On a podcast recently, this question was put to chefs: Which seven ingredients must you always have in your pantry at home? One surprising answer was tomato paste. Since the chef said it was necessary, I started using it more and wow! It does add a pack of flavor.

Today, here is my list of seven items I “need” in my pantry. (Salt and pepper and basic herbs are a given.)

Onions and/or Garlic

We use a lot of veggies at our house. And a lot of our dishes seem to start with sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil.

We usually have garlic that is pre-minced in jars as well as peeled fresh garlic in bags and some fresh garlic in cloves. The convenience of minced is nice, but that is not as flavorful as one of the fresh versions.

Once or twice a week, we roast up whatever veggies we have around – sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic are a favorite mix of mine. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, carrots – anything is roast-able in our home, and onion and garlic are always included.

To roast, I mix the veggies in a bowl with oil and seasonings, then put in a 13×9 pan and into the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, usually stirring once, until the veggies are tender.

Miso Paste

Some time ago, maybe when my husband was reading about the Okinawa diet, we started using miso. I’m not enough of a connoisseur to have an opinion on white vs. red vs. yellow, etc., but I do love having miso around to add flavor to just about anything.

The other day, I was tired of moving a few bags of half-used frozen veggies around the freezer, so I sautéed up some onions and garlic, added in broccoli, peas, and green beans from the freezer, loosened it all up with some stock, added a generous amount of miso paste (1/4 cup?), a can of organic tomatoes, and a few spices, like oregano and turmeric.

After cooking on low heat for a few hours, it was all wonderfully soft and it smelled awesome. I used my immersion blender to puree it all up and made a wonderful, hearty tomato soup.

Gluten Free Flours

Not my preference, but by necessity, I have to avoid gluten. But I love baking! My kids grew up thinking that store-bought white bread was a delicacy only to be tasted at church potlucks. They were used to my regular baking of all types of breads and rolls.

This morning, I enjoyed a piece of toast, which sometimes is the only thing that will do. I made a successful loaf of gluten free bread yesterday that held together and was tasty. The secret to holding together and rising is xanthium gum.

The tastiness comes from using a variety of flours. This loaf has a gluten free all-purpose that includes sorghum and brown rice and garbanzo bean flours. I added some teff flour and oat bran.

I have an array of flours, including coconut and almond and sorghum as well as the ones mentioned above. My family usually says that gluten free pancakes with a variety of flours are better than wheat pancakes.

Mushrooms

Besides the fact that I love the taste and flavor of mushrooms, they are a natural immune booster. After listening to an episode of the People’s Pharmacy, I have been even more intentional about using mushrooms.

I tried the mushroom barley soup recipe on their site, substituting wild rice for the gluten laden barley, and made a few other accommodations to fit with my on-hand ingredients, and it was yummy. Of course, mushrooms are also an item added into our roasted veggie concoctions.

Ginger, in Any Form

I have loved ginger since I was a kid and a favorite neighbor would make dense, cakey cookies she referred to as “gingees.” I loved those cookies! Also as a child, when there was a storm in the winter and our little gas log was on, we’d get regular ginger snaps and put a little dab of butter on them to melt.

Now I always have ginger juice to add to the taste of tea or smoothies or my own matcha/turmeric/ginger drink.

I also have ground ginger to add to cookies or sprinkle on roasted veggies or add in Indian food recipes.

Finally, I bought a mandolin primarily to slice fresh ginger super thin to add to roasted veggies. A favorite, super easy recipe is Ginger Carrot Soup.

Butter

Of course, growing up in the boomer generation, I had a lot of oleomargarine as a kid. Somewhere along the way, though, maybe at a rare restaurant experience, I tasted butter. Real butter. And I was sold!

Butter makes everything better. Cookies, mashed potatoes, toast, baked sweet potato, pancakes, banana bread. Butter, not margarine.

Besides, now we know that butter, in moderation, is probably better for us than hydrogenated oils and fats. Butter is one of my “purist” splurges.

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

On another day, another time, coconut would not be on my list of seven necessary items. But I’ve had some success with baking lately that satisfied my gluten eating family – even a grandkid who identifies my food as “grandma food” when it tastes too healthy.

I made banana bread for an open house (pre-corona) and at the last minute, wondered how some coconut would work in it. All I had baked disappeared, and I even received requests for the recipe – no one guessed it was gluten free. Now I know to always put coconut in my banana bread.

My mother’s tried and true recipe for oatmeal cookies got a handful of coconut the last time I used it to make chocolate chip cookies and that was a hit, too. With a dash of cinnamon as well. The texture as well as the taste of coconut is a favorite addition at present.

I am definitely not a chef, but I do enjoy being creative in the kitchen. Trying new ingredients has made our quarantine time more pleasant, for sure.

What are the special ingredients you have in your pantry? How have you ventured in the kitchen while sheltering at home? Please share with the community!

That marvelous satellite we call the Moon has been observed by everyone, from scientists to spiritualists to farmers deciding when to plant.

My fascination with the Moon is longstanding, but on a superficial level. An occasional look to the evening sky offers an appreciation of its beauty, as it provides some light through the night.

On the topic of the Moon and how it impacts time in our lives, I happened to hear Anne Strangechamps, one of the hosts of To the Best of our Knowledge podcast, interviewing media theorist Douglas Rushkoff.

The Moon and Our Behavior

During the interview, Rushkoff discusses that as the Moon changes from phase to phase, there is a tendency for chemical substances in our brains to have an impact on our behavior and interests.

As I have had time on my hands as a stay-at-home hideaway from COVID-19, I decided to, on a casual basis, track the Moon phases on my own behavior, level, and type of activity.

I have long been aware that I am super-productive some days or weeks and other times just as likely to settle into a comfortable chair with a long book. Can our activity on any given day or week be attributable to Moon phases?

In my unscientific plain language approach, I’ve attempted to more or less track my own activity through a Moon cycle or two to see whether the expected outcomes for those phases fit my activity. I did this through a backward approach looking at my day-to-day calendar, phone logs and my running journal.

Did my journals and log activity reflect the Moon’s cycles? You be the judge.

New Moon

During the Rising Moon phase, Rushkoff says we will likely be thinking creatively and be more open to new thoughts.

Personal Observations

I’m not sure I felt like a creative woman, but my calendar notes show I was more disciplined about meditation and exercise than during other phases of the Lunar month. This was the week I returned to a yoga practice after a long absence.

I generally am not good about keeping up with friends, but my calendar notes show I did significant outreach during the New Moon.

I also found that I returned to some ideas I had, for some reason, put on the shelf.

Activity involved more business decisions than would be expected, but that was more a matter of outside timetables than my choice to make those decisions during this period.

First Quarter

According to Rushkoff, I should have felt an impulse to get work done as the Moon was filling. This is a phase to tackle projects that may have been put off.

Personal Observations

The “get work done” fits well. I wrote and submitted an article the first day of this quarter, then spent a good week to 10 days knocking items off the to-do list.

I mowed through a stack of paperwork that was not date sensitive, but should have been done. It felt good to have that space cleared away. Additionally, I was doing some planting preparation.

My journal reflects more goal-oriented runs than were done in the first quarter.

Full Moon

Rushkoff says we shouldn’t expect to be productive when the Moon is full. Kick back a bit and enjoy some leisure time. Trying to be productive will be, well, unproductive.

Personal Observations

There was excessive but well spent phone time with friends. I did engage in some fun, creative cooking and did some writing. I don’t have much detail on my calendar so that may be a reflection of the expected lack of productivity during this phase.

My running journal shows that I incorporated some trail hiking during this period, always a more relaxed experience than running on the road.

Third Quarter

Expect to be all business, ready to make decisions based in hard facts when the Moon is waning.

Personal Observations

My calendar shows I moved ahead on some long-range planning (or contingency planning, as needed during an epidemic).

I also did some furniture rearranging. I don’t think that qualifies as making a decision based on hard facts, it but did make for more efficient use of space.

My Summary of This Experiment

So, what does my retrospective review over the last month to six weeks tell me – and you? I’ve reached the following conclusions:

Time Organization

Attention to the moon phases may help in structuring personal time, especially during 2020 when time feels very strange already.

Productivity and Leisure

There may be a benefit to reflecting on feeling and temperament of the day as opposed to what the various clocks of the outside world are asking of us. Our lives don’t usually allow us to choose when we will relax and when we will be super productive.

The crux of this is that the limitations and demands on our lives don’t necessarily coincide with the moon phases.

Structure

At a time when many things feel unsure in our world, the moon phases may provide a structure. We can all look to our recent previous activity and determine whether it is useful in the longer term.

Have you considered how the phases of the Moon may impact your creativity, efficiency, and organizational powers? Is it possible to coordinate your inner clock, that may be dictated by the Moon phases, with appointments, deadlines, and obligations? What do you think? Please share with our community!

Lisa Rinna’s Pink Satin Dress on RHOBH

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 10 Episode 8 Fashion

Between her pink blazer dress with the astrologist and this pink satin dress at the gala, Lisa Rinna is certainly rocking a lot of pink in the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 10 trailer. And we’re just hoping that it doesn’t result in her receiving a cease and desist from Lisa Vanderpump to stop serving us up pretty pink lewks because ooo…we’d be so angry.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Also Seen on Tracy Tutor in White:

Click Here to Shop Her Retrofete Dress

Click Here to Shop it in White

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Photo #2: @TracyTutor

Originally posted at: Lisa Rinna’s Pink Satin Dress