I m sure I m not alone in having pantry items which I can't do without.  Its not that I use the same items all the time, but I definitely have a basis of many of my recipes.  As I ve taught myself to twist traditional dishes from so many countries, I hope without loosing the love of the natives. My stores are growing.  I fall so in love with items in some countries that I end up shipping items in from over seas if I cant find a supplier locally and with the world wide web, anything is possible with some effort.  I ve learnt to take pictures of items when I m introduced to a new product that I like so I don't loose track of where and when the introduction took place. 

I learnt the hard way.....

Vietnam, one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  I can still smell and taste the flavours experienced on that trip. The good, the bad and the ugly, but one particular item that I let slip though my net, was a green chilli sauce that we sampled as we moved south to Saigon, Ho Chi Minh.  I have since bought and tasted so many green chilli sauces, but not one has matched or even come close to the memory in Lac Canh.   Lesson learnt and the one good use for mobile phones!

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So here goes a list of must have for Lucy's kitchen. 

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Malden salt Flakes & Himalayan pink salt grinders,Black pepper grinder,Sichuan pepper grinder

Ground Cumin,Black sesame seeds,Cumin seeds,Sweet smoked paprika,Chipolte peppers,Chipolte powder

Curry powder,Garam Masala,Five spice,Garlic powder

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All spice,Ground Ginger,Cinnamon powder,Cinnamon sticks,Vanilla pods,Vanilla paste, mint oil,lavender oil

Castor sugar, demerera sugar, soft & dark brown sugar. Agarve syrup, rose water, dessicated coconut

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Raw Cashew nuts, Raw peanuts, shelled pistacio, pecans

Venezwelan Black chocolate & Bournville 

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Jars of Connimex Sambal Manis

Fish sauce

Dried shrimp & shrimp paste

Soy bean & chilli

Tins of whole chipolte peppers (delish) from USA

Dried Shitake mushrooms

Udon noodles

Organic stock jellies, chcken & vegetable

Potato or chick pea flour as a thickening agent

Sundried tomatoes either dry or in oil

Tomato puree Tubes (not sure why but I prefer the tubes)

Panko - Japanese breadcrumbs

Flours - self raising, rye, plain, chickpea & coconut

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My home mades - 

Chilli jam

Raspberry jam

Mint jelly

Chiplote & tomato chutney

Sun blushed tomato jars

Lavender oil & chilli oils

Smoked garlic/plain garlic bulbs never pre peeled

The Burmese jar (as per recipes)

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