Building Blocks

As promised, here we go on our culinary adventure. I am not going to rewrite the introduction to the book word for word. What I do want to start with is to give you a list of what I consider the essential ingredients to have in your house. They are the building blocks of just about anything you could think of making. In the world without Covid-19, these would all be pretty easy to find at any grocery store.
The fact that I went to the store yesterday and couldn't find any SALT is insane. I realize we are
keeping clean, but are we supposed to be KOSHERING everything in sight? Oy vey...

I'm going to break this into a few categories. Let's start with the refrigerator.

• Butter- you can keep in the freezer if you don't use often. Two kinds: unsalted (for baking) and salted. I think I've mentioned I'm a huge fan of Kerrygold Irish butter. I can eat that stuff like brie. 
• Dijon mustard
• Grainy mustard
• Hoisin sauce
• Capers
• Olives (black, green, all kinds)
• Ketchup (Heinz)
• Lemons and Limes
• Vinaigrette type dressings and Ranch dressing 
• Mayo (I've recently discovered Duke's)
• Miso paste
• Tamarind paste
• Eggs (farm eggs if possible. Or at least free range. Cage free? Nope)
• Some kind of teriyaki marinade (I have Trader Joe's)
• Salsa
• Italian tomato paste (it comes in a tube)
• Anchovy paste (adds umami to certain things, trust me)

Here's a lovely picture of the door of my fridge. You may notice other essentials like Bloody Mary Mix, white wine and Prosecco..

Once you open things like Chipotle peppers, Sriracha and Chili Garlic Sauce, you'll keep them in the fridge as well. 

And this is the perfect lead-in to the next list, hot sauces. I'm not a connoisseur of those pain inducing fire sauces; I like my heat to have depth and flavor. 

• Tabasco (red, green, chipotle, as many as you like)
• Sriracha (once upon a time, no one knew what this was. Now it's ubiquitous)
• Chili Garlic Sauce
• Sweet Chili Sauce (mostly sweet; kinda hot)
• Chili oil
• Chipotle peppers in adobo (smoked jalapenos in sauce)

Stocks. You can make your own, but these days, I don't. Even thought I am mostly a vegetarian, I still use chicken stock in certain things. I buy the Beyond Bouillon stuff in a jar and keep it in the fridge. You can also get their vegetable base and/or beef base. I find the stock in the boxes have absolutely NO flavor. 

Let's go to the pantry, shall we? 

• Flour (all purpose, unbleached)
• Sugar
• Corn Starch
• Cornmeal
• Brown Sugar
• Pasta (all shapes and sizes. Imported, if possible)
• Asian Noodles (so many varieties. If you have an Asian market near you, YAY)
• Rice (converted long grain, brown, jasmine, basmati, arborio, sushi, and if you can find it-black forbidden rice.)
• Beans (so versatile, so good for you, so yummy. Dried beans have better texture, but you have to soak them or use an instant pot. Canned beans are fine. As many varieties as possible)
• Soy Sauce (or tamari, if you need gluten free)
• Oils (Vegetable. NOT CANOLA. Read my blog post about Canola. Olive oil. Extra virgin is great for dressings, finishing things, dipping bread, but don't cook in it. High fat content causes it to burn quicker and get bitter. Use a virgin or below to cook. Sesame oil. Coconut oil. Whatever turns you on)
• Vinegar (Red wine, white wine, rice wine, balsamic, white balsamic, apple cider, infused. Love the stuff) 
• Grains (Quinoa, barley, wheat berries, bulgur, oats, farro, etc. Trader Joe's has great small bags of quick cooking grains, so you don't have to buy monster bags of stuff.)
• Herbs and Spices (Garlic, cumin, black peppercorns, dried herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and Montreal Steak and Chicken seasoning. Really. I love them)
• Salt (Kosher, Pink Himalayan, some kind of sea salt. If you're really into salt, treat yourself to Malden Salt from England. It's a flaked salt used for finishing things that is a game changer for stuff like avocado toast)
• Potatoes, Onions and Garlic (keep in a cool, dry place)

I'm sure there's more stuff, but that's a good start. As you get more confident with your cooking, you will branch out and buy things like dried shiitakes, bonito flakes, kombu, dried peppers, and other wacky stuff. 

OK, That's all for today. If you do have a lot of this stuff, yay for you. If you don't, do your best to find some of it out there. There's always grocery delivery if your local supermarket is bare. Like mine. I promise, you will use all of these ingredients. Tomorrow we start doing some recipes. 

Thanks for reading, my friends. I really appreciate your support.