How to Stock your Pantry – the First Time

Why Stock your Pantry

– and what the heck does that mean anyway?

Moving into your first home, whether a house or an apartment, shared or alone, it can be terribly intimidating. You move your clothes, your personal belongings and whatever furniture you’ve accumulated and miscellaneous pieces that generous friends or parents have been willing to part with. Then it comes to the kitchen, again maybe you’ve collected a few pots and pans, some utensils, dishes and silverware but what about that cupboard called the pantry? What goes in there and why? Don’t have a clue; well my new book, ‘What’s In Your Pantry’, can help you from learning to stock your pantry to actually collecting the necessary items to create your own delicious dishes.

A well-stocked pantry will save you money, help you to create quick easy dishes, keep you healthy and away from those fast food stops on you’re way home from work or school. If you have roommates a communal pantry works great. Keep your pantry items fresh by purchasing items in small amounts unless you think you really can use a 20-pound bag of all-purpose flour. In my book, ‘What’s In Your Pantry’, I’ve listed items by grocery aisle to make it easy to purchase what you need from your local store.

So let’s begin. Here are some basics that I recommend for your first home or apartment.

Sea Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Vinegar, red wine, balsamic and plain white
Chicken or Vegetable stock
A variety of pasta and a jar of your preferred pasta sauce
Jasmine rice
Dried mushrooms
Canned plum tomatoes
Canned meat (chicken, beef), fish (tuna, salmon, anchovies, sardines)
Canned fruit, beans, canned or jarred vegetables, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, olives, green beans, corn, sun-dried tomatoes and the list could go on and on.

Sea salt and pepper are a must, of course; not table salt. A good sea salt without any preservatives can be purchased for a reasonable cost, no need to get one of the extravagant sea salts from the cookware store. The reason for the no preservative salt is purely for flavor. Many salts have additives to keep it from clumping together and help make it free flowing. This can give the salt an aftertaste and therefore affect the flavor of your food. Using a small amount of sea salt can add a nice fresh taste to your food. Freshly ground pepper is so much more flavorful than ‘pre-ground’ pepper. Luckily for all of us, many of the spice companies now offer a jar of peppercorns with a grinder attached at the top. These can conveniently be purchased at your local market. Be sure to season your food as you cook, not just at the end of the preparation. In order to determine how much seasoning you need, you’ll need to taste your dish as you prepare it. Simple. Taste again before serving to make sure that the seasonings are adjusted to your taste.

Choosing olive oil can be a daunting task; if you’re lucky you’ll be able to taste a few varieties before you purchase one. Choose one in your price range that has a nice, clean flavor. Use a pure olive oil for cooking and save your more expensive extra-virgin oil for special salad dressings or to toss with your cooked vegetables.

Red wine or balsamic vinegar to create salad dressings and more are a must. A plain white vinegar is great for cleaning things like coffee makers, floors, windows and the like. A little white vinegar added to your boiling water for poached eggs would help keep them from spreading out in the pan.

Chicken or vegetable stock should be free of preservatives, MSG and high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes the ‘low salt’ versions have these added to punch up the flavor.

You can ‘doctor’ your jarred pasta sauce with a little red wine, some Italian herbs, mushrooms, olives or whatever you can imagine for a great little dinner in no time!

Jasmine rice has a nice aromatic aroma, add some leftover roast chicken, cooked veggies and dinner is served.

Dried mushrooms reconstituted in wine, chicken stock or warm water, add a considerable amount of flavor to any dish.

Canned meat can be added not only to salads and soups but stews and casserole type dishes. They’re great for sandwiches as well. Anchovies can add depth to a salad dressing or a pasta sauce.

Canned tomatoes with some chicken stock added, a can of vegetables, some mushrooms, canned beans (rinsed and drained, of course), some leftover cooked pasta, a little Parmesan cheese and voila, you’ve created a healthy satisfying soup! Add a loaf of good bread and a bottle of wine and mangia (eat)!

So be creative in your kitchen and don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s how great dishes are created!

Temecula Olive Oil Cooking Classes

11 / 10 / 13

Jan. Demo Class

Thursday Jan. 16th 6:30 – 8:30

Temecula Olive Oil Company’s
Seal Beach Tasting Room
148 Main Street, Seal Beach

$35.00
Pre-paid reservations only, please call
(562) 296-5421

Menu

Blood Orange ‘Punch’
Fresh Jam & Granola Yogurt
Roasted Tomato & Mixed Cheese Quiche on Pomegranate and Tangerine Micro Green Salad
with Herb Roasted Dutch Yellow Potatoes
Orange Olive Oil Streusal Cake

Chocolate Espresso Waffles with Fresh Fruit

Happy Halloween

10 / 30 / 13

On All Hallows Eve…….

Just back from our Fall Farm, Food and Wine Tour to Cambria and Paso Robles we’d like to share some of the wonderful Scarecrows of Cambria!

Apple Harvest

10 / 23 / 13

As summer begins to fade away and the feel of fall comes creeping in so does some wonderful fruit, pomegranates, all kinds of citrus, apples and eventually pears. Have you ever been apple picking? With the smell of apples lightly scenting the air, it’s intoxicating. So too is the smell of apples being prepared in a myriad of recipes for the fall. Do you know which apples are best for cooking, how to choose and store them?

Here are a few guidelines and some recipe suggestions. An apple a day keeps the doctor away may be just another saying but there is some truth behind that. Apples are the ultimate fruit, low in calories with no fat, sodium or cholesterol. The pectin in apples actually helps to dissolve the cholesterol in ones blood stream. High in fiber, anti-oxidants, potassium, niacin and a variety of vitamins, apples are a near perfect fruit.

Choose organic apples as apples have topped the Environmental Working Groups ‘Dirty Dozen’ list, which identifies the most pest laden fruit and vegetables. You’ll want to eat the skin of the apple as disease-fighting pectin (fiber) lies directly under the skin.

Select firm fruit with no bruises or scars and treat them gently.
Don’t wash your apples until you’re ready to use them.
Keep them in a cool place, your fruit drawer of the refrigerator is fine but don’t store with other fruit. Apples give off a gas, which will ripen you’re other fruit faster. Some apples will keep weeks in the refrigerator. They will keep a few days on the counter.

Apple Variety Guide

Cooking Apples

Ambrosia
Braeburn
Cameo
Golden Delicious
Honeycrisp
Jazz
Jonagold
Jonalicious
Jonathon
McIntosh
Pink Lady
Red Delicious

For more information on apples or to order some types not available in your regular market check Melissa’s Produce here (click).

What do you do with a bumper crop of tomatoes?

8 / 27 / 13

I usually freeze my tomatoes until I have time later to make sauce, ketchup or just can some chopped tomatoes for later use. (I freeze them by washing and drying them, placing them on a baking sheet and freezing until solid. No, I do not peel or seed them as the skin comes off easily when they are defrosted. Once frozen, I place into an airtight freezer bag and return to the freezer. This allows me to defrost one or ten, however many I need at the time.)

I like to do ‘small batch’ canning, which means I can do a few jars at a time. Of course when my tomatoes come in all at once, I haul out the big canner and fill it up. The basic procedure for canning small or large batches is the same only the equipment varies slightly. If I’m canning a small batch instead of the big canner, I can usually use a large stockpot, deep enough for the water to cover the jars by 2″. I use a cake rack for the bottom of the stockpot so the jars don’t sit on the bottom of the pot where they could possibly break. That’s it!

Tomatoes-I do not peel or seed my tomatoes, just pack them raw
Tomato juice (you could also use hot water)
Lemons
Sea salt
Fresh herbs, optional

For Processing Tomatoes You will need:

A stockpot or regular canner (tall enough so the jars are submerged by 2″ while processing)
A rack for the bottom of the stockpot or canner
Canning lifters (for jars & for lids), wide mouth funnel
Canning jars, lids and screw bands
Several clean tea towels
Baking sheet

Place the rack in the bottom of your stockpot. Make sure to choose a deep enough pot so that the jars will be covered 2″ of water.

Fill the pot with water and begin to bring to a boil. Line a baking sheet with a clean tea towel.

Wash and dry the jars, lids and screw bands. Place lids into a small saucepan with hot water.

Prepare tomatoes by washing and lying out on a towel to air dry (they don’t have to be totally dry). If desired, cut tomatoes into quarters and set aside. I don’t peel or seed my tomatoes before packing as the skin comes right off when I take them out of the jar. If I don’t want to use the seeds, I simply strain them out.

Heat jars by placing them into the stockpot while you bring the water to a boil. Remove them to the cloth lined baking sheet when you are ready to fill with tomatoes. (The water in the stockpot should be boiling or very close to it).

Place one or two slices of lemon on the bottom of your jar.

Fill your jars with tomatoes, really squish them in there, and use a wooden spoon to smash them down. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and a tablespoon of lemon juice (from a real lemon). You can also add herbs such as basil, thyme or parsley. Using a plastic knife or chopstick, slide it down the side of the jar removing any air bubbles. Add tomato juice to cover the tomatoes and a slice of lemon at the top of the jar before sealing. Leave a 1/2″ headspace.

Wipe the top of the jar, removing any debris from the screw area and the top of the jar. Place the lid and the screw top on the jar, closing only finger tight, and place on the rack in the canner or stockpot. Make sure the jars are covered by 2″ water, bring to a boil and time for 40 minutes (for pints) or 45 (for qts). The water must be boiling the entire 40 minutes or you’ll need to restart the timer from the beginning. Remove to a cloth lined baking sheet and let cool for 24 hours before moving.

After 24 hours, if the center of the lid still moves up and down the jar has not sealed properly. You can reprocess this jar once or just put it in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

Summer Pantry

6 / 23 / 13

Summer Pantry

Summer is the time that I am refilling my pantry with my own canned goods, jams, brandied fruit, pickle relish, and all kinds of pickled fruit and vegetables. Some purchased items round out the summer pantry. Here’s what you’ll find in mine, ‘What’s In Your Pantry?’©

Anchovy paste – for great salad dressings and more

Artichoke Hearts – Salads, antipasto platter, or mix in pasta

BBQ sauce – for quick grilled meals

Canned or dried beans – I keep some refrigerated for tossing in salads

Canned Tomatoes and Pasta sauce – indispensible for all sorts of dishes

Chicken Stock – canned or homemade

Chili sauce – Ketchup – Horseradish – Worcestershire sauce

Crackers – Mixed

Dried Pasta – Great for cold salads and fast meals

Dried Italian sausage – for hot, hot nights, a cold platter of cheese, sausage, some pickled veggies and a hunk of fresh bread, but don’t forget the wine!

Hearts of Palm – antipasto platter or salads

Italian Tuna in olive oil –

Potatoes – Small fingerling type for salads, frittatas and roasting

Rice – Bomba (for paella), Carnaroli or Arborio (for risotto) and Jasmine for everything else

Tapenades – unexpected company? easy appetizers

Nuts – almonds, pine nuts (fresh pesto anyone?), walnuts

Oats – for yummy cobblers, muffins and fruit crisps

Olives – Can you tell I love antipasto platters?

Cold Pantry

Cheese – cheddar, jack, mozzarella, fontina, Swiss and blue

Pizza dough (in the freezer, of course), quick to defrost and throw on a grill topped with anything!

Frozen fruit – from the garden or the farmers market. Freeze individually then place in a quart-sized bag, for fruit tart, crisp or pie