Welcome back y’all; looking forward to paring and sharing real food. Let’s get started by taking a look at our pantries. What’s in there? What should be in there? For starters, nothing fake or full of chemicals, nothing with the words, fat-free, sugar-free, low-fat, blah, blah, blah.
Basics for a healthy pantry/fridge:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil-the best you can afford-should have a green tint.
- Fresh, local chicken eggs-purchase at a farmer’s market, from a cool neighbor or be cool & start your own backyard coop.
- Butter-real, preferably made from grass fed cow’s milk.
- Avocados-so incredibly healthy…I use it instead of mayo.
- Bread-real, artisan, multi-grain bread. Use it for sandwiches, as an accompaniment, make croutons, bread crumbs, toast, on and on…….
- Easy, homemade chicken stock: celery, carrot, onion, parsley, chicken bones & trimmings simmered for about an hour, strain-done! Make a big batch, it freezes well.
- Lemons-add zest to anything to wake up flavors, make lemonade, make easy vinaigrettes, on and on….a real kitchen workhorse!
- Fresh spices-anything over 6 months loses its flavor and potency.
- Fresh herbs-too easy to grow to have any excuses!
- Real cheese-from a wheel, not in vacuumed-sealed plastic and nothing from a round, green can…buy the biggest block you can afford and grate your own. Tip: the rind of parmigiano-reggiano is a great, natural, non plastic teething soother for babies.
- Nuts-especially raw almonds
- Greek yogurt
- Grains-rice, Israeli couscous, quinoa, oats
- Dried Fruit
- Dried Beans
- Real Vanilla Beans- pricey, but they keep and they’re real-no imitation flavors added J
- Tomato paste in a tube
- Real Maple Syrup or Sourghum-sorry Aunt Jemima-just say no to fake food!
- Fresh, bacon-you cannot believe how easy it is to make it homemade-no swine influenza worries here.
- Sherry vinegar-for flavor and acidic balance.
