Essentials

In my kitchen I keep a few essentials. Things I use fairly constantly. I suggest everyone have these ingredients on hand.Cornstarch – I don’t use much of it, but when I do I find it invaluable.

Lawry’s Season Salt – I’ve tried generic brands and it’s just not the same. This stuff is great as a last minute spice for a last minute dish.

Garlic Salt – Self-explanatory.

Dried, diced onion – great in marinades and in dishes themselves. Lots of onion flavor, no tears, no peels, no knives.

Minced garlic in olive oil – buy it or make it, but have some.

Extra light olive oil – this is the oil I use for nearly everything (except frying). It’s good for you and practically flavorless and works in all dishes.

Whole wheat flour – There is little better than whole wheat yeast rolls with dinner. Low fat and full of complex carbs – plus tasty! Got a hankering for cookies? Use this instead of white flour.

Dried parsley – it adds a quick dash of color and enhances flavors.

Worcestershire sauce – excellent flavor, great for marinades.

Soy sauce – another marinade necessity.

Balsamic and red wine vinegars – both add unique flavors to marinades, dressings, etc.

Bread crumbs – buy them or make your own. Whole wheat bread doesn’t work well, it really needs to be white.

Cumin seed – ground and whole. The ground is useful quite often, but the whole offers an entirely different flavor when roasted in the Middle Eastern tradition.

Sea salt – it adds valuable minerals to your diet and contains less sodium than table salt. Of course, I keep it on hand as well. Sea salt isn’t good for last minute ‘needs more salt’ adjustments, for that use table salt.

Black pepper – fresh ground is best, ground and in a tin is fine though.

Chicken broth – canned and/or boxed varieties. I keep both on hand as a general rule. This stuff is exceedingly helpful in the kitchen.

Tomatos – diced, sauced and pasted, keep them all in your pantry.

Ground ginger – or fresh. I don’t use it enough to keep fresh ginger on hand, but I do keep a jar of ground ginger in the fridge.

Onions – I know I listed dried onion as an essential ingredient, and it is, but they have a different flavor than fresh onion, not to mention the ‘chunky’ factor of fresh, chopped onion.

Potatoes – I keep a pound or two of fingerling or baby red potatoes on hand at all times. They’re great for adding to soups, stews and chowders to add some body and they make a quick, easy, healthy side dish that’s surprisingly satisfying.