Staple food

A few days ago I was talking with a co-worker about recipes. One thing she said to me is that she doesn't really have staple food in her house to just start making a recipe without planning ahead. I decided to start this blog by sharing what are some of the staple food  that I have in my house most of the time making cooking more fun and spontaneous.

So here we go; 

Spices and herbs; I mostly cook with dehydrated herbs and spices mostly for convenience. I have many kind of herbs but if you are just starting to cook I would at least get the following; Basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne, cloves, cumin, coriander, chili powder & cayenne. Those are the most common I use.

Oils; I cook most of my food in Extra Virgin olive oil but you can also cook in Canola oil or vegetable oils. I always keep Sesame Oil (not needed if you are just starting to cook but I love the taste), vegetable oil.

Vinegars; I use Balsamic vinegar for most of my recipes and for my salad dressing but I also keep Red Wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar and use them occasionally.

Mustard; I use Dijon for salad dressing but it can also be used in some recipes. I always have dehydrated mustard.

Rice and grains; long grain rice, barley and couscous. There are many new grains on the market that are delicious and I often get Quinoa and Farros. I find that most recipes that suggest a certain grain can be replace with any other grains.

Legumes; Beans (fresh and cans); I usually have canned black beans, kidney beans, Cannelloni beans and Chick peas. I have dehydrated beans but to be honest with you I am a very busy women and mostly use canned beans.

Pasta; I always have various kind of pasta but I would suggest to keep  at least spaghetti, macaroni, & fettuccine. 

Tomato product; canned tomatoes (diced, stewed),  tomato paste (I put it in ice cube freezer trays which I spray with olive oil first),  tomato sauce.
 
For the fresher vegetables; I always have fresh garlic, onion, peppers (red and green), mushrooms, carrots and potatoes. Most of the time I also have a rutabaga, they keep for a long time, and a squash or some sort.

I also usually have broth; vegetable brother and beef and chicken imitation broth.

Almost forgot!  I usually have eggs & lots of cheeses including Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs.

Too many people worry about the quantity of certain ingredients in recipes but it doesn't really matter for the most part. I'll also talk about herbs and spices along the way. 

Enjoy Cooking and don't sweat it!  It really is easy and fun. 







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