[adrockuk]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Sugar
Paprika
Garlic or Garlic Powder
Onions or Onion Powder
Cooking Oil (Crisco)
Virgin Olive Oil
Cooking Wine
Vanilla
Mrs. Dash

That's what I can think of right now, or also known as what's in my cabinets...LOL

T

[/ QUOTE ]

this list is a good start....

I would also add some fridge necessities

Lemon Juice
Soy sauce
worchestershire sauce
sour cream
Italian dressing
vinegar

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll throw in
balsamic vinegar
dried chillies
ginger root
Loads of tinned tomatoes.

Make sure you have a variety of starch foods in, rice, potatoes, pasta and noodles. I also keep a selection of frozen veggies in, broccoli, spinach, peas, carrots for when I've none fresh. I'd say that you'll need to always have onions in stock, relying on onion powder would be quite bad.

Herb wise other than what's already been mentioned I'd suggest (dried) Basil, Thyme, Oregano and maybe rosemary.

All that stuff will happily sit in your house for weeks/months and when you add some meat you'll be able to make a lot of flavorful dishes. Obviously pick up little bits here and there as you need them and some fresh produce when you can.

A lot of it is down to personal taste and I'm sure my cupboard wouldn't suit many people.