The Prepared Pantry: A List for Eating Well With Humble Ingredients

Social distancing and quarantines don't mean you have to live on canned soup alone.

Many of us have practice in stocking up for storms and such, but the pandemic pantry is a slightly different animal. Hurricane shopping, for instance, has people buying "hedonic products" to weather the storm – like cookies, chips, and alcohol, along with the bottled water and batteries.

But stocking up in the face of a lockdown varies a bit. We expect to have power and gas, so cooking and food storage shouldn't be a problem. That said, in preparation for a pandemic the government recommends having a two-week supply of food on hand. Which makes many people think: Canned soup, rice and beans, pasta, and 46 cases of granola bars.

With this in mind, we took a look through our archives, and as it turns out, our food section is basically like Little House on the Prairie meets Pinterest – which is to say, pretty pandemic friendly. In terms of delicious basics, we've got this covered. Here's a start; we will keep adding as we find more.

Beans

• When beans save dinner: Eight ways to make meals starring beans.
• 4 ways to cook dried beans to perfection: Learn the different methods for cooking dried beans.
• 20 things to do with chickpeas: Because few pantry ingredients are as generous as the humble chickpea.
• Everything to know about the amazing butter bean: From how to cook butter beans to recipes and health benefits, here's the lowdown on the tastiest legume in the pantry.
• Chocolate hummus is shockingly good (recipe + nutrition facts): There's some kind of kitchen wizardry that happens when chick peas meet cocoa powder; here's how to find out in five minutes flat.

Canned tomatoes

• 8 ways to turn a can of tomatoes into supper: Tomatoes are one of the most useful and versatile ingredients you can have in the pantry.
• World's easiest tomato sauce is also the most delicious: This lip-smacking sauce requires just four ingredients and hardly any work at all.
• The truly easiest tomato sauce is no-cook and delicious: Two ingredients and no heat required.

Frozen foods

• The 15 foods I most frequently freeze: Frozen food may be maligned by many, but the freezer is my number one tool in battling food waste.

Grains

• How to cook rice to remove the most arsenic: It’s downright Victorian, but alas, our rice is rife with arsenic – here’s how to enjoy the grains without the poison.
• 10 yummy ways to use leftover rice: One can never have too much rice.
• 12 great whole grains to try: From amaranth to teff, the wild world of healthy whole grains need not be bland and boring.
• How to cook any whole grain like popcorn: Barley, rice, quinoa, amaranth – you name it – can be quickly popped like corn.
• 8 great gluten-free whole grains: Even if you aren’t avoiding gluten, these whole grains are a worthy addition to anyone’s pantry.
• 60 delicious additions for overnight oats: Easy, healthy, and endlessly customizable, here's how to make basic overnight oats and then push them deliciously over the top.
• How to make your own oat milk: Because the darling of the dairy-free milk set has a lot going for it.

Miscellaneous staples

• 10 plant-based staples to stock a vegan kitchen: After decades of eating mostly a plant-based diet, these are the basic staples I've learned to keep on hand for a variety of meals.
• 8 ingredients I always have on hand: I never leave the grocery store without these staples in hand.
• 7 super seeds to add to your diet: From chia and hemp to poppy and pumpkin seeds, these mighty nutrient bombs pack some punch.
• Homemade pasta is cheap, easy and delicious: How to make a super special meal with just a few ingredients.

Potatoes

• Yep, this is the best way to make baked potatoes: There are a lot of ways to bake a potato, but this method results in the perfect mix of fluffy middle and crispy skin.
• What to do with leftover baked potatoes: Whatever you do, do not let these gems go to waste.
• Which sweet potatoes should you buy? Learn what to expect in terms of flavor, textures, and best uses.
• 18 unexpected recipes for sweet potatoes: From fondue and latkes to waffles and cheesecake, it's time to escape the sweet potato slump.

Roasted vegetables

• Glazing roasted vegetables makes them even better: Here's a simple trick for elevating already delicious roasted vegetables.
• Why you should roast vegetables in a cast iron pan: You'll get a perfectly crispy, golden exterior.
• 8 fruits and vegetables you should try roasting whole: From cherries and cauliflower to grapes and pumpkins, wonderful things happen when you cook these foods whole.
• Always roast as many vegetables as you can: Kept in the fridge, they're a secret weapon for fast gourmet meals.

Sauces + extra

• My favorite secret-weapon ingredients for plant-based cooking: For flavor, depth and texture, these simple vegan staples work like magic.
• Learn to make some of these 17 essential sauces: Knowing how to make a few sauces by heart is a skill we all can use.
• This super simple green sauce goes with everything: This sauce is an amalgamation of any fresh herbs you may have on hand.
• How to make pesto with crazy greens: Embrace the onslaught of kale and other winter greens by giving them a summer spin.
• 7 fantastic salad dressings you should make today: Salad dressing makes everything better.

Soups

• An ode to soup: It's the ultimate quick and frugal comfort food.
• Make stock with vegetable scraps and peels: Here's an easy way to reduce food waste and never buy commercial soup stock again.
• 6 ways to 'beef up' your vegetarian vegetable stock: These simple tricks add the depth and flavor that plant-based vegetable stock can sometimes be missing.
• The secret to excellent pureed soups: Take your creamy vegetable soups from dull to delectable.
• All the ways to thicken a soup: Broth is great, but sometimes you get too much of a good thing.

Winter squash

• The best way to roast butternut squash: Here's everything you need to know about roasting the iconic winter squash.
• 13 vegetarian recipes to celebrate winter squash: Squash recipes are as diverse as they are delicious.
• 7 great squashes to use for dessert: What’s the best pumpkin for pumpkin dessert? Maybe not a pumpkin at all.

To be continued...