What six food items do you ALWAYS have in your pantry?

[CajunMama]

Rice (one of the Cajun Food Groups!)

Green Beans

Chicken/Beef Broth

Tomato Soup

Tomato Sauce

[PurdueWx80]

Jen - Tahini is basically sesame butter (akin to peanut butter, but from sesame seeds..only slightly oilier). It is used in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods, but it has a strong flavor so you only use a little. It is actually a main ingredient in hummus, as are chickpeas and olive oil, so I'm assuming Alicia loves hummus (as do I!).

My five:
olive oil
coffee (in freezer to keep beans fresh)
flour
Tropicana Grovestand Orange Juice!!!!!!!!!! (in fridge obviously)
peppercorns

to make up for the 2 not really in the pantry:
black jewel popcorn
Cheerios

[MSRobi911]

Jeeze my list could go on and on but the main ones are

Rice (for the red beans)

Spaghetti Noodles

Tomato sauce and Stewed Tomatos

Green Beans

Dry Red Beans and White Beans

Soups---especially Cream of Mushroom..makes all kids of good stuff!

and of course Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning!

[alicia-w]

Thanks for explaining the tahini thing (sorry I didnt do that)

We eat a lot of mideastern food. and store bought hummus is not only nasty (since it's often made with soybean oil vs olive oil) but expensive. you can make a lot of hummus for relatively low cost! and it's good for you!

i was going to add Malt-o-meal (chocolate of course) to my list but we just finished the box and cant find a replacement anywhere.

So Irish Oatmeal goes on, the Special K with strawberries, Cheerios w/berries and stuff to make falafel. (I do cheat and use a mix here...)

also keep vidalia onions and yukon gold potatoes!! should have made the list for TEN items...

(Add bombay blue sapphire gin and 7Up to that list please)

[Persepone]

Do you have a good recipe for the falafel "sauce"--the sort of yoghurt sauce that goes on falafel when you put it in pita bread with cucumber, tomato, etc.? Love falafel, but don't have a good sauce recipe.

[Miss Mary]

This is difficult question....b/c my pantry is divided into several categories!! Here's how I'd answer it if you asked for these 3 areas:

Baking - 1. flour, 2. white sugar, 3. brown sugar, 4. salt (we use Saltsense however), 5. baking soda, 6. baking powder.

Canned - 1. soup, 2. tomato sauce/paste, 3. applesauce, 4. fruit, 5. beans, 6. vegetables.

Boxed - 1. noodle mixes, 2. rice, 3. cereal, 4. crackers/saltines, 5. pasta (spaghetti, etc.), 6. snacks (pretzels, etc.).

Mary

[alicia-w]

I use two different sauces; one is called Tahinia sauce and the other is tzatziki sauce.

Tahina sauce

1/2 c tahini
1/2 c water
3 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
chopped garlic to taste

Put the tahini in a small bowl, add the water in a slow stream, stirring constantly until the mixture eventually becomes very smooth and velvety. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adjusting the amounts for taste and consistency. If it's too thick, add a little water. If it's too thin, add a little tahini. Chill for a few hours to give the flavors a chance to blend. It gets firmer when chilled so let it come to room temperature and stir it again before using.

Tzatzki sauce:

2 Small Cucumbers, Peeled, Seeded & Diced
1 1/4 cup Yogurt
2 Tbls Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls Fresh dill, chopped
White pepper
Salt


1) Combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pepper in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

2) Blend yogurt mixture with a whip until smooth.

3) Dry cucumbers by patting with paper towels.

4) Add Cucumbers and dill to yogurt mixture.

4) Salt and pepper to taste.