Welcome to Waiting for Tomato Season!

This edition features: pantry staples. Things I always try to have, now, always, forever!

Hi, I’m Abby!

Welcome to the first edition of Waiting for Tomato Season, a newsletter by me, Abby Krishnan, a vegetarian resident of the Mission District in San Francisco. There’s nothing I love more than food, eating, and doing something special in the kitchen.

The name for this newsletter is inspired by the thing I may possibly love most about San Francisco. The summer tomato season is long, gracious, and missed terribly when gone. I’ve always considered myself a summer girl — as a Texas native, I’m a fan of hot weather, swimming, and popsicles. The song from the girl band — HAIM — “Summer Girl,” is the song I’d likely choose to best describe myself. It’s the one thing I miss in SF — a true summer; what has overwhelmingly made up for it are the tomatoes. Daily in the summer, I will be spreading Kewpie mayo on a toasted sourdough, preparing the perfect vessel for a sweet juicy California tomato. Last year, on two occasions, I bought a large box of 10 pounds of early girl tomatoes with the intent of canning them, only to finish them before I even had the chance.

This newsletter is meant to serve as a way for me to document a life that is dotted by good and bad, fancy and uncomplicated, fresh and boxed foods. I hope to share inspiration by documenting the best things I ate this week, my favorite tips and tricks in the kitchen, and more.

Pantry Staples: The Backbone of the Kitchen

A few weeks ago, there was a series of serious rainstorms in the Bay Area. During this time, I joked that worst comes to worst, if I was forced into my home, by literally hell or high water, I could probably force a good 3 weeks of meals out of my pantry, fridge and freezer. “I have nothing in the fridge” is usually the biggest white lie I’m constantly telling myself, as I make excuses to eke out a grocery run 5 out of the 7 days of the week. A pantry staple is a really special thing, and I love learning what different things people like to stock up on. I live in with a relatively small kitchen that I share with two other people, so I’m usually juggling my grocery shopping habit with space to accommodate all the things I’m itching to buy.

When I say pantry staple, I don’t strictly restrict myself to dry goods I keep in the pantry. I think of them as the things I try to buy as soon as I run out of them. These are the ingredients I rely on to be able to turn whatever produce I buy into delicious meals. This includes essentially everything except produce and spices. By having a well stocked pantry, it can greatly reduce the anxiety of the ever looming question: “what will I eat for dinner tonight?”

Pantry

• Pasta

  • I can never be without Spaghetti and Rigatoni

• Quinoa

• Some kind of white bean

  • I love Rancho Gordo and regularly frequent the best grocery store in the world, Rainbow Grocery, the only place in the world you can bulk bin Rancho Gordo!

• Toor dal and masoor dal

• Popcorn

• Peanuts - roasted and salted

• Sesame seeds

• Dried shiitake mushrooms

  • Great for a broth in a pinch

• Kombu

  • Same philosophy as the mushrooms, great for a broth or breakfast miso soup

• Tortilla chips

  • I love Casa Guadalupe but it comes packaged in a plastic bag that falls apart literally the moment I open it up.

• Pancake mix

  • Don’t tell me that it’s just cheaper dry goods mixed together. I know! Ain’t nobody got time for cake batter at 9 AM when a pancake craving hits.

• Basmati rice

• Yeast

Condiments and Pastes

• Tomato paste - always in a tube

• Tamarind chutney

• Calabrian chile

• Djon mustard

  • Sir Kensington’s is my favorite, but I am not strict on this

• Chipotle in adobo

• Kewpie mayo

• Sambal oelek

• Peanut butter

  • I don’t have a favorite brand. Do you?

• Tahini

• Vegetarian oyster sauce

  • I like the Lee Kum Kee one, I dislike the Kikkoman one

• Chili oil

  • Fly by Jing is a great spend-y option, otherwise Lao Gan Ma is a workhorse

• Soy sauce

• Dobanjiang

• Miso paste

Cans

• Whole peeled tomatoes

  • Bianco di Napoli is my favorite. California over D.O.P. all DAY.

• Canned black beans

• Canned chickpeas

• Coconut milk

Fridge

• Parmesan

• Cheddar

  • Tillamook is a must

• Butter

  • Kerrygold is a must

• Lots of jars of olives

  • I love olives. I could eat them with every meal. I love sampling an olive bar at a speciality grocery store

• Greek yogurt - I’m a 2% girly

• Milk - again, 2% girly

• Hemp seeds

  • This is a great staple for my iron deficient friends!

• Phulkas and tortillas

  • I like to get the uncooked dough rounds for Phulkas. This is one thing I haven’t mastered and cannot be bothered to make from scratch on a weekday.

• Cilantro

  • I like to store it in a takeout container with a paper towel that I switch out once a week. Don’t do the jar with water trick. I’ve knocked it over at least 6 times in the fridge, spilling musty cilantro water everywhere.

• Ketchup

  • Anything but Heinz is inferior. I love Heinz ketchup for potatoes, burgers, and stir fries.

Freezer

• Frozen stuffed parathas

  • These are my favorite go to breakfast. Aloo gobi for business, paneer onion for party. The brand I get is usually Haldirams

• Peas

• Udon

• Coconut chutney

  • One of my favorite foods in the whole world that I grew up eating a minimum of once a week is dosa, and I find coconut chutney is great to keep around for dosa cravings

What are your favorite things to always keep on hand? I’d love to know and expand my little repertoire.