to put together more than 150 easy and impressive meals. Hay says, "Think of your cupboard as your basic cooking wardrobe, with the fresh ingredients providing the dynamic accessories that highlight the season." Here are some of Hay’s suggested "food wardrobe" staples:
· Pastas – Collect pasta ranging in size from thick to thin, short to round – the more robust the sauce, the bigger the pasta needed. Necessary noodles are egg, rice, bean thread and Chinese wheat noodles.
· Grains and legumes – For rice, you’ll want the jasmine, arborio, basmati and short-grain varieties on hand at all times. Other handy grains and legumes, such as polenta, couscous, canned beans and chickpeas, and red and green lentils add heartiness to meals.
· Adding flavour – Many try to cover blandness ex post facto with prepared condiments. To build flavour into food during preparation, try using pastes, such as Asian chili paste, Thai red and green curry pastes, miso and Dijon. The basics for Hay’s Asian recipes are sweet chili and hoisin sauces, sesame and peanut oils, soy, fish and oyster sauces, and rice wine. Mediterranean dishes start with olives and olive oil, balsamic vinegar, canned tomatoes and tuna, and salted capers.
· Spices – The following herbs and spices should be at your fingertips: thyme, rosemary, oregano, cumin, coriander, anise, cinnamon, sea salt, nutmeg, black peppercorns and vanilla beans.
· Other necessities – Hay recommends that you always have soup stock, frozen berries and slabs of ready-prepared pastry in your freezer. In the fridge you’ll need cheddar, Parmesan and ricotta cheese.
If your budget can’t handle this grocery haul all in one go, pick a half-dozen or so items each visit. "I want you to think about what’s in your cupboards as the bones of your cooking, the stuff you really need," writes Hay. Then, all that’s needed to complete the recipes – and put "flesh" on those "cupboard bones" – are periodic trips to pick up meat, fresh vegetables and other ingredients. Each easy recipe in Hay’s cookbook is prepared and beautifully photographed so you can see how the finished product should look.
This fall, whether entertaining or cooking for one, put some structure and purpose into your grocery shopping. In the end, you’ll save money, eat better and maybe put a little flesh on your own bones. |
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