The Perfect Pantry

Star anise (Recipe: Vietnamese pho bo)

What's the difference between star anise and aniseed?

Are they two parts of the same plant?

Is one the seed of the other?

Do they taste alike?

And are they equally effective against the Evil Eye?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Canned black beans (Recipe: black bean cakes with guacamole)

A condensed history of canned black beans and me...

Ages 0-14. No black beans. No beans at all. Seriously. My mother never cooked them.

Ages 15-16. Campbell's Vegetarian Baked Beans (not black). During my brief affair with vegetarianism in my high school days, I'd come home from tennis practice, open a can, grab a spoon, and eat those beans cold, right from the can. Loved, loved, loved them. I don't think Campbell's makes them anymore.

Baking soda (Recipe: lemon thyme cornmeal cookies)

Things I can remember:

Phone numbers. PIN numbers. Latin verb conjugations. One phrase in Yiddish. The names of donors to a fundraising campaign I worked on fifteen years ago. My favorite jambalaya recipe. The words to old Beatles songs from the 1960s. Almost every line from every Doris Day-Rock Hudson film.

Things I can't remember at the moment:

The name of my first-grade teacher. How to use a slide rule. Kim's cell phone number (thank heavens for address books). Directions to Mary's new house (thank heavens for Mapquest). The current location of my favorite grey linen summer dress.

One thing I can't remember, ever, is the difference between baking powder and baking soda.

Other People's Pantries #26

From Andrea (Montreal Foodies), in Montreal, Canada:

It's been about a month since we moved into our new MontrealFoodies HQ and the pantry has managed to stay fairly organized.

Lemons, flamenco, and a summer sangria recipe

It's an upside-down summer day.

A thank-goodness-it's-almost-Friday day.

A tomorrow-is-my-friend-Cindy's-50th-birthday day.

So please, just for today, make the recipe first. Get it into the fridge. You'll have plenty of time to read all about the lemon and its many attributes while the sangria is chilling.

Turmeric (Recipe: saag paneer -- spicy spinach with cheese)

What do margarine, Domino's Pizza grilled chicken, chow-chow relish and monks' robes have in common?

They all get their bright yellow color from turmeric.

What do curry powder, ras-el hanout, hawayij, and tandoori spice rub have in common?

They all get their bright color from turmeric.

Coconut milk plus avocado (Recipe: ice cream)

Guest post by Peter in Brazil

Ripe avocados are dropping from the trees here in São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras.

Not only is it dangerous, but they are going to waste.

Other People's Pantries #25

From Ellen, in Austin, Texas:

This is our pantry as it really is. No cleanup before picture-time.

Dried peppers (Recipe: savory romesco sauce)

Imagine Laurel without Hardy, Wallace without Gromit, Carrie Bradshaw without Manolo Blahnik.

Unthinkable.

Burgers without buns? Mac without cheese?

Absolutely not.

The Perfect Pantry without dried chile peppers?

Never!

In fact, at this very moment, I have five -- no, six -- uh, seven varieties of dried chiles on hand, not including the peppers in the photo, which went into the recipe below. I've got habañero and the tiny piquin (pronounced pay KEEN), for pure fire. Ancho (smoked poblanos), chipotles (smoked jalapeños) and guajillo, not too hot, for smoky richness. Mulato, dark brown, sweet and a bit fruity, medium hot. Sanaam, small and red, used in Indian cooking (I'm just starting to experiment with these). And, of course, New Mexico red chiles, medium hot and all-purpose.

Balsamic vinegar (Recipe: mango-mint gazpacho)

You're not going to believe me when I tell you there is no balsamic vinegar in The Perfect Pantry.

Of course there is, you will say.

You write about balsamic vinegar all the time, you'll point out. And look at the label on the bottle. It says balsamic vinegar. Of Modena. It-a-ly.

You won't be wrong, exactly, but you won't be absolutely correct, either.