What are your staple supplies??

[its_our_family]

What cooking supplies do you use the most? If I were to go and buy bulk what things would be the best to do that with? Flour, rice, (we aren't bean ppl), sugar, butter......

?? about yeast...the packets are so expensive for the fast acting stuff. How can I make bread with out it or is there another option or what? Otherwise it won't be worth making it if I'm paying 4 bucks for 3 packets.....

btw...the bread I made today is a BIG hit! Dh was so suprised and he LOVED it!

i'm so anxious to get started and learn new things!!

[TigerTail]

i just get the yeast in a jar ( i prefer fresh, but it's pricey )...

i keep on hand:
whole wheat pastry flour (cookies, cookies, cookies! oh, and biscuits)
stoneground corn meal
oatmeal
king arthur unbleached white bread flour

anything like rye or whole wheat bread flour i buy occasionally; the others i always have on hand.

ummm... dried buttermilk (keep it in the fridge!), dried whole eggs and whites (i like fresh, but it's nice when i'm in the middle of something and didn't know my dd hardboiled all the eggs earlier), dried milk... arrowroot for thickening (cornstarch if you can't find a good cheap bulk supplier)... hmmm, what else, y'all? honey, molasses, sugars (barley sugar makes sourdough happy- how 'bout keeping a starter on hand?http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/)

suse

[SoHappy]

I get a giant bag of yeast at a restaurant supply or Costco. It's a few bucks and lasts years if you keep it in a sealed container in the back corner of your fridge.

I buy rices, grains, pastas, nuts, lentils, oats, popcorn, baking supplies, etc. from the bulk bins. I always have fresh produce on hand, but I also try to keep organic frozen veggies and fruits, canned beans, broth, lots of kinds of oils, herbs, shelf-stable tofu, vinegars, all kinds of nuts (pinenuts for Italian to toss on a pizza or pasta or salad, almonds and peanuts for Asian, roasted pumpkin seeds for Mexican). I use these things to create meals from the items I buy in bulk.

[wings62]

On a good day our pantry would contain:
flour (white, ww pastry), corn meal, pancake mix, pastas (spaghetti, macaroni, udon or soba, rice noodles), sheets of nori, herbal teas (we keep a gallon of unsweetened herbal tea in the fridge- don't buy much juice at all- kids drink this), coffee, soy, rice, and nut milks, crackers, granola, cereal, oats, canned beans, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, some soups, boxed organic mac & cheese, jars of nut butters, jars of organic jams

In the freezer I keep bread, frozen veggies, fruits, chicken breasts, fish, veggie burgers, waffles, etc.

I know there is more, but I'll stop before I bore all of you to death.

I used to make almost everything from scratch now I stock up on good sales and keep more convenience foods around.

[cathe]

The two things I buy in big bulk are 25 pound bags of brown rice and 25 pound bags of rolled oats. We eat rice almost every day and I can make so many things out of oats - oatmeal, granola, grind it up on my food processor and use as flour, etc.

I also always have nuts and seeds on hand. I make almond milk, give them to the girls for snacks, grind them up in my coffee grinder and add them to cereal, rice, etc. for the iron and calcium. I also keep whole wheat flour and cornmeal on hand for baking but I don't buy them in bulk because I like to keep them in the freezer to keep them fresher.

As for yeast, you could get a sourdough started. Once you have one, you just save a little from your last batch of bread to use for the next. Check out a good bread book like Laurels Kitchen Bread Book for the recipe.

[captain optimism]

.Green and red lentils and yellow split peas cook quickly and you can buy them in bulk. They aren't as "beany" as some other beans, some kids I know will eat them. Not all! My dh makes dal with them.

I get brown and white rices of various kinds in bulk, rolled oats, whole wheat cous cous, and polenta ground cornmeal. Some of the stuff I like best is relatively expensive, like arborio rice for risottos, but you can get a lot when it's on sale and it keeps in a glass jar. Organic flours for baking come much cheaper in bulk where I shop, too.

It's a good idea to put new bulk purchases in the freezer for a few days before you transfer grains and flours to tightly sealed glass jars. All it takes is one moth-infested purchase :

[BrooklynDoula]

I recommend only buying in bulk things that you should actually eat in bulk. So, we buy organic beans in many varieties, long grain brown rice, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, etc.

BUT, I never buy sugar in big amounts because then I am encouraged to use other things or do without. I use apple sauce instead of butter in many recipes and that also provides some sweetness, molassa is also wonderful, especially for breads, scones, etc.

[BrooklynDoula]

I recommend only buying in bulk things that you should actually eat in bulk. So, we buy organic beans in many varieties, long grain brown rice, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, etc.

BUT, I never buy sugar in big amounts because then I am encouraged to use other things or do without. I use apple sauce instead of butter in many recipes and that also provides some sweetness, molassas is also wonderful, especially for breads, scones, etc.

[BrooklynDoula]

I recommend only buying in bulk things that you should actually eat in bulk. So, we buy organic beans in many varieties, long grain brown rice, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, etc.

BUT, I never buy sugar in big amounts because then I am encouraged to use other things or do without. I use apple sauce instead of butter in many recipes and that also provides some sweetness, molassa is also wonderful, especially for breads, scones, etc.