Pantry perfect.....

... Or if you're Irish you'll refer to the pantry as the press! 

Last week I blogged that a good store cupboard is essential for all good cooks and is the secret to keeping your weekly shopping within budget. I sound like a housewife from the 50's but honestly most of the recipes I use, I only need to buy a few fresh ingredients because the rest I have! Build this up over time and keep replenishing. 

What's in my press? Have a look.... Are you missing many of the essentials? 

Minced Ginger (I got this in world food aisle in tesco)

Tabasco

Sesame oil

Olive oil

Sunflower oil

White wine vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

Sweet chilli sauce

Stock cubes 

Balsamic vinegar

Fish sauce

Lots and lots of herbs and spices:

Again the world food aisle is best, large bags of spices for less than £1. The glass jars in tesco are nearly double that! I just replenish the jars using the large bags when running low! 

Ground cumin

Ground coriander 

Ground ginger 

Cumin seeds

Smoked paprika

Hot paprika 

Sweet paprika

Turmeric

Chilli powder

Cayenne powder

Cardamom pods

Mustard seeds

Star anise

Garam masala

Curry powder

Chilli flakes

Salt

Pepper

Mustard powder

Dried oregano

Dried basil

Dried rosemary

Dried thyme

Dried tarragon 

Dried dill

Bay leaves

Lemon grass

Fajita spice mix

This wee press is full of nuts and seeds, great for salads and pasta dishes. 

Almonds

Pine nuts

Walnuts

Croutons

Unsalted cashew nuts

I keep a lot of 'spares' in this press so if it's running low in here, it goes on the shopping list.

Dry ingredients:

Flour, plain and self raising

Caster sugar

Light brown sugar

Corn flour (Ms Grogan, my home economics teacher wouldn't be happy!!!)

Lasagne sheets

Pasta

Linguini

Spaghetti

Couscous

Basmati rice

Brown rice

Risotto rice

Yellow split peas

Red lentils

Rice noodles

Egg noodles

Tin tomatos

Kidney beans

Butter beans

Cannellini beans

Tomato puree

Coconut milk

Curry paste ( rogan josh, balti etc) 

Thai red curry paste

Thai greencurry paste

Stock cubes

And from the fridge...

Red currant jelly

Dijon mustard

English mustard

Whole grain mustard

Mint sauce

Horseradish

Honey

Mango chutney 

Mayo

These ingredients last an age and well worth having. Most of these items are very very low in calories too!  Am I missing anything? Is there anything that you use regularly that's not included.