As a perfectionist, it can be easy to cast a disparaging eye over someone else's trolley in the checkout queue and think "I'm way too awesome to eat lean cuisine".  Hell, I've done it. (Sorry).

Well you aren't so awesome when it's 9:00pm on a Tuesday night, you're starving and you end up in a drive-thru deciding whether chicken nuggets or a fillet-o-fish will go better with a half-empty bottle of sauvignon blanc.

Being crazy perfectionist when planning your meals defeats the entire purpose.  Sure you could plan a week of amazing tantalizing gourmet treats from scratch but unless cooking the evening meal is your only job and you have no other responsibilities whatsoever and you are a superhero or energiser bunny you are just flat out lying to yourself.

The reality is there WILL be days when everything goes wrong, you come home late, a friend calls you in tears because the moron you never liked is treating her like crap again, the power goes off or you just plain can't be bothered.  If you don't have days like that then we are probably living in different universes.  You need to build stuffups into your planning.

A well stocked pantry (and spaces on your meal plan) can help out in times of crisis or laziness.  I'm a big fan of carbs in a crisis but go with what works for you.

Some of my pantry basics:

Rice/Pasta/grains:

• basmati rice (to serve with curries etc - and its low GI - bonus!)
• jasmine rice (short grain)
• carnaroli or arborio rice (for risotto - I prefer carnaroli but arborio can be easier to get)
• spaghetti (I like the Barilla Spaghetti Rigate - the ridges hold the sauce better)
• macaroni or short pasta
• thai style flat rice noodles
• polenta
• couscous

Tinned stuff/Sauces

• Tomato pasta sauce or passata
• Tinned crushed tomatoes
• Tinned diced tomatoes
• Tomato paste
• Tinned red salmon
• Tinned mixed beans
• Tobasco
• Woucestershire sauce
• mustards (wholegrain, Dijon, English etc)
• coconut milk
• coconut cream
• curry pastes (madras, vindaloo, thai red curry etc)
• soy sauce
• fish sauce

Oils/vinegars:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Grapeseed oil (great for frying)
• Nut oil (unless you're allergic like I am)
• White wine vinegar
• Rice wine vinegar
• Balsamic vinegar
• Red wine vinegar

Vegetables:

• Potatoes
• Onions (keep potatoes and onions well separate)
• Sweet potato
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Fresh herbs (in the garden or a window box)

Basics:

• Plain flour
• Self raising flour
• Caster sugar
• Icing sugar
• Quality salt flakes
• Whole peppercorns
• Bicarb soda
• baking powder
• cocoa
• stock (chicken, vegetable)
• breadcrumbs

Alcohol:

• beer
• brandy/cognac
• plenty of wine

The most important thing in my pantry: a folder filled with menus from fabulous local takeaway restaurants.  Why grab a whopper when you can get a pad thai instead?

Some quick and easy ideas:

Yes it would be great to only eat fabulous slow-cooked tomato pasta sauces made from your own organically grown heirloom tomatoes with fresh picked basil and garlic but it isn't possible on a daily basis for many of us.  (Grendel, you can stop gloating now.)

A jar of Barilla pasta sauce for $2.50 can be bulked up in a few minutes with a tin of 79c tomatoes, some fried onion and garlic and a liberal amount of quality salt and freshly ground pepper.  Add fresh herbs if you've got them.  A tiny splash of balsamic vinegar or red wine will give the sauce depth with minimal effort.

You can even buy garlic in a jar now if you don't have access to garlic straight out of the ground or you don't add it to everything like I do.  Serve over decent quality (egg) pasta with a liberal amount of grated parmesan/reggiano and a generous glass of wine and you'll be a quasi-Italian Mama in minutes.

A couple of potatoes (I like ruby lou or royal blue but whatever you have is fine) brushed, not washed or peeled and some onion chucked into a food processor with a grating attachment can become potato rosti in a flash.

My grandmother likes to fry the onion first but I often forget.Mix the potato and onion with egg and a bit of flour.  Season well and form into flat cakes with your hands.  Pop them in the fridge for a few minutes if you remember, then into a small amount of oil over medium heat and flip when the bottom goes crispy and golden.

Drain the rosti on paper towel while you wilt some baby spinach in the frypan (off the heat will usually work) and poach or fry an egg or two.  Stack up the plate with the spinach, rosti and then top with the egg.  No harm in adding some proscuitto if you have it.  Serve with beer.

If you've got time to scoot past an open butcher or fishmonger (lucky you!) on the way home your stocked pantry will convert a piece of protein into a meal, stat.

Fridge and Freezer essentials to follow!

UPDATE: While I'm finishing up my fridge and freezer posts, you might want to head over to Summer Tomato.  Darya has written a great post about stocking your pantry for healthy eating.

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Tags: baking, cooking, couple, easy, Eat it, eating, fresh, garden, garlic, idea, ideas, italian, meal, meal plan, meal planning, meals, noodle, pantry, planning, proscuitto, quick, restaurant, risotto, sugar, vegetables, wine