Today I am doing my monthly shop for my store cupboard essentials...
My friends always laugh that I can knock up a meal from anything, and that is pretty much true. Whether it is born of laziness as I hate going to the shops, or necessity from when I was a student, I can pretty much take a look in the cupboard and make dinner for people from what is there (and maybe the freezer as well but that is technically a cupboard).
I don't put this down to any particular cleverness on my part, merely a decently stocked pantry. My mum has the most awesome pantry & larder that is always a host of treasures so it is no great surprise that I tend to have the same sort of things in order to make last minute meals.
Included in my stocks today are tins of tuna, pulses, herbs, cake mix and pizza bases. From just a few small ingredients, we can make an awesome meal.
For example: Super fast pizza
1 pizza base (frozen or from cupboard pack - do not defrost the pizza base if you have frozen them or it will go soggy)
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of pesto
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
oregano or basil (dried)
grated or crumbled cheese of any sort
The it is simply a matter of mixing the tomato and pesto together, spreading it over the pizza base, sprinkle with your chosen cheese, sliced garlic (if you like it), some herbs, black pepper and then put in hot oven (200 degrees) until cooked. If you have any other spare veg etc you want to pop on the top with the cheese, so much the better!
Voila - a delicious pizza, without a trip to the shops, in about 10 minutes. Perfect for when you want junk food but don't want to fork out for a take away.
Anyway, this is just one example of why I need a huge amount of storage space in my kitchen, I can feed an army from the cupboards alone. I love thinking up things to do with what I have, rather than running out and buying specific items for a recipe. It lets me be more creative, to think on my feet and try new things. It doesn't always work I will admit (some truly awful lemon flavoured cous cous springs to mind) but it saves a fortune and means that, no matter who drops in, I can always find something to make them to snack on!
All this talk of food is making me hungry... time for a cup of tea!
