Cooking Staples

If you stock your kitchen with anything, be sure to include cooking staples like olive oil, onions, garlic and dried oregano.

I’m not a chef, but I’ve worked as a line cook in some upscale French restaurants during some weird periods of my life.

That partly explains while I’m the primary cook in my household.

I’m practical. I dish out family meals in little time — while keeping the kitchen clean and sterile.

I prep. Today (Sunday), I prepped a meatloaf to bake tomorrow, after work.

After the meatloaf, I also prepped some homemade tomato sauce for the night after.

This is all part of a quest to deliver delicious, hearty meals that not only nourish, but bring the family together. It’s an expression of love. It creates happiness and memories. These meals provide leftover lunches most of the time as well.

Someday I’ll write a book of practical recipes and techniques for two-working-parent households (summarizing ongoing food posts like tuna and cheeseburgers and more).

Until then, you should note the important ingredients: olive oil, onions, garlic and dried oregano.

To be sure, I usually deploy many more ingredients, depending on the recipe and season (my garden produces heavily in the late spring, summer and early fall).

But these four ingredients are the reliable core of our hearty family meals, especially in fall, winter and early spring. They store easily, and so they’re always on standby. They’re like the bassist in a band — a steady foundation devoted to making the other players be their best. And they occasionally take a lead role.

The onions and garlic typically appear through sweating or caramelizing in the olive oil, followed by a sprinkle of dried oregano.  This was the case with the meatloaf base, tomato sauce, and last Friday’s grilled chicken breasts. These four ingredients also played a critical supporting role in our recent Christmas dinner of leg of lamb.

If you stock your kitchen with anything, be sure to include cooking staples like olive oil, onions, garlic and dried oregano.

Let me know if you need help.