New Years Resolutions: The Pantry

I don’t make grand New Year’s resolutions. Many years, I woke up after busy holiday seasons wanting only more sleep. Even before that I don’t recall any particular ambitions. A vague desire to get skinnier, with no real plan? Sure. A passing ambition for fluency in another language (again, without a plan)? That’s about it.

For the last 4-5 months, I’ve been working on my own personal reset plan. I’ve been working two jobs since November. For a person like me--tentative and anxious--at a time like this--trying to launch a business and pivot my life toward something more sustainable--getting The Main Things accomplished is enough. Some days, it’s a lot.

Many of us do make resolutions though, and food is pivotal to many: weight, money, nutrition and wellness make an appearance in the granular planning that accompanies the most successful resolutions. I can’t promise that I’ll tell you something that dissolves the pounds and clears the mind, but I have some tricks of the trade that I’ve picked up in professional kitchens and translate well into daily life. If you’re still in after this first month I hope you’ll try some, and see how helpful they are in real life.

“He who dies with the biggest pantry, wins.”

--Sean Brock.

At work, we have a list of available homemade vinegars on a whiteboard, and four different grains in the freezer. Scrap of fish and unclaimed pieces of whole animals are cured and smoked, or turned into sausage. Excess veg goes into soups, grain bowls and salads, where a little can go a long way.

These basic building blocks more than add value to a restaurant’s bottom line--they literally give the chef the necessary tools to make delicious food. You should give yourself the same tools in order to assemble something fast, appealing, and cheap.

Below, an appraisal of my current pantry. Do you need to duplicate it? No. Your tastes, budget and options may vary. But this can be a useful tool. Also I have to go shopping after this. Efficiency!

Dry Goods--Grains:

A large batch(4-8 cups cooked, usually from about 1-4 cups uncooked) of cooked grains early in the week can be the base for side dishes, salads and soups. Cooking grains is pretty mindless: get the water volume right, season, and cook per the instructions. It’s also possible to combine different grains for mixed grain bowl or porridge. If you plan to use starchy grains like rice for salads, avoid overcooking (stick to the shorter end of a given time range) and allow them to cool completely before dressing.

Have:

• Grits and polenta: Buy from a farm. In the south that shouldn't be hard.
• Freekeh: Easier to find in ATL than farro, and I like that it's whole grain and toasted.
• Brown Rice
• Amaranth: from the garden. Look for a post on how to grow and harvest, and why you should.
• Popcorn: a fantastic salty, crunchy, whole grain snack.
• Poor quality basmati rice: from adventures in "value. " This is an example of the "buy the best you can afford" truism. I am the proud owner of 20 pounds of rice I kind of hate.

Need:

• Oats: rolled for granola, cut for porridge.
• Canned hominy--a friend turned me onto this delicious, highly convenient magic ingredient for braises and stews.
• Rice grits & middlins: all the fun of high-quality rice without the cooking time. Amazon carries a brand that I don't know, or check my recommendations at the bottom of this post.
• Quinoa: I don't love it, but it's fast and high in protein, so consider keeping it around. 

Dry Goods: beans and lentils, dried, canned and frozen:

Calico beans, from the WNC farmers market outside Asheville

There are a lot of good reasons to cook beans from dry: starchy liquid that provides satisfying body to soups, stews and simple vegetable braises, more complete nutrition from the beans themselves, incredible value, and the ability to buy better quality and more interesting beans. Some of get really excited about special beans that only come through the mail. That’s fine, okay? Fine.

There’s only one reason to keep canned or frozen beans on hand, but it’s compelling: I’m tired and hungry and thisclose to just going out for pizza and beer. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to save money, eat better, drink less or lose weight, convenient beans make it all possible. I like to have large beans and chickpeas for hearty stews and soups, smaller beans and lentils for salads and vegetable dishes.

Have:

• Canned great Northern beans
• Kidney beans
• Frozen edamame
• Chickpeas
• Calico beans (so pretty!)

Need:

• Lentils--I’m partial to red ones for the color. Green lentils are firmer and better for salads.
• Black beans or pintos

Dry Goods: Flavor and interest, bonus snacks:

 

 

I keep a good selection of nuts because they’re one of my favorite snacks and I will add them to almost any dish I make. They’re great as an add-in to vegetable and herb purees or a base for a thicker sauce.

Dried fruits are good for granola and can be soaked to pureed to add in as a sweetener, glaze, or as a sauce base.

I won’t get too prescriptive with spices: everyone has their favorites. I’ve noticed that real smoked Spanish paprika(it should smell smoky like bacon) adds depth to quick dishes, and I like having a few blends available so I don’t have to think too hard. Right now I have berebere, mughal and regular garam masala. I also got some lemon pepper as part of a gift bag, and find that it’s good at brightening up a heavy dish or adding to eggs like my parents did on Sunday mornings. Otherwise, use kosher salt and a pepper grinder and you’re pretty set.

Finally, oil and vinegars. I keep a selection of vinegars. I keep a cooking oil, salad oil--grapeseed for both at the moment--and when I can, a nice bottle of real olive oil. After reading about widespread fraud in olive oil, I only buy from stores that I trust, and we picked up a liter of olive oil at a farm in Puglia over the summer.

Dry Goods: Easy meal builders:

Some meals are shockingly easy to build from a well-stocked pantry. I'm particularly fond of Tom kha and Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.

Have:

• Pasta
• Canned tomatoes
• Olives
• Stock

Need:

• Coconut Milk

If you want to get some fancy pantry inventory, I humbly recommend finding grits, polenta or cornmeal from a good local farmer. I'm partial to Red Mule, Riverview Farms, and Dayspring. If you want to get in the grain weeds, check out Anson Mills. IRL, stop the next time you see a low-slung warehouse-style farmers market somewhere with more space than buildings. You'll get great service as the only one in the building, and you might score some calico beans.

What do you  need to have in your pantry? What do you make on a late Tuesday? Let me know!

Next week I'll talk about getting the most value and meals from our most expensive ingredients.

Happy February!