My cousin Fran just sent a photo of a delicious bowl of Pasta Fagioli she had made for dinner. It looked so good, I decided to make some for us. Not to worry, all the ingredients were already in my pantry!
My Mom, having been a young adult during World War 2 and rationing, always kept a huge store of pantry items. The same was true for my mother-in-law, Flavia. Both Moms had “just-in-case extras” on extensive shelves in their basements.
This would include cans of soup, beans, tomatoes, and tuna; bottles of ketchup, mustard, and mayo, and in my Mom’s case, lots of dry pasta in any shape or size you might need.
She could always feed an army… sometimes without a trip to the grocery store.
Although I didn’t grow up in war times and have never experienced a shortage of food, I confess to doing the same. I stock up when things are on sale, knowing that they will get used eventually. I also like having some items always available, like canned beans, artichokes, chicken stock, tomatoes, dry pasta, and risotto. When I’m in Costa Rica, our Italian market is an hour and a half away, so I always stock up when we go there, and our pantry always seems to have more than we need for just the two of us.
This all got me thinking…
I’ve often wanted to make a checklist of these pertinent pantry items, but my pantry seems to grow organically, and occasionally has a few items I just “have to try” and then never use.
Nonetheless, I will attempt this pantry project, along with recipes that can be made from your store… rather than having to go to one!
When I say pantry, I also include items I keep frozen. This way there is always a meal ready to go on those days when time is short.
Once a month, I will be working on this project, listing items I always keep on hand. I will divide my list into categories, both for dry storage and the freezer. I will also include favorite recipes that can be made with these items.
First I’d like to start with protein…
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