Of preppers and pantry staples

Must-have items to stock in the pantry (and what to do with them!) BY NATALIE FINDLAY

reating tasty meals from a limited supply of ingredients can be both liberating and limiting. We all have our favourite pantry staples that we turn to when we forget to go to the grocery store, didn’t have time—or like now—safe at home, when our ability to venture out on a whim to pick up whatever we want, whenever we want, is limited.

Some of us are faring well and creating all kinds of delicious meals, others… well, not so much. Sometimes you don’t know what you really need to have on hand until you are restricted; then you learn quickly.

Let’s take a stroll around the pantries of four popular local culinary writers and cooks, and find out what they have stocked their pantries with, and what they are cooking up!

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Calgary cookbook author, CBC radio food columnist, and contributing food editor for the Globe and Mail, Julie Van Rosendaal says her pantry staples include: n Canned tomatoes (all kinds) useful for quick pasta sauces, soup, curries, stews, chili. I also keep tubes of tomato paste in the fridge (they last far longer than their expiration date suggests!) n Stocks. The 1 litre tetra packs are perfect n Canned and dry pulses. They’re the most significant source of plant-based protein, versatile and convenient.

They’re also cheap! n Dry pasta. I always have an assortment of interesting shapes—there’s no reason mac ‘n cheese has to be made with macaroni noodles… just anything small that will grip the sauce n Oils. Canola is my go-to as it has a high smoke point, neutral flavour, and is useful from baking a chocolate cake to frying fish

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Grains, they’re shelf-stable and affordable Flour/sugar/yeast/baking powder/salt. With a stash of flour and leavening agents, you can make biscuits, pancakes, waffles, quick bread, and yeast bread

From her latest book, Dirty Food, Van Rosendaal’s easy pantry staple meal, Toast Crumb and Garlic Spaghetti, is a favourite for adults and kids alike.

Toast Crumb & Garlic Spaghetti Serves 4

250 g dry spaghetti (about enough for 4) Salt 2–4 slices white bread (or 1–2 cups fresh crumbs) 1–2 garlic cloves, crushed ¼ cup (ish) butter 2 Tbs (ish) (30 mL) olive oil Pinch red chili flakes Freshly grated Parmesan

1. Cook the spaghetti in a big pot of salted water until al dente, and scoop out about a cup of the cooking water before you drain it. 2. Meanwhile, whiz your bread into rough crumbs, along with the garlic, in a food processor. 3. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter and oil and when the butter starts to foam, add the garlicky breadcrumbs and chili flakes and cook, stirring, until toasty and golden. 4. Scoop about half the crumbs out of the pan, add the drained pasta and toss to coat with the remaining crumbs, grating some Parmesan overtop and adding a splash of the starchy pasta water to moisten. Serve topped with the reserved crumbs and extra Parmesan.

Food writer, Carmen Cheng, of Food Karma Blog tells us her favourite pantry staples: n Rio Mare Tuna—it’s so much more flavourful than most brands n Canned tomatoes n A few different soy sauces: the generic brand when a recipe calls for a lot of soy sauce and craft, small batch soy sauce when you just need to finish a dish with flavour n Lots of sauces and ingredients that build umami and flavour such as sesame oil, gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), and fish sauce. Fish sauce is my secret ingredient to add unexpected umami into dishes n Spam, we like this canned meat in our household n Kimchi, my partner is Korean and kimchi is a staple, even if it needs to be refrigerated and not stored in the pantry n A bag of rice

Cheng also added, “During social distancing I started to reserve bacon fat in a jar. It’s great for this recipe, adding some smokiness, but oil can be used in its place.”

Her favourite go-to pantry meal is:

Kimchi and Spam Fried Rice Serves 6–8

Oil or bacon fat if you have any, for frying 1 can Spam, cut into cubes (can swap for 6 strips bacon, rough chopped) 3 cups kimchi, chopped into thin strips 1 clove garlic, minced 4 cups cooked rice (preferably made the day before, and using a fork make sure to break up any clumps) 2 Tbs (30 mL) kimchi juice from the kimchi jar 1 Tbs (15 mL) gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) 2 Tbs sesame oil 2 eggs 2 tsp (10 mL) fish sauce, recommended but optional To taste salt and pepper 1 bunch green onions, sliced thin diagonally Sesame seeds to garnish

Photograph courtesy Dong Kim

Note: Prepare all ingredients before cooking, as the cooking process is really quick and you will want everything ready.

1. Heat a wok or large fry pan on medium, add 1 Tbs oil. 2. Fry Spam until edges are brown and crispy, set aside. 3. Add another ½ Tbs oil to the hot wok. Turn heat up to medium high. Fry kimchi and garlic approximately 2 minutes. 4. Add the rice to the wok mixture. Stir fry to incorporate all ingredients. Fry until rice is warmed through, about 3–5 minutes. 5. Add kimchi juice, gochujang, and sesame oil and fold into other ingredients in the wok, cook together for 2 minutes. 6. Meanwhile, heat a separate nonstick pan, add oil and fry two eggs sunny side. 7. Stir Spam back into the rice mixture. Add fish sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. 8. Plate rice, top with crispy fried eggs, green onion slices, and sesame seeds.

Renée Kohlman was named one of Canada’s best food bloggers by the National Post for her blog, SweetSugarbean. A graduate of NAIT’s Culinary Arts program, she is a food columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Her pantry is full of staples including: n Cans of white beans, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas n Cans of tuna, salmon, sardines n Cans of tomatoes—whole, diced, and crushed n Pasta of various shapes n Chicken, beef, and vegetable broths n Cans of fruit, such as peaches, pineapple, pears n Rice, lentils, couscous, quinoa, barley, popcorn n Flour, oats, sugar, yeast n Evaporated milk n Coffee, chocolate, tea

Her quick and easy meal is a delicious and hearty soup.

“Beans are a natural fit for soup,” she says. “If you don’t have stock, you can use water. If you don’t have white beans you can use kidney beans, or black beans. I love using flavourful sausage as a base for soup, as all of the spices and herbs are right there. If you want to keep it vegetarian, just add a tsp each of dried oregano, basil, and paprika to the vegetables.”

Tomato and White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale Serves 6

1 Tbs (15 mL) canola oil 3–4 links fresh Chorizo or Italian sausage 1 onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 medium carrots, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ tsp salt Pinch chili flakes 4 cups (1 L) low sodium chicken stock

1–798 mL can crushed tomatoes, 1–540 mL can white kidney beans, rinsed 2 bay leaves 1 tsp honey 4 cups chopped kale, thick stems removed (can use spinach or Swiss chard instead) 1 cup chopped parsley ¼ cup chopped basil To taste salt and pepper Grated Pecorino Romano, Parmesan or Asiago cheese to serve

1. Warm the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove the sausage from its casings and add to the hot oil. Break up the sausage with the back of a wooden spoon. Stirring occasionally,

brown the meat for about 5 minutes. 2. Stir in the vegetables, garlic, salt and chili flakes. Cook for another 5 minutes until the vegetables soften. Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes (rinse the can out with 2 cups of water), beans, bay leaves, and honey. Cover, bring to a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. 3. Add the chopped kale, and herbs. Cook 2 minutes longer. If you find the soup too thick, thin out with a bit more stock or water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 4. Divide the soup into bowls. Garnish with plenty of cheese. Be generous— these are the days for eating all of the cheese!

Adding to those dry pantry ingredients we’ve mentioned, we also have freezer items to help keep our kitchen stocked. Freezing is an easy way to keep food from going bad and to store (as in this time) foods that we have stocked up on like meats, vegetables and fruits. n Breads for sandwiches make great use of those cans of tuna and salmon n Tortillas allow you to whip up tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas. Hamburger buns, as we light up the BBQ n Other items that store well include: potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, squashes, cabbage and root vegetables n Eggs keep for several weeks in the

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fridge and provide endless meals from scrambled eggs to quiche Long lasting fridge items such as mustard, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, and pickles will all add extra dimension to your cooking Berries are great to have within easy reach for adding to smoothies and baking recipes, such as my favourite quick fruit crumble recipe below.

With these pantry staples you can create delicious and nutritious meals that can easily last two weeks or more. It used to be simple to head out to the grocery store whenever we needed something instead of creating from what we have on hand.

However, this pandemic has given us the opportunity to grow and learn. We will come out of this better equipped and more creative at handling both a crisis and our kitchen.

Natalie’s Quick Fruit Crumble Serves 4

2 cups frozen berries 2 Tbs sugar 3 Tbs flour 2 Tbs brown sugar ¼ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ cup cold butter 1 cup oats

Preheat oven to 350º F. 1. Mix the berries, sugar and 1 Tbs flour together and place in a greased, ovenproof dish. 2. In a medium bowl combine 2 Tbs flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. 3. Add the butter, and using 2 forks mash the butter into pea-size pieces. Stir in the oats. 4. Add topping to fruits and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Natalie is a freelance writer, photographer and pastry chef. A graduate of Cordon Bleu’s pastry program, she manages her own business too to create custom-made cakes.