Whats in your pantry?

I always imagined that when I got married, I would be one of those women who effortlessly threw together fabulous meals at the drop of a hat, without breaking a sweat (kinda like how Sabjimata [whose yummy things, I might add, I drool over on a regular basis] did just the other day...http://sabjimatajam.blogspot.com/2008/09/spread.html) But alas, so far NOT so good.

I've decided that creativity is not the problem, but lack of resources (and laziness to correct the lacking state of resources) is. When recipes call for certain ingredients that I do not possess, I toss it aside and look for something more Syamesvari's-pantry-friendly. It almost never happens. If I'm super inspired (or forced) to cook something that calls for ingredients I don't have, I'll make the effort to get it, buy just enough for the recipe and feel rather drained after all that effort (Yes, I'm lazy - but we've already established that, haven't we?)

Divine intervention has provided me with a list entitled "The Very Basic Pantry" in the Vegetarian Times. Compared to this, my pantry is sorely lacking. Anyhoo, all thats about to be changed. We buy fabulous, organic vegetables at the St Jacobs Market and its about time I did justice to them. And it all begins with a well-stocked pantry:

1. Whole grain breads such as sandwich and artisan breads, tortillas

2. Rice - brown rice, basmati rice, wild rice, jasmine rice

3. Whole grains - barley, bulgur, quinoa, millet, rolled oats

4. Pasta, preferably whole grains

5. Whole grain flours - whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour and other favourites

6. Unbleached all-purpose flour

7. Legumes - Kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils and other favourites

8. Condiments - Soy sauce, Tahini sauce, dark sesame oil, peanut oil

9. Sweeteners - Honey, granulated sugar cane juice, confectioners sugar, brown sugar

10. Vanilla, almond and lemon extracts

11. Baking soda

12. Baking powder

13. Arrowroot, cornstarch or other thickeners

14. Vegetable oils - olive and canola

15. Salt - sea salt, black salt

16. Peppercorns - whole for freshly ground pepper

17. Herbs and spices - thyme, marjoram, parsley, cinnamon, bay leaves

I doubt that I'll use some of these things - like granulated sugar cane juice, and millet and barley - so I may hold off on those items; but there are few additions of my own that I'd make to this list:

- Buckwheat flour

- Buckwheat noodles

- Indian spices - jeera,garam masala, ground coriander, hing etc

- Semolina

- Sun dried Tomatoes

That's all I can think of for now...hope this helps any other new bumbling wives out there :)

Feel free to make any additions...especially if you have more experience in the kitchen than I do (which pretty much means anyone;)