King's Grant Farm's Pantry

The pantry is traditional to old farm houses. Some in these parts refer to them as larders, storerooms, or butt'ries. In my case, my pantry is a workroom, a storage closet with lots of open shelves, a cooking reference library with more than 50 books, a spice cabinet, a grainery, and a place to store the old crockery, glass, and bowls that came with the house.

"How few rooms impress us so deeply that they become a part of our lives in memory of influence...We need rooms which hold out warm, inviting arms, rooms into which we can go and feel the atmosphere wrap us around with soothing and content. Remembered rooms speak to us to be more than what we were when we entered the room." Lydia Lion Roberts

I often pull an old small black chair into the pantry to read my cookbooks. It's soothing, quiet, very clean, and crisp. Linen (real old linen) sits neatly folded on the shelves. It makes a good blanket for my hearth breads in the winter.

The cousin of my pantry is my cellar; a cool, dark place to overwinter my late harvest crops like onions, cabbage, jars of pickles, and beets. But more on my root cellar later.

Tea. I start with tea because when we pick up a country-style magazine, we normally see antique crocks painted with the word "tea" on the front. And since I'm a couple hours north of Boston, I might as well start with tea. Green tea, organic. Black tea, organic. From Peet's in Berkeley. Gunpowder green tea. Not much into the herbal stuff. I use tea to brew and drink, to marinate duck breast in, to color my Easter eggs with, and to wash down my kitchen floors.

Flour from King Arthur. Italian 00 for my pizza, organic wholewheat pastry flour, organic all purpose white wheat flour, self-rising flour, and organic European artisan bread flour. Also from the King...a couple of bags of Vermont cheddar cheese powder to make cheddar cheese crackers and to add to my son's favorite spinach-cheddar soup.

Other flours. Garbanzo bean flour, organic oat flour, vital wheat gluten, teff, potato flour, and a host of whole grains that are fine in the pantry during the winter, but which must be stored in the refrigerator during the long, hot summer months. Organic cornmeal is a must!

Dried Provisions. Dried buttermilk, dried onions (I never used them until I spent time with a wonderful friend and she used them in her food all the time...they add a sweet, not overpowering flavor. She taught me a lot about life), dried beans of all types (navy, cranberry, frijoles negroes, garbanzo, and pintos), dried chili peppers from New Mexico, dried chopped garlic, dried sage from my garden, dried thyme mixed into my herbal mixes, and several types of dried mushrooms, such as black trumpets, oyster mushrooms, mushroom powder, and dried porcini...all for my risottos.

Pasta. Organic. All shapes. Too lazy to make my own anymore. Mostly whole wheat, but always some white pasta in the pantry.

My own herbs and spice blends from Sunapee Seasonings. Sassy Sugar River, Capo Caponatta, and my own antique jars full of my own blend of pie spice. Seeds--lots of seeds. Poppy, sesame, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, allspice, cumin, you name it. Penzy's spices make it into my pantry. And I dry my own dillweed, thyme, sage, and bay. Most others aren't worth the trouble or don't taste good when dried.

Olive oil. Three kinds. Organic imported for my salads. Bulk conventional EVOO for cooking. And, Sicilian bottled green gold for those special times when my family stops by.

Organic coconut oil, sesame oil, and walnut oil.

Jars...local, homemade jars of relish, BBQ sauce, Captain Steve's raspberry jam, my own blueberry preserves, and a couple jars of local apple sauce. I do purchase small jars of organic mayo. I could make it myself, but again, I'm lazy. And maybe you'll find some Chinese hoisin sauce as well. Italian capers in salt from my buddy in Milan.

Tomatoes. My own sauces, three ways: Sicilian (Eddie's favorite) that is made with red wine, chopped spinach, and black pepper. Marinara that is made with shallots, olive oil, basil, and sea salt only. And, Pizza sauce for my buddy Ethan that is thick, a bit sweet and has lots of garlic and oregano in it. (In 2009, I'll make my own ketchup.)

Schuyler's organic buckwheat pancake mix that I make by hand. I use King Arthur's recipe. I make them on the big griddle in the middle of my range so it heats the whole kitchen on cool mornings.

Maple Syrup from the Levitt Family Sugarhouse up the road. I prefer Grade A dark amber. I can see the trees that he taps from my window.

Salt. Sea salt from Spain and France. Morton's kosher salt to cook with. Pickling salt for the late summer canning. Black volcanic salt from Hawaii. Pink salt from Portugal. Jars of my own blend of finishing salts and salts for fish. Locally-brewed soy sauce (the Japanese method). Fermented black beans (a great source of sodium).

Vinegars. Not a huge balsamico fan, but always have a couple bottles. Unsweetended rice wine vinegar. Red Italian vinegar. Maybe six types of local apple vinegars. My own blueberry and raspberry vinegar.

Sugars and honey. Organic sugar from the conventional grocery, for my guests who like to have sweet coffee (also from Peet's). Brown sugars--both dark and light. Organic black strap molasses. a bottle of organic agave syrup, and a modern-day (sinful, I know) squeeze bottle of light corn syrup for when I get that urge to bake cookies. Honey from my neighbors and from everyplace I visit. I collect honey like people collect stray animals.

Grains, nuts, seeds, and stuff. Oats. Groats. Wheatgerm. Buckwheat. Risotto. Lentils (three different colors and sizes). Split peas. Pumpkin seeds. Almonds. Walnuts. Organic peanut butter (I make it myself).

Other stuff that is important for cooking. Ginger. Cinnamon. Alum. Baking soda. Baking powder. Gelatin powder. Cocoa powder. Chocolate. Popcorn. Lard.