Is your refrigerator running?

A couple things recently made me think about getting back into posting a blog every now and then. For those of you that I've only known within the last 2 years or so, I started this a few years ago as a way to share more information about cooking and food... according to a former husky boy. I encourage you to go back and read some old posts, maybe http://trouttfoodshare.blogspot.com/2010/01/food-according-to-mark.html

I don't know if everyone starts out with their food plan for the week when shopping, but I normally don't know all the specifics for my week. I'll generally know I'll eat some salad, some fruits and will want some protein of some type and will buy according to that. After that, I rely on the my staple set of supplies I have in my house, plus maybe a quick stop at the store for one or two items during the week if I need something once I figure out what I'm cooking. For those of you that like certain order and hate going to the grocery store, this post still applies to you but you'll just plan ahead to get all things at once.

This post came about because I was without soy sauce and garlic as I started to cook lettuce wraps last week and those are staples around my place. This brought up an idea to share the staples around my kitchen so you can cook on the whim because you're prepared.

Don't feel like you need to go buy all this stuff at once, you'll spend a ton and might not use it for a while. Let your cabinet fill up as you go. I won't put things on my list that's a given, like coffee. I think you'll know if you forget to have coffee for yourself because the world turns dark.

Refrigerator:
- Milk - duh, drinking, cereral, protein shakes, lattes
- Lettuce, cucumber and peppers - all for making salads, I prefer the full heads of romaine, not just the package of romaine hearts
- Carrots - mostly just for snacking
- Better Than Bullion - this stuff is great, it's a compact jar of stock concentrate you can use to make stock for soups or sauces
- Eggs - I like eating eggs, sometimes for dinner, but also used for baking. Don't doubt the power of a good loaded up scramble or omelet for dinner.
- Fage yogurt - I love this stuff, the 0% fat kind. I'll take about a cup to work every day, with a little honey or agave mixed in it.
- Sauces/condiments - BBQ, soy sauce, mustard, all can be used in cooking or marinades
- Unsalted butter - you'll find no margarine here, not normally at least

On the counter:
- Salt and Pepper - always always always have salt and pepper, fresh ground pepper is best
- Fruits - always bananas for shakes, other fruits are seasonal like apples or citrus. Having either lemons or limes is good for marinades, but they sometimes get thrown out unused at my place
- Onion and garlic bulb - Just make sure you always have one, both last for a pretty long time. 
- Tomatoes - for salads, I try to buy the ones that look good, but price goes into my decision making too

Freezer:
- Ezekial bread - They sell this bread frozen, it's full of good stuff and is the only bread that's available at my place normally. I'll buy the tastey not so healthy bread when I have a reason for it but this is good for weekends when I want some toast.
- Frozen fruit - mostly for putting in shakes, I'll buy fresh and freeze or just buy frozen
- Some sealed up meats - just make sure as much air is out of bag as possible so there's less freezer burn
- Fish - I've found some good vacuum sealed fish at Trader Joe's recently for a good deal
- Juice concentrate - just makes it easy to have 1 cup occasionally when you want it occasionally

Cabinet - most of these things will last a while, but put them in zip bags if not sealed:
- Nuts - Either for putting on salads, snacking or putting in baked goods.
- Peanut butter and nutella - Both are mostly for snacks, but PB goes in protein shakes sometimes. If you don't like these, which probably means we're not close friends, don't buy them.
- Oils - EV Olive oil and a canola blend will cover you for dressings, searing and stir-fry
- Seasoning - If you have Old Bay, a cajun seasoning like Slap Ya Mama or Tony's, and a seasonal all type mix, that's a good start. You can buy individual seasonings as you need them. I'd always carry cinnamon, cummin, red pepper flake, thyme and rosemary.
- Extract - Vanilla is awesome in tons of baking, almond is also good to have
- Flour and sugar - I carry whole wheat, cake flour and unbleached white, don't get cake flour until you plan to use it. Regular, powered and brown suga' baby.
- Baking soda and powder, yeast if you're planning any bread - For me, it's mostly for pancakes or a quick bread.
- Panko bread crumbs - works for coating meat or making meatballs.
- Chocolate chips - Who wants fresh chocolate chips cookies? I do!
- Honey - for grapefruit, tea or in yogurt and get some good local stuff, it's so much better than your bear stuff.
- Pasta, a jar of tomato sauce and rice - Some grains to cook
- Corn starch - great for making a stir-fry and thickening the sauce
- Vinegar - there's so many types, probably start with basalmic or red wine, great for an easy quick vinegarette

That should be a good start. Good luck with your cooking.