Tips for Stocking Up Your Fridge & Pantry

 

To get a satisfying variety of real food on the table it is essential to stock your fridge and pantry with some great items. While doing so, you might also want to clear some of the clutter in your shelves. Some products are so much better in their real form. You can easily replace old, tired items with fresher products for better cooking results.

Here are some ideas:

OUT: Packaged croutons
IN: Freshly baked croutons
Season some extra-virgin olive oil with salt, pepper and your choice of herbs (like rosemary and thyme). Brush oil on slices of bread and cut slices into cubes. Place cubes on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. Yum !

OUT: Bouillon cubes/powder or canned stock.
IN: Fresh stock
Simmer a carrot, a celery stalk, half an onion and some chicken scraps in a couple of cups of water for 30 minutes, and you’ll make delicious, fresh stock 10 times better than the chemical-infused, store-bought stuff.

OUT: Aerosol oil
IN: Extra-virgin olive oil
Pour some extra-virgin olive oil into a hand-pumped sprayer or use a brush to spread some non-stick grease into your frying pan – a healthier and cheaper alternative than commercial, additive-laced, non-stick sprays.

OUT: Bottled salad dressings/marinades
IN: Fresh dressings/marinades
Combine oil and vinegar or lemon juice with salt, pepper and a little Dijon in a proportion of about three parts oil to one of vinegar.  Add a little bit of shallots or balsamic vinegar or  honey or garlic or tarragon (according to your preference). Fresh and delicious, this dressing beats the rip-off store versions anytime!

OUT: Bottled lemon juice
IN: Fresh lemons
Buy fresh lemons and use freshly squeezed lemon juice in all your cooking. Fresh and delicious without the additives !

OUT: Old spices (one year+)
IN: Fresh, aromatic spices (replenished / replaced routinely)
If you get a whiff of dust or must before you smell the spice, chuck it. Spices can really enhance your cooking - try cardamom in your next coffee cake or rice pilaf; try ground cumin in chile; try fennel seeds in tomato sauce or soup; try ginger grated over vegetables or in baked goods; try dried chillies in stews and sauces.

OUT: Dried parsley
IN: Fresh parsley (keeps in the fridge for at least a week)
Dried up parsley is worthless. Add a chopped handful of fresh parsley to any dish and you’re adding incredible flavour and nutrition to your diet.

OUT: Canned beans (except in emergencies)
IN: Dried beans
More economical, better tasting, space-saving and available in more varieties.  Cook a pound once a week and you’ll always have them around (you can freeze small amounts in their cooking liquid indefinitely). Beans are great for minestrone soup, pasta fagiole, chile, etc.

OUT: Imitation vanilla
IN: Vanilla beans
They’re expensive but they keep. If you slice a pod in half and simmer it with some leftover rice and milk (dairy or coconut), you’ll never go back to extract.

OUT: Grated imitation parmesan
IN: Real Parmigiano-Reggiano
If wrapped well, it will keep for a year (you can scrape off any mould if necessary). Magical in just about any dish – pasta, salads, sandwiches, eggs, veggies, soups, etc.

OUT: Tomato paste in a can
IN: Tomato paste in a tube
Why open up a can when all you need is a couple of tablespoons? Add some tomato paste to vegetable soup or to your favourite sautéed vegetables for a delicious and nutritious zing.

OUT: Premade pie crusts
IN: Crumbled graham crackers
Crumble graham crackers with melted butter and press into a pan, for a simple crust without the bad fats you get with the store-bought ones.

OUT: Cheap balsamic or flavoured vinegars
IN: Sherry vinegar
More acidic and genuine than cheap vinegar. Try it in salads and with shredded cabbage.

OUT: Ready boil-in-a-bag grains
IN: Real grains
Short grain rice – for risotto and paella
Barley – a great rice alternative, served with gravy, reduction sauce or pan drippings
Ground corn – for polenta, grits, cornbread or as a thickener
Quinoa – flavourful and super-nutritious
Bulgur – great in salads, especially tabouleh

OUT: Pancake syrup
IN: Real maple syrup
If you live in northern country and can enjoy the real syrup, why would you settle for the candied, coke-like fake stuff?

OUT: Canned peas
IN: Frozen peas
Frozen veggies are packed with nutrients. Just add peas to pasta and parmesan and voila. Or puree with a little lemon juice and salt for a nice spread or dip.

OUT: Fake bacon bits
IN: Real bacon or prosciutto
Tightly-wrapped, it’ll keep for weeks in the fridge, or months in the freezer.
If you have a quarter pound of prosciutto in the house at all times, you can improve the taste of almost anything – simple cooked grains, beans, vegetables, tomato sauces, soup.

OUT: Canned olives
IN: Olives in bulk (cured in olive oil)
Delicious and ready to serve as hors d’oeuvres or as a side at the table. Slice them up and add them to pasta or a salad. Make a killer tapenade by combining olives (kalamata are best – 20, pitted), capers (1 tbsp), lemon juice (1tsp), olive oil (2 tsp), anchovies (1 tbsp) and black pepper.

OUT: Anchovies in water
IN: Anchovies in olive oil
Slice and add to tomato sauce with capers, olives, garlic, chilli peppers and parsley for a wicked puttanesca sauce.

GOOD: Soy sauce
BETTER: Fish sauce
Stronger than soy sauce and absolutely delicious. Use sparingly to enhance rice or any Asian dish.

IN: Capers
Puree with olives and anchovies for a delicious dip. They are exceptional with seafood and pasta and go well with salads, sauces, stews, vegetables (especially tomatoes), pizza, eggs, poultry and meat. Some of the most popular uses of capers include tapenade, scalloppine and remoulade sauce.

IN: Canned Coconut Milk
Cook some onions in oil with curry powder; stir in coconut milk; poach chicken, fish, tofu or meat in sauce. Serve over rice.

IN: Miso Paste
Never goes bad and its flavour is incomparable. Whisk into boiling water for real soup in three minutes; reduce a bit (with sake if you have it) and smear it on meat or fish that’s almost done broiling or add a spoonful to vinaigrette.

IN: Walnuts
Super nutritious and tasty. Puree with garlic, oil and a little water and use as a pasta sauce; add to salads or cooked grains.

IN: Pine Nuts
With raisins, they make any dish Sicilian. Blend a tablespoon with 2 cups of basil, 2 cloves of garlic, ½ cup of olive oil, ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese and some pepper and presto – you have amazing pesto!

IN: Dried Fruit
For snacking or in braises (braised pork with prunes is a classic winter dish) or just soaked in water (or booze) or poached for dessert. Don’t forget dried tomatoes too.

IN: Dried mushrooms
No need to reconstitute if you’re cooking with liquid – just toss them in.

IN: Frozen Shrimp
Incredibly convenient. Great as hors d’oeuvres or in salads or pasta.

IN: Winter Squash
The best winter squashes (delicate) have edible skins and are amazing just chunked and roasted wth a little oil (and maybe some ginger or garlic). For butternut or acorn-type squashes, poke holes through to the centre with a skewer in a few places and roast in a 400 degree oven until soft. Let cool, peel, seed, butter up and dig in.

IN: Sweet Potatoes
More nutritious and interesting than regular potatoes. A sweet potato roasted until the exterior is dark and the interior is mushy is a wonderful snack. Makes amazing mashed potatoes and fries too.