I think Mr. Spritle may be referring to this.
I could be wrong, though.
Mostly.
In TV, movies, etc. when a person comes out of a story holding a brown paper bag, we can only assume that it contains groceries. If we could see what’s in the bag then we would know for sure what’s in it. Unfortunately, grocery bags aren’t packed to the point where the items peek out from the top. A visual “trick” is to have groceries extend above the top of the bag. French Bread does the trick nicely, as does celery. (Though I did think of the Lileks site when I mentioned celery.)
I ALWAYS keep past on hand, boxed or fresh frozen. Of course if you saw my waist, that would be obvious.
Er… keep pasta on hand. Pasta.
And I see that scout1222 did a more succinct job with my explanation.
Bonus points for scout1222!!!
Items I cannot do without:
(I am not including dried herbs, spices, flour, sugar and salt, which I assume should always be on-hand.)
Potatoes
Rice
Tinned Italian tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Pasta
Pulses (dried lentils, beans, split peas, chickpeas, whatever)
Lemon
Eggs
Milk
Bread
Butter
Olive oil
Lard
I’m not a vegetarian, but this is where all my cooking starts. If I’m starving, at least I can whip up some pasta, some potato or egg curry or whatnot.
Continuing (less important):
Any sort of meat
Slab bacon
Carrots
Yogurt
Chicken parts for stock (I’m a stock maniac, I always want to have at least one liter in the freezer.)
Other fruits and veggies
Essential dried herb & spice list:
Pepper
Oregano
Thyme
Cumin
Coriander
Red Chile pepper (Thai)
Hungarian Paprika
Marjoram
Other dried herbs & spices I like to have on-hand, but not essential:
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Fennel
Caraway seeds
Mustard seed
Turmeric
Dried herbs that are next to pointless: Basil, Curry leaves, parsley
To be comfortable, I like to have a slab of meat in the freezer, some stock in the freezer, some rice or potatoes and any kinds of veggies lying around. That provides the ingredients for any assortment of simple meals.
