Friday, October 8, 2010

Kitchen Staples

When thinking of ideas for my blog, I couldn't help but wonder: what better way to start than from the ground up? So, I started reviewing my kitchen "essentials" and what I would consider to be staples in my vegan kitchen.

Quinoa
Brown rice
Whole, rolled oats
Lentils (I like to keep a container of green and red lentils mixed together)
Dried beans: garbanzo, kidney, navy, black, etc.
Black olives
Canned whole, peeled tomatoes
Tomato paste
Frozen berries (usually blueberry)
Onions
Garlic
Every spice or seasoning you can imagine
Vegetable stock
Milk - soy, rice, coconut (all low-fat, unsweetened)
Lemon juice
Vinegar - balsamic and red wine
Olive oil
Cooking spray

I always like keep things for impromptu dinner ideas; and as you can see, it's pretty easy to whip up a variety of things with the right spices with just those kitchen staples. I usually try to make it out to the farmer's market twice a month to stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, and replenish anything I might be low on (such as beans, oats, or grains).

What are your kitchen staples???

P.S. My blog spellchecked "quinoa" and suggested "guinea" in its place. No thanks, Blogspot, I would not like guinea to be one of my kitchen staples. ;)

3 comments:

  1. great list! i've found a few "comprehensive" lists, but they are so long! this one i can actually remember :)

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  2. Yay! Glad you like it! I think I'm going to add nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and maybe another time of whole grain flour to the list just to keep my options more open. :) Do you ever make your own bread? It seems like if you wanna make whole grain bread, you have to use like 12 different types of flour just for a loaf, lol!

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  3. i've never made my own bread. it looks complicated! but if you discover an easy recipe, i'll give it a try :)

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