I don’t have that big a pantry. We eat mostly fresh and I drop by the market every other day. But there are a few things I try to always have sur le pouce (on hand) in the pantry for sudden guests, or a quick meal, or alone times, or a tired body that doesn’t feel like being creative in cooking, or just simply a snack…hopefully a healthy one!

On my pantry door I also try to inspire myself creatively by making notes, leaving myself messages (and anyone who takes a peek), making lists of ingredients that need refilling, drawing/writing recipes and inspiring pictures of fruit and veggies, sticking restaurant notes and found recipes onto a notice board…anything that inspires my 5 senses….as well as the 6th one! It works for me – to keep my interest in my pantry and its content alive.

Click on an image to enlarge.

***

*****

*******************************************************

Sweet: I’ll typically have small quantities of sugars for coffee and tea(mostly for guests). Some flavourings like vanilla beans, caramel syrup, illovo syrup, cinnamon sticks etc, some thick reduced balsamic syrup, rose water, orange flower water, amaretto, fructose sugar(instead of cane sugar) brown sugar, icing sugar, dark chocolate for desserts(72%), some fix chantilly( to stabilize whipped cream), some gold leaf for decoration….

Salty: Pestos, confit de canard, some confit d’oignon, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, some canned corn, tmato paste, canned tomatoes for a quick soup, canned tuna, canned sardines, dolmades in olive oil, chestnuts, coconut milk, truffles in brine…

*********************************************************************************************************

*Cereals and rice: Brown rice, red rice form the basis of the dry ingredients. Add quinoa an lentils, dry beans and Camargue rice , wild rice, black rice, bulghur, couscous, natural quinoa, red quinoa, lentils coral and Puy, black beans, polenta(fine), arborio…

*Vinegars and oils: Tomato vinegar, balsamic, white balsamic, red wine vinegar, poppy vingear, white wine vinegar, champane vinegar, Banyul vinegar, olive oil, pumkin oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, walnut oil…

*********************************************************************************************************

*Pastas: diferent sort of dried pasta..orecchiette, linguine, farfalle, some quinoa and parsley linguine…some bouchees that can be filled, rice noodles…

*Spices, nuts and seeds: Sesame seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, linseed, mustard(white and black), pine nuts, cumin seeds, badiane, fresh ginger, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, macadamia, black currents, dired raisins, prunes, dried apricots, dates, fennel seeds, dried tomato bits, dried cranberries, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom, different kinds of peppers, salts, paprika, curcuma, dried seaweed, garlic and herb salt and rosemary salts of Ina Paarman in SA…

**********************************************************************************************************

*Dry ingredients: Flour, whole weat flour, baking soda, baking powder, Maizena, arrow root, gelatin, agar-agar, oats, digestive bran, phylo pastry in the freezer…

*Asian ingredients: Soja, sauce, mirrin, rice vinegar, sushi rice, teriyaki sauce, nuoc nem, combo, miso, wasabi, ginger, imperial suce, nori, rice noodles…