Shopping Your Pantry: Tex-Mex Potato Fry

Budget life-style articles always like to suggest that you "shop your pantry" to save money and waste less food. This is not neccessarily as difficult or as easy as it sounds, it largely depends on what you have in your pantry in the first place. The advice of "shopping your pantry" is pretty useless if you haven't got certain staples on hand. While this may seem obvious to anyone who's tried out this particular kernel of wisdom, what may be less obvious is what is helpful to keep in the larder. Personal tastes vary of course, so therefore should personal food stocks but this video from Working Class Foodies is a great place to start.



I would really recommend the entire series, especially for those just learning to cook. In addition to demonstrating many dishes and recipes, the series also teaches many techniques, which really helps to improve and develop one’s culinary skills more quickly. All of the material is so approachable, and in addition to showcasing items like Vegan Snacks for the Super Bowl, Working Class Foodies also offers simple, straightforward tutorials for old favourites like Roast Chicken, Irish Soda Bread, and Latkes.

Cooking with what’s already in your cupboard is easier when you also have some versatile herbs and spices at home as well. Though many spices may seem expensive at first, it’s important to remember that they often go a long way. Some basic herbs and spices that compliment many dishes can be found inexpensively; some downright cheaply if you know where to look. To start, try looking in Dollar (or Pound) stores, the international food aisles at your supermarket and grocers that specialize in a particular kind of international or ethnic food. It’s not necessary to try to fill up your spice rack immediately; start with some essentials and then build off your stores to suit your tastes.
Ten useful basics are: salt, pepper, basil*, rosemary*, thyme*, oregano*, chili powder, ground ginger, cinnamon (whole or ground), and bay leaf.

Local stocks may vary, but it appears as though the American national chain Dollar Tree offers many of these basics for USD $1 or less per item. Discount outlets like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, TK Maxx, and Winners sometimes have more expensive, specialty seasonings for sale in their homewares sections.

(*Though fresh herbs are often more aromatic, it isn’t always practical to keep them in your pantry at all times depending on the season, your geographic location, etc. Some argue that fresh herbs are always superior to dried, but it’s often just a matter of convenience)

This week, since I started the week with some actual food in both the fridge and the larder, shopping my pantry was easy and resulted in something pretty tasty. From some potatoes, red onion, garlic, cumin, ancho powder, dried chives and lime juice, came a Tex-Mex potato-fry.




Served up with some fresh cream and chopped cilantro:



Everything that went into it, was already in my kitchen. In addition to avoiding another trip to the grocer's, I also managed to use up some ingredients likely to spoil in the next few days. This may be the first time I have ever successfully "shopped my pantry".