Keeping a few items in the pantry at all times makes it easy to make most basic meals, and some fancy ones without having to run to the store every time you want to cook.

Produce

garlic

Use whole cloves of garlic only. NEVER the jar. Anthony Bourdain has a comment on garlic from a jar. He says,   “Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly. Misuse of garlic is a crime…Please, treat your garlic with respect…Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”

ginger

shallots

onions –  sweet, purple

potatoes – red and russet

Spices

Kosher salt

pepper corns and a good pepper grinder

garlic powder – NOT garlic salt

Tony Chechere’s Original Seasoning

ground cumin

bay leaf – whole

corn starch

Canned

diced tomatoes

tomato sauce

tomato paste – I buy canned, but you can get it in a tube for using in small amounts

Packaged

pasta -Barilla mini penne, mini farfalle (bowtie),                                                    lasagne, vermicelli

 bread crumbs – Panko and Progresso

unbleached flour –Be sure not to get self-rising flour because it contains ingredients like baking powder and baking soda. If you are making a recipe that calls for “flour,” it will likely be sans other ingredients.

granulated white sugar

light brown sugar

dark brown sugar

kayro syrup

molasses