I have a subscription to Food Network magazine & I love it (I chat more about it here). Anyways I was reading one of the interviews in the June issue where they asked the chef, what their top 5 ingredients were. Simple enough question, so I pretended that I was being interviewed for the magazine and asked myself, “Darby, what are your top 5 ingredients?” I didn’t take me too long to come up with 5 items. Here are my 5 choices that I buy almost every week at the store or in bulk to have on hand continually. They are potentially seasonal and I could have a little variation, but these are staples that I’ve been using in our kitchen on a weekly basis for a couple years now.
1. Coconut Oil- I’m pretty sure that by now everyone knows the coconut oil is the best thing since sliced bread. Can’t be beat y’all. I use it in the kitchen for roasting, sauteing, and baking, but also for diluting essential oils, on my face, in my hair, for baby boo-tays (since we cloth diaper and can’t use other bottom creams), and for a bazillion other things.2. Lemons- I used to keep lemons around to add to my water, but I honestly haven't done that in a while. Instead I’ve been using it to add to salad dressings and marinades. It doesn’t take much and I love to have them just laying around for whenever I want that fresh flavor.
3. Kale- I know this sounds super trendy to say, but we really do eat kale all of time. I openly put it in salads, stir fry, and coleslaw, but I’m also sneaky and add it to smoothies and yogurt #sneakymama
4. Red Onion- How am I using this on the reg? I use red onion every chance I get for caramelizing, in sauces, guacamole, salad accessories, shrimp tacos, pizza toppings, greek pitas….seriously I could really keep listing for-ev-er ;-)
5. Dijon Mustard- I rarely use this as the condiment it comes as. Instead I use it to make salad dressing (especially this one), and sauces (like this one). I just love the tang and think it’s great for dressings, marinades, & sauces.
