Cupboard staples: these are mine, what are yours? – The Bohemian Kitchen

So last week I had the urge to organize my cupboards. I think part of it was due to the confusing collection of bulk food items in plastic bags piled here and there, and part of it was because my parents gave me some vintage peanut butter jars that I wanted to fill. Remember them? The glass ones shaped like teddy bears of various shapes and sizes. There’s a grandma bear wearing glasses, a baby bear, a plain regular bear and a bigass bear head that seems to be smiling.

For some reason, looking at them just cracks me up.  Anyway, as I filled up the jars it got me to thinking about the way we choose to stock our cupboards. I don’t know about anyone else out there but for me, my pantry is something to be proud of.

Over a period of months or even years, each item is deliberately bought and stacked on the shelf in anticipation of making something delicious with it. And some of these things are a pain in the ass to find, requiring special trips to certain stores and doing a bit of investigating. I’m still in the process of wondering where to find black quinoa. But anyway . . .

Here’s a list all the ingredients I keep on hand and what I use them for. I am curious to see what the rest of you have; maybe we can get some ideas from each other.

Pantry Goods Used on a regular basis for cooking, I don’t usually buy these with any particular recipe in mind.• White rice • Brown rice • Quinoa • Red lentils • Green lentils • Dried beans, chickpeas • Pasta • Rice noodles • Garlic • Onions (yellow and red) • Potatoes • Fresh ginger Baking Goods These are mostly reserved for baking, but the occasional dinner recipe will ask for something like flour or salt. • Flour • White sugar • Brown sugar • Baking powder • Baking soda • Salt • Cornstarch • Shortening • Chocolate chips • Icing sugar • Yeast