How to Stock Your Pantry for Quick and Easy Meals
Be prepared for emergency meals, surprise guests and no-fuss cooking.
1. Store a variety of oils and vinegars. Olive oil and vinegar are great for marinades, salad dressings, sautés and bread dipping.
2. Keep garlic, onions and potatoes handy. Onions and garlic are used in practically every main-dish recipe, and a potato can be a meal in itself (particularly sautéed with the onions and garlic).
3. Store rice, dried pastas and other grains. They're great for any quick meal.
4. Have canned broths or frozen stocks handy for last-minute hearty soups.
5. Freeze meats and fish and buy frozen or canned vegetables. You'll be ready for any craving.
6. Create a wine and spirits supply. Your surprise guests will be glad you did, and many recipes call for wine or liquors. Plus, it's always nice to sip a gl*** of wine while you cook.
7. Keep maple syrup and pancake mix in your cupboards for weekend breakfasts. Store canned artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Whipping up a nice antipasto or salad will be easy.
8. Refrigerate a variety of cheeses. They're great for snacking, toppings, salads and perking up a c***erole.
9. Think about your favorite meals before you head to the market. Pick up supplies as you remember them. Your reserve pantry may create itself.
10. Buy in bulk. Anything that won't go bad during a two-year period is the perfect bulk buy.
eHow to Stock a Basic Pantry
Stocking your pantry is the first step to creating a kitchen ready for anything.
Steps:
1. Create an herb rack or make cupboard space for spices and herbs. Get started with: salt and pepper, chili powder, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, curry powder, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Some shops sell ready-made herb racks with a selection of jarred seasonings. (Image 1)
2. Keep baking supplies handy, such as flour, brown and white sugar, baking powder or soda, cornstarch and vanilla extract. In addition to baking, you'll use these for creating and thickening sauces and sweetening beverages. (Image 2)
3. Stock your refrigerator and cupboards with condiments. You can always find uses for mayonnaise, ketchup, mustards, jams and other spreads. Good black olives, pickles, capers and other salty, tangy bites can jazz up your meals as well. (Image 3)
4. Refrigerate eggs and freeze butter.
5. Keep nuts and seeds around. They're great in s and cakes, pastas and salads and for snacking and guests.
6. Buy a few kinds of good cheese - at least one grating cheese, like parmesan - for instant tasty protein.
7. Store dried pastas, rice, cereals, potatoes and other durable grains. Their value is limitless and you'll never go hungry. (Image 4)
8. Always, always, always have garlic and onions available. Almost every type of known cuisine calls for these two items.
9. Keep oils for frying (canola and olive, at minimum) and salad dressings; store vinegars (red wine, white wine, balsamic, or all three, plus plain) for vinaigrettes and whenever a little acidity is needed. (Image 5)
10. Lay in one bottle of dry white wine and one bottle of red wine, for both cooking and drinking.
11. Buy canned and jarred staples for when you're in a pinch. Tuna, canned beans and sauces can start off any kitchen creation. Canned tomatoes are indispensable for quick pasta sauces.
Tips:
If you commonly make ethnic foods, you'll want to keep a supply of ingredients used in those cuisines as well. See the Related eHows for suggestions.
eHow to Stock Your Pantry for Italian Cooking
Have the joy of Italian kitchen cooking at your fingertips - stock your pantry now, reap the benefits later.
Steps:
1. Have a melange of Italian herbs handy. Include basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Invest in a nice pepper mill and whole peppercorns.
2. Store plenty of pastas, Arborio rice (for risotto), gnocchi and polenta - these are the basis for many a meal.
3. Always, always keep onions and some garlic laying around. Almost every Itailan dish includes these.
4. Buy canned tomato paste, Roma (plum) tomatoes and, for a pinch, premade sauces. But with some garlic, onions, and canned tomatoes, you can make your own sauce easily.
5. Lay in a good supply of wine, for both cooking and drinking. Pick dry white wines for cooking, tasty chianti for drinking.
6. Store canned broths, frozen stocks and/or boullion cubes for Italian stews and braises.
7. Keep at least one grating cheese on hand for pastas. Parmesan, pecorino and romano are good choices for grating. You might also stock mozzerella for melting and ricotta for baking.
8. Buy prepared pizza crusts and doughs. The wonton wrappers sold in most supermarkets are an great shortcut to quick and easy (while not entirely authentic) ravioli.
9. Use extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for marinades, sautés and bread. Combine the olive oil, pine nuts and fresh basil for homemade pesto.
10. Store canned sardines and anchovies. They're perfect in pastas and salads and on top of pizza. Some salty capers and good black olives never hurt either.
Tips:
A simple sauce of sautéed onions and garlic simmered with canned tomatoes for 15 minutes or so is a great meal in a pinch. You can augment the sauce with red pepper flakes, some salty capers or olives, or sardines or anchovies. A can of good-quality tuna fish, sautéed with the onions, works well too.
eHow to Stock Your Pantry for Asian Cooking
Stock your pantry to prepare Asian so that when the cravings come, you're ready.
Steps:
1. Always have lots of Asian short-grain or Thai jasmine rice, dry egg noodles and/or dry rice noodles handy. Every Asian delight is accompanied by a filling starch.
2. Store a variety of sauces, such as soy sauce, tamari (Japanese soy sauce), oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and black bean sauce, to name a few. These sauces are used in both marinades and stir-frying.
3. For Southeast Asian cooking, stock red or green curry pastes, coconut milk and fish sauce.
4. Keep plain or rice vinegar, dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing), and sugar for stir-fry sauces.
5. Get some dried shiitake mushrooms, which add incredible depth of flavor to stir-fries and other . Plus, after you soak the dried mushrooms in water, the water itself is delicious to use in your cooking.
6. Stock a block of firm tofu at all times for instant protein.
7. Refrigerate pre-prepared wonton skins and egg roll wrappers. These are readily available in most supermarkets and are great for making dim sum, spring rolls, wontons and pot stickers.
8. Keep a variety of oils for use in the wok and to flavor your creations. Vegetable oil is great for the wok; dark sesame oil provides a popular Asian taste.
9. Store garlic, garlic, garlic. It's as popular as rice. Fresh ginger root is great to have around, too.
10. Keep an ***ortment of Asian teas handy (one green, one black, one oolong) to serve with and after food.
11. Get some cornstarch. It's often used to thicken sauces and hold together the ingredients in wontons and dim sum.
12. Buy a wok and other Asian utensils, such as a bamboo steamer, a rice cooker and a cleaver.
Tips:
Prepare your mind before you begin creating your newly appointed Asian kitchen. Asian cooking is founded on the principle of yin and yang, or the balance of opposites: dark and light, soft and crunchy, sweet and sour. Some perfect examples to get you started are: ginger and sesame oil, plum sauce and vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, noodles and bean sprouts.
For the simplest of stir-fry sauces, combine one part soy sauce, one part vinegar, one part sherry or Shaoxing, a pinch of sugar, a dash of chili oil or chili-garlic sauce, and one to two parts water. Whisk in a few teaspoons of cornstarch.
eHow to Stock Your Pantry for Mexican Cooking
You can enjoy the flavors of a Mexican cantina in your kitchen anytime if you're stocked up with the goods.
Steps:
1. Buy fresh and dried chiles of all sorts - or, if possible, grow them. Fresh chiles to try include jalapeno and pasilla. Dried chiles include ancho, chipotle, guajillo, negro and mulato. They set off every Mexican dish. Canned chiles will work if you can't locate dried.
2. Combine Mexican herbs with your collection: add chili powder, cayenne pepper and paprika, as well as oregano, cumin, and fresh cilantro and epazote (if you can find it).
3. Refrigerate ready-made salsa and spicy sauces. They're great for dipping chips and accompanying fish and en tacos and other .
4. Always have garlic and onions handy. You'll use them all the time.
5. Keep flour and corn tortillas in your cupboard or refrigerator. You'll need them for burritos, tacos, enchiladas and the like.
6. Buy white rice in bulk. That way you can create Spanish rice and mucho rice to accompany everything.
7. Use canned refried beans and store them along with canned black and pinto beans.
8. Keep lemons and limes in reach - especially limes. They add amazing flavor to many .
9. Buy Monterey Jack, queso fresco and queso cotijo cheeses to include in enchiladas and burritos.
10. Use Tabasco or other hot sauces for added heat.
Tips:
To use dried chiles, rehydrate them by soaking them in hot water. (You might opt to toast the chiles first in a hot dry skillet.) Then remove the stems and seeds and puree with water.
s and cakes, pastas and salads and for snacking and guests. 
so that when the cravings come, you're ready. 
en tacos and other 
Linear Mode
