WHAT’S IN OUR FRIDGE:
- Carrots, celery, finger cucumbers, green/red bell peppers, avocado (if ripe), jalapeno chiles, green onions
- Red miso
- Whole yoghurt
- Half & half and whole milk
- Sliced/slivered almonds, California walnuts, Louisiana pecans
- Fresh pasta (purchased, not homemade; I have limits!)
- Cheese – parmesan to grate, cheddar, gruyere, queso fresco and queso anejo
- Homemade rhubarb jam and rhubarb, if it’s season
- Organic Better Than Bouillon – both Vegetable and Chicken
- Butter (I have a strange addiction to Land O’Lakes butter. We make special runs to Safeway – where we don’t usually shop – just to stock up on it)
- Eggs from free-range chickens (if the chickens from Sandy and Stacey, our neighbors, are laying – they’re the best. Seek out a local chicken owner, and you’ll be happy 🙂
- COOKED RICE (an absolute must)
- Bacon
- Almond and peanut butter (lordy – we just bought almond butter today. If it was organic, it was about 3 times more expensive – like $23 a jar. So much for going organic!)
- Mexican crema
- Red Boat fish sauce
- Soy sauce
- Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
- Sambal Oelek Ground Fresh Chili Paste
- 2 kinds of mustard (Dijon and Creole)
- Bubbie’s Horseradish
- Annie’s Organic Ketchup
- Best Foods Mayo
WHAT’S IN OUR FREEZER
- frozen organic corn
- frozen chopped spinach
- frozen petite green peas
- frozen edamame beans
- frozen home-made chicken broth
- a frozen baquette
- frozen curry leaves (from a much-cherished and protected-from-the-cold curry tree, which is about 3′ tall and 3 years old – though I keep cutting it back)
- frozen home-made bread crumbs
- Fiorello’s Gelato (which should be Bourbon Pecan instead of Vanilla Bean – but I ate it all up)
- several frozen dinners-in-waiting, including the Mexican Mushroom and Rice Casserole
- frozen date muffins (which are hidden beneath)
WHAT’S IN OUR PANTRY
- Rice vinegar
- Diamond Kosher Salt (it really makes a difference which brand you buy!)
- Tabasco
- Tellicherry whole black peppers
- Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning (we’re almost addicted to it)
- Accent (yes, it’s MSG; I’ll blog about that one day)
- Gumbo File Powder
- Red Chile Flakes
- Hungarian Paprika
- Bay leaves
- Coriander – both ground and whole seeds
- Cumin – both ground and whole seeds
- Fennel seeds
- Mexican and regular oregano
- Star anise
- Thyme
- Turmeric
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Peanut Oil
- Organic agave syrup
- Local honey
- Whole nutmeg
- Bittersweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Active dry yeast
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Cream of tartar
- Whole vanilla beans, Madagascar vanilla and Mexican vanilla (be sure it’s truly vanilla)
- Almond flavoring
- Organic corn starch
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Panko bread crumbs
- Black beans, Great Northern beans, Garbanzo beans
- Bush’s Best Cocina Latina Pintos a la Diabla (veggie) and Frijoles Negros Machacados (smashed beans with seasonings. Delicious.)
- Tuna fillets in olive oil
- Hominy – because we fix lots of Pozole
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced Fire-Roasted tomatoes
- Canned chopped clams (clam chowder is quick and delicious)
- Long-grain white rice, Jasmine rice, and Basmati rice (and, of course, brown rice is great to have too)
- Thai thin rice noodles
- Our home-grown dried hot red chiles
- Frank’s Original Red Hot pepper sauce
- Savory Choice Chicken Broth concentrate in little packets – it’s on Amazon if not in your store; perfect when you need just a little chicken broth – and has a great flavor (not pictured)
- Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (also not pictured)