Kitchen staples

This is a basic list of must-have ingredients for people who want to start cooking. These are just good things to keep around, stuff you should have at all times. This list is really basic.

• Salt and pepper (duh)
• Salt-free seasoning mixture
• Curry powder. Its worth it to cough up for good quality, as this'll last you a while.
• Sugar
• Pasta
• Rice. Brown is best for you.
• Some kind of jarred or canned pasta sauce
• A few cans of various vegetables/fruits/legumes. Especially tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, lima beans, green peas, chick peas, green beans, mushrooms, etc.
• Frozen veggies. Get different varieties; some asian-ish blends for stir-frying, some blends that'd go well in pasta or rice dishes, etc.
• Olive oil. EVOO is the best general-purpose variety.
• Salsa
• Soy Sauce

• Onions
• Garlic
• Cheese or cheese substitute. Block form rather than shredded is best -- shredded won't keep as long. With block cheese, you can cut off the mold and what's underneath is fine. Cheddar is fundamental, and if you're a salad fiend you should keep some feta on hand.
• Butter or butter substitute, whether margarine or a nondairy spread. Look for the word nonhydrogenated on the label, you'll live longer.

• Fresh spinach. If not spinach, then lettuce, but I for one can in no way understand the domination of lettuce over spinach in our culture. Spinach can be used almost anywhere where lettuce can, and it has a richer, meatier, better taste. It also can be used in a lot of ways that lettuce can't; as when its steamed or used in curries. To top it off, spinach is much more nutritious. Fsck gives a truly moving exposition of spinach's virtues.
• Milk or milk substitute. Soy milk not only tastes great, but it lasts much longer than cow milk.
• Tomatoes.

This list is incomplete for any reasonable kitchen; it's just the fundamentals. This'll give you a good solid basis to work on, so you can grab a couple special ingredients from the store and have a nice meal, or even whip up something on a whim without extra ingredients. For instance, these gorgeous spinach wraps. Happy cooking.