The Perfect Pantry

Cocoa powder (Recipe: cocoa-cumin-allspice rub)

Sometimes I uncover an item in my pantry that's a bit of mystery. I know I should have it. In fact, I'm never without it. I just don't know why.

Cocoa powder is the mystery du jour.

What, exactly, is cocoa powder? What makes some of it Dutch-processed? Is natural cocoa powder better, or just different?

Here's what I've learned.

Pine nuts (Recipe: toasted piñon shortbread)

Wahooooooo!

After the soggiest, cloudiest, buggiest Spring and early Summer here in rural Rhode Island, my basil plants have perked up. In fact, they're in need of a trim, and that means pesto, and that means pine nuts.

Or pignoli.

Or piñon.

Or pinocchi, pinhao, pinolos, pinoccoli ....

Thyme (Recipe: frittata with broccoli and garden herbs)

Of all the four food groups — parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme — my favorite is thyme.

Not because wearing it in your hair is said to make a woman irresistible. Not because it's supposed to ward off nightmares and negativity, and encourage good health. Not even because Titania, Queen of the Fairies, slept in a bed of thyme, though that does sound delightfully indulgent. 

None of the above. I just love the taste.

And, okay, the irresistible-to-men thing would be a pretty good reason to keep thyme in the pantry.

Miracle Whip (Recipe: wild rice salad)

Strangers are about to learn a dirty little secret my family has known for years.

I eat Miracle Whip (gasp!).

In fact, I like it better than real mayonnaise (gasp!).

My favorite thing is to smoosh up Season sardines, mix in some Miracle Whip, and scoop it up on wheat crackers (gasp, gasp!). I learned this from my dad. My cousin Martin used to ship the sardines to me from Maryland (no other brand will do, just like no other mayo will do), because until recently I couldn't find them here. Finding the Miracle Whip was never a problem.

Green olives with pimiento (Recipe: tapenade)

"Shaken, not stirred." Quick — name the dashing spy whose signature drink is a vodka martini garnished with a green olive with pimiento.

It's James Bond, of course, in all of his incarnations (though I confess that Sean Connery's Agent 007 makes my heart go pitter-patter).

You've got to admire the person who first thought to stuff a bit of red pimiento into a green olive — tangy, tasty, color-coordinated... I haven't been able to find out who invented the stuffed olive, but it's likely that the idea originated in Spain, which produces both olives and peppers.

Sherbet/sorbet (Recipe: lemons stuffed with sherbet)

It's too darn hot
It's too darn hot
I like to sup with my baby tonight
Refill the cup with my baby tonight
But I ain't up to my baby tonight
'cause it's too darn hot

(Excerpted from Cole Porter's hit song from the 1948 Broadway show, Kiss Me Kate.)

Lately, it's been too darn hot to cook.

Thank goodness for a well-stocked pantry! Last weekend, friends were coming for dinner, and I needed to create a dessert. I could have offered everybody one of the sugar-free ice pops to which I'm hopelessly addicted, but, even on the hottest days, I can summon the energy to make something a bit more glamorous, which is why there's always good quality sherbet or sorbet in my freezer.   

Flour tortillas (Recipe: roasted halibut tacos with mango salsa)

According to Mayan legend, tortillas may have been invented more than 10,000 years BCC (before carbs counted).

Back then, tortillas were made of corn or maize cured in lime water (to release niacin and tryptophan), ground on a metate, kneaded into a dough called masa nixtamalera, pressed flat into thin patties, and cooked on a very hot comal (griddle). Flour tortillas are a relatively recent innovation, dating from the 16th Century.

Corn tortillas fresh from the tortilleria (tortilla factory) are the best; homemade tortillas, made with a press and comal, take a close second; but in The Perfect Pantry I keep a stash of versatile flour tortillas in my fridge or freezer.

Peanut butter (Recipe: spicy Chinese peanut sauce)

If peanuts aren't nuts (they're legumes, like peas and lentils), and peanut butter isn't butter, how did peanut butter get its name?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Garam masala (Recipe: mint chutney)

What happens when a good-for-nothing handsome hunk like Mac finds himself in possession of an empty flat and access to three gorgeous air hostesses, Priti, Sweety and Puja? I have no idea, but you will, if you settle in with Garam Masala — a 2005, three-hour, Bollywood movie extravaganza! Indian movies that combine song and dance, love triangles, drama, comedy, and daredevil thrills are called masala movies, because, like masalas — spice blends — they are a mixture of many things.

Visit one hundred kitchens in India, and you'll find one hundred different versions of garam masala, the spice mixture at the heart of northern Indian and Pakistani cooking.

No-boil lasagna noodles (Recipe: Buddy Lasagna)

I came to lasagna late in life.

During my freshman year in high school, I met Paula, my very first first-generation Italian-American friend. Her mother introduced all of my teen crowd to robust meat-sauce-laden lasagna, and for years I made it her way, with curly-edged pasta rectangles that are parboiled, and a bit slithery. The arrival in the marketplace of no-boil lasagna noodles took the slither out, earning this item a place in The Perfect Pantry.