Pantry Staples

There is nothing you can't cook as long as you have the following on hand when you ask yourself the question, "What should I cook?" Not to mention that many recipes call for these ingredients.

Oils

1. Olive
2. Vegetable or Canola
3. Sesame

Vinegars

1. Balsamic
2. Red Wine
3. White
4. Apple Cider
5. Rice Wine

Citrus Juices

1. Lemon and/or Lime
2. Orange and/or Grapefruit
3. Tomato
4. Pomegranate

Sauces

1. Soy
2. Worcestershire
3. Tomato
4. Duck
5. Hoisin
6. Chili
7. BBQ
8. Steak

Grains

1. Rice (white, brown or basmati)
2. Couscous (instant or Israeli)
3. Pasta (a variety)
4. Quinoa
5. Bulger Wheat and/or Taboli
6. Polenta
7. Barley
8. Lentils

Others

1. Honey
2. Ketchup
3. Dijon Mustard
4. Mayonnaise and/or Miracle Whip
5. Stock and/or Soup-In-A-Box
6. Pickle Relish
7. Jam or Jelly
8. Sesame Paste and/or Peanut Butter
9. Salsa
10. Dried Soup Mix or Powder (onion, etc.)
11. Fresh Chopped Garlic
12. Tomatoes, Sun Dried and Canned (or Boxed)
13. Horseradish 
14. Tunafish
15. Beans (red kidney, black, cannelloni, chick peas)
16. Crackers (Saltines, Ritz, Carrs)
17. Coffee & Tea
18. Cocoa Powder
19. White Sugar
20. Brown Sugar
21. Sugar Substitute (Sweet & Low, Splenda, etc.)
22. Agave
23. Hearts of Palm
24. Artichoke Hearts
25. Canned Mandarin Orange Slices
26. Preserved Lemons
27. A Jar of Roasted Red Peppers
28. A Jar of Marinated Mushrooms
29. Olives
30. Pickles and/or Cornichons
31. Water Chestnuts
32. Bamboo Shoots
33. Baby Corn
34. Flour
35. Cornstarch

My kitchens feels empty without any of the above. You never know what culinary challenge you will face and like the proverbial boy or girl scout, you always want to be prepared.

You can walk into my kitchen right now and all of these items will be there.

Spices I Can't Live Without

I tried to make a list of the spices I cannot live without and keep it to just ten, but in reality, there are sixteen of them (if we count the three varieties of salt as one).

1. Salt
2. Pepper 
3. Garlic (fresh or dried)
4. Basil (fresh or dried)
5. Oregano
6. Cumin
7. Chili Powder
8. Cinnamon (ground and sticks)
9. Ginger (fresh or dried)
10. Rosemary (fresh or dried)
11. Tarragon 
12. Dill (fresh dried)
13. Thyme
14. Red Pepper Flakes
15. Curry Powder
16. Nutmeg

Many of the recipes I will post use one or more of the above spices. It is amazing what chili, cinnamon, cumin and garlic can do to a piece of london broil or chicken. Having these in your well-stocked Kosher kitchen will enable you to become your own creative cook.

We will be talking about each of these spices and the different ways they can be used, both sweet or savory, in the coming weeks and months.

P.S. If you don't already know, the three varieties of salt are Kosher, Sea and Iodized.

Sides and Leftovers for Any Time or Temp

The point of the Well Stocked Kosher Kitchen is to be able to walk into your kitchen and take what you have and put it into a creative, simple, quick and delicious dish (or dishes) that can be used to feed your family and friends on multiple occasions, whether it’s Shabbat lunch, Sunday dinner or a quick weeknight meal.

So in these recipes, I took chicken, potatoes, string beans and a variety of condiments and put them together to make a meal that can be served hot or cold. Leftovers can be used creatively to make a second meal.

I made the string beans by bringing a pot of well-salted water to a boil, putting the fresh string beans in for 2-3 minutes (until they turned bright green), draining them and then running them under cold water to stop the cooking and make sure they stay bright green. This is something that can be done before Shabbat (Thursday night or Friday morning) and then served for lunch Saturday.

To make the potato salad, I cut up red, yellow and purple potatoes into equal-sized pieces one-quarter to one-half an inch in size, placed them in a pot of cold, well-salted water, brought it to a boil and let them cook for 15-20 minutes until fork tender. I then drained the potatoes, placed them in a bowl in which I had already mixed two tablespoons of Miracle Whip, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, lemon juice (to taste), along with salt, pepper, a little olive oil and dried tarragon. I tossed the still warm potatoes in this mixture so they soaked up the flavors of the dressing. This too, makes a great “make ahead dish” to serve cold for Shabbat lunch.

Hint: After you cook the string beans, just take them out of the pot of water and put the potatoes in the same pot. This way, you don't have to bring two pots of water to boil or, more importantly, wash two pots!

As for the leftover chicken (which was even better cold the next day), it can be shredded and put in a green salad, used to make chicken salad, added to the potato salad or you can get really fancy and put some in soft tortillas with some salsa, guacamole, beans, shredded lettuce or other greens and roll them up and eat them!

In future posts, I will talk about what you should keep in your kitchen pantry, cabinets, fridge and freezer so that when you ask yourself “Oh my gosh, what am I going to make for __________???” you will be able to answer that question quickly and simply and throw together something delicious.

WSKK: The Trailer!

While editing our first test movie, we played around a bit with iMovie's trailer feature and put this together for fun!

Yum!

In Production!

We're working on our first "test movie" and will have the companion blog piece posted shortly. Check out our Facebook page for some "behind the scenes" pics!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Well-Stocked-Kosher-Kitchen/198970070148771