Something I’ve noticed is that with all the great choice of stuff you can get at the market it’s easy to get carried away and just concentrate on the main thing you need for your dish i.e. cod, steak etc. There are however some essential things you will need to be the base of most meals. Just so you don’t forget here’s our top ten!:
- Pasta-whether it’s spaghetti, pasta, fusilli, doesn’t matter. Takes about 15 minutes to boil and has the carbohydrates you need in a balanced diet.
- Garlic-You break off the cloves as and when you need them, and if it’s kept in your cupboard where it’s cool and dark, it will last around 6 weeks. You’ll use it alot.
- Onions-You’ll use them a lot (again), so make sure you’ve got two or three in your cupboard. They’ll last about two weeks.
- You can really get into herbs (legal herbs) as they each add their own flavour to your dishes, and can really boost an ordinary meal. But, as we’re on a budget, we’ve just got a packet of mixed dried herbs. Because they’re dried, they’ll last ages.
- Tin of chopped tomatoes-always useful to have. A quick fix for spag bol, lasagne in your cupboard.
- Stock cubes-whether they’re veg, chicken or beef, these are good to have. Just crumble them into a bowl, add boiling water and stir. They’ll add flavour to your dishes and soups.
- •Olive oil-one thing you should try and spend a bit of money on, as a good one will make a lot of difference to your cooking. You’ll only use a small bit at a time so it’ll keep.•Finally, salt and pepper. Whenever you boil rice or pasta, you’ll need a pinch of salt in there and you can season your food when you eat. Plus, you can pretend to be posh and say ‘would you mind passing the condiments?
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