In My Pantry...

My friend Deb over at Cooking Up A Storm In A Teacup has kindly invited me to take part in her meme, Orderliness and Harmony. In anticpation (and because I'm on a bit of a Spring cleaning binge) I had a bit of a poke around and threw out a few things that were past their use-by date (always the same things rice flour, custard powder and yeast). I'm certainly not into aen-like simplicity but even though it looks like everything is crammed in but I know exactly where everything is to make all my favourite foods - a very comforting thought.

1. Nigella Lawson keeps a secret stash of pigs ears in her freezer that she deep-fries for a crispy, solitary snack. Do you have anything similarly sordid in yours?

Well no, not really, but one of the things I love about Nigella is her willingness to expose her unbridled gluttony to the world. I have been known to partake in one of Nigella's other snacks (small handfuls of freshly grated parmesan baked in the oven until crisp) but my freezer is quite small and holds few surprises. Once you add some soup, casserole, chicken breasts, beef mince, frozen fish, icecream, raspberries, blueberries and icypoles it won't accept much more.

2. What foods would I always find in your fridge and why?

Eggs, parmesan, marinated feta, broccoli , tomatoes and bacon. There are other things but these are the universal family favourites - a mixture of fancy and commonplace. I also have a ridicuously large number of sauces and condiments. I try not to use too much bacon but we all love it so! I've never been much of an egg eater but the kids really love them scrambled, boiled, fried and hard-boiled and after many years avoiding them I've come around to their way of thinking. The parmesan and feta are their to turn simple into special and broccoli is the only green vegetable we all agree on (I'm a big fan of green beans too.)

3. Do you have a standby, never-fail recipe that you like to have the ingedients on hand for unexpected guests?

My favourite standby recipe is Honey-Roasted Sweet Potato and Bacon Risotto. In my experience a lot of people seem to be afraid of making risotto. I'm not sure why as I've always found it very easy and satisfying to make. I think the secret is realising that the rice should still have a little bite to it so you don't over-cook it. I roast the sweet potato tossed in honey while the rice is cooking and I also fry off the bacon separately then add them both towards the end of cooking. I find it can all get a bit too salty if you fry the bacon off with the onion at the beginning of the recipe.

4. What is your favourite comfort food?

It would have to be something warm. Revenge may be a dish best served cold but as far as I'm concerned that's about the only thing that is. There's something about cold food that leaves me, well, cold (although I am going to make an effort to improve my salad repertoire this Summer). Comfort food for me would be something lovely and warm served in a bowl - Lamb Shank and Barley Soup, risotto, tuna pasta, beef casserole on a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes - something like that. If I did have to nominate a coldish food dish I'd say something very simple like sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomatoes and basil on hot buttered toast (see how I got the hot in there?).

5. Do you have a chocolate drawer or secret hoard of sweet or savoury snacks?

You mean there are people who don't?! I'm going for quality not quantity these days and favour Green and Black's Maya Gold, dark chocolate flvoured with orange and spices. I'm also partial to Lindt's mint, orange or ginger chocolate blocks and I'd never say no to a Mint Slice. They're all kept on the very top shelf of the pantry so even I have to do some exercise to access them!

6. What's inside your store cupboard? I wonder if like me you too squirrel things away like a little mammal preparing for a hard winter? Or maybe you favour zen-like sparsity. Don't you just love nosing inside someone else's cupboards?
Another thing I love about Nigella is that she frequently takes us into her enormous walk-in pantry for a squiz. I'd love to have a walk-in pantry a la Nigella but what I have is one big cupboard. In it keep all the things I need to make all our regular favourites - tins of tuna, cans of diced tomatoes, chickpeas and beans and bottles of pasta sauce also rice (basmati, arborio, brown and sushi), pasta (spaghetti, fusilli, risoni), couscous, polenta, stock, onions, garlic and potaotoes. I keep spreads in here too (Vegemite, Marmite, peanut butter, honey and Nutella) and all manner of liquid potions (Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, mirin, sushi vinegar etc) as well as things I use rarely but like to have on hand like orange blossom water and rosewater.

One whole shelf is, of course, dedicated to dry foodstuffs for baking... sugar, flour, rolled oats, coconut, dried fruits, seed and nuts. We also have an indecently large variety of breakfast cereals that perch on top of said cupboard. Zen-like sparsity? I think not but not incedible extravagance either.

So there you go a quick trip into my pantry. What's in your pantry? Do you keep your fruit and vegetables in the fridge or the pantry? What's the weirdest thing you've got in stock? I'll be tagging some friends soon to share the contents of their pantry with us too so stay tuned...