Turns out a pantry is not, in fact, where you go to buy pants.
Time sure does fly. Over the past couple of months, my food obsession has only grown, gone beyond words. I guess I left the blog behind because it wasn't giving me what I needed, which is what? Feedback? Support? I dunno. If you're reading this, drop me an email or a comment (if you don't have my email) so I know there's someone out there.
Anyway, back to cooking. I've been learning a lot from Jacques Pepin recently. His "Fast Food My Way" series is incredible. It's profoundly changing the way I'm cooking at home. Less Italian influence (though Ital is still the go-to for easy and simple home cooking), more creativity, less pretention, less fuss.
He keeps hammering on cooking from the pantry. It inspired me to sit down and make a personal pantry list. A list of everything I keep in the house on a regular basis, that I count on being in the cupboard when I come home wanting to make a meal. This is my personal list, not a suggestion for others. I can't imagine there's another person on the planet who relies on Marmite, smoked paprika, and frozen guanabana pulp, though maybe.