Saturday, April 10, 2010

Kitchen Essentials

I have somehow convinced myself that the availability of my favorite groceries will be different in my future abode. I have these minor meltdowns before every big trip and have even developed a mantra for packing for Europe: people live t/here, too. I repeat it over and over as I roll up my pants and tuck them neatly into my suitcase.

And, yet, moving to a new and somewhat foreign, highly remote, place feels completely different. Although this place is near great hiking and serious outdoor adventures, I've convinced myself that my favorite (healthy) ethnic ingredients might just not be available at my future remote home...

And, so...I present a running list of essential kitchen ingredients... of things I use often or will miss in my own overly-dramatic nature if it's not available! I'm open to rational advice, which assures me that, yes, Virginia, there is a healthfood store. Until then, here's the working list of things I'm stocking up on and researching how to freeze/save!

  • fish sauce
  • red curry paste
  • bamboo shoots
  • kale
  • whole chiles
  • whole wheat tortillas (...can I make these?!)
  • whole ginger root
  • tahini
  • hummus
  • herbs for growing: rosemary, cilantro, thyme, dill
  • whole wheat pitas (this have to exist everywhere, right?)
  • low fat coconut milk
  • mango

2 comments:

  1. Hey! Thanks for sayin' hi on the blog! It's nice to meet you.

    I love your list of kitchen essentials! All of us food bloggers should write one! It tells a lot about a person. It sounds like you are really into the Indian/East Asian type flavors. I look forward to checkin' out some of your recipes!

    Where are you goin' in Europe? My friends at Pure2Raw just spent some time in France, and wrote up reviews of all the healthy restaurants and cafes they sampled. My friend Eimear at VeganDukkaGirl is in Northern Ireland and she often writes about her choices for healthy food. Maybe their blogs can help?

    I spent 10 days in the UK two years ago. I remember it being very hard to find good fresh veggies. Although, I went in March, just before the fresh veg season. The Indian food was amazing, of course. And every little town I stopped in had a health food store. The coolest thing was that I found tons of really great stuff not available in the US!

    It really depends on where you are, I think. Anyway, keep posting! I'm curious to read about your adventure!

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  2. I've been to Europe on several big trips. This time, however, I'm moving to a very rural part of the US for a year. I know I could find many fun and adventurous foods in the EU... it's the mountains of a rather Appalachian state that have me a bit nervous!

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