Staples, and cooking for 1.

Fyi, I'm talking about food staples, not Mavis Staples, even though I love her just as much.

I feed myself and myself alone most days. Cooking for one has ups and downs. On the ups, it usually means leftovers! On the downs, I don't always feel like making some multi-course, fancy-gal dinner if I'm the only one who's going to enjoy it. 

Which always results in my favorite game,

>> WHAT'S IN MY PANTRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!??!!? <<

wherein I have to make a decision about breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacktime/what-have-you based on

>> THE TINY HOUSE STAPLES LIST <<

As a certified/iable list addict, I do, in fact, possess a Staples list. This is the list of things I always have on-hand,* because they are endlessly adaptable, viz. my above-pictured cornmeal-crust pizza topped with olive oil, burrata, pickled cherry peppers, sunnyside eggs, and fresh arugula. IT WAS GLORIOUS AND IT WAS ALL FOR ME.

So guess what. I'm sharing my list with you, because you're a doll, and because you obviously like food, or you like my hilarious writing, or both!

I'm not gonna tell you how to combine these items into like a zillion crazy good things, at least not right now. But if you read my blog long enough, I bet you'll see a pattern emerge. A pattern that looks suspiciously like this list. Spoiler alert.

yours,
aa

---

The Tiny House Staples List

PANTRY

1. Yukon gold potatoes

2. Yams

3. Garlic

4. Lemons

5. Red onions or shallots

6. Dried figs

7. Pickled peppers, preferably sweet cherry ones

8. Light coconut milk

9. Honey, usually clover and mesquite

10. Israeli couscous 

11. Smoked fish in a can (ideally trout)

12. Chocolaaaattteeeeee

13. Sweetened condensed milk

14. Unsweetened shaved coconut

15. Red wine

FRIDGE or FREEZE

1. Greek yogurt

2. Soft raw-ish cheese, either ricotta, burrata, or chevre

3. A hunk of parmesan

4. BUTTER, duh

5. Big buttery brown eggs, double duh

6. Prosciutto

7. Dijon mustard

8. Chicken stock

9. Soy sauce

10. Arugula

11. Beets

12. Fennel

13. Red kale

14. Mushrooms, either shiitakes or chanterelles

15. Pizza dough, or this ridiculously delicious frozen Vicolo cornmeal crust ommggg

16. White wine

SPICES, ETC.

1. Olive oil

2. Balsamic vinegar

3. White wine vinegar

4. Chipotle powder

5. Chile flake, alias crushed red pepper

6. Whole nutmeg

7. Cinnamon

8. Herbs de Provence

9. Vanilla extract

10. Lemon curd

ps. If I'm feeling flush, I add fun meats and cheeses to my list, e.g. scallops and pork butt, and smoked gouda. Or neat seasonal produce, like persimmons and quince in the fall; satsumas in winter; asparagus, garlic scapes, and rhubarb in the spring; and all the cherries, berries, and heirloom tomatoes in the summer. All of them.

*Exemptions include: salt, pepper, vegetable oil, flour, and sugar, which are kind of boring to mention in a funsie list like this one.