What basic equipment/pantry items do I need?

[Doryhunky]

So the upside of all this is that I have been cooking from scratch. I have been trying to make do with what I have food wise and choosing quite basic recipes but more often
Than not I find I
Am missing an ingredient and obviously I
Can’t just go and get it. Eg. Mixed spice or a spring of thyme or creme fraiche etc etc.
I don’t want to be a super chef but I would like to do a few nice basic meals. What store cupboard items should I have and what should I try to always have in my weekly shop?
I have also discovered that I don’t have basic equipment like a pie dish or a pasty brush or a glass mixing bowl (apparently you
Can’t use plastic for meringues!

Storecupboard stuff I use the most:

Lentils - red, green and Puy
Rice - basmati, pudding, arborio
Pasta - shapes, lasagne and spaghetti / noodles
Passata
Tins of: kidney beans / butter beans / chickpeas / sweetcorn / coconut milk /
SR flour, plain flour
Caster sugar and brown sugar
Spices and herbs: oregano, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, garam massala, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, chilli flakes, thyme , ginger
Grainy mustard / honey / barbecue sauce / chilli sauce / chopped ginger or one of those tubes of it
Porridge oats
Tinned fruit for smoothies or crumbles, or to have with yoghurt - plus pineapple for curries and stir fries
Frozen: blueberries / peas /
Nuts - walnuts, almond slivers (I keep them in the freezer)

Depends what you want to cook. We have every type of dried herb and spice you can imagine, but it has been built up over a long period of time as we've bought specific ingredients. We tend to keep various vinegars and oils as standard, and things like chipotle/harrisa pastes.
In terms of equipment, we always use a small grater, hand blender, potato ricer, good knives and a sharpener, a big lidded none stick pan that goes from hob to oven, Tefal frying pan, metal bowls in various sizes, and a pestle and mortar, regularly.

Stock cubes, cup a soups, all the random spices in jars from the middle aisle in Aldi or Lidl.
A cauldron (large pot/casserole dish)

Married to a chef who has had 37 years in the profession.
You don’t need a pastry brush because you can always use your fingers or dip a bit of greaseproof paper in and brush it over
You can use any shallow dish, it doesn’t need to be a pie dish. Shallow roasting tin or cake tin will do.
How often do you make meringues? I’ve been married 25 years and have made them maybe 3 times. I do have glass Pyrex bowls, but I use them to defrost the portions of bolognese.

Weekly on the shopping list I have passata, tinned tomatoes, carrots, onions, potatoes, peppers (along with - depending on what looks nice- Savoy cabbage, mushrooms, asparagus, mange tout or mixed veg, salad) & mince-you can make anything from mince e.g chilli, lasagne, spaghetti Bol , Shepard’s pie, mince & potatoe pie (in pastry) or pasties & burgers. Monthly braising steak for a beef casserole or beef pie.
Chicken breasts so can make anything from tikka, chicken wrapped in bacon, stir fry, kebabs, fajitas.
Joint -lamb, beef, pork or whole chicken for a full roast then leftovers
Salmon fillets -baked in the oven served with jacket potato & mixed veg or salad

Staples are different
I have numerous herbs and spices in stock. These grow more numerous the longer you cook from scratch & your recipe book grows but sage, mixed herbs, curry powder, rosemary, thyme, coriander at the very least.
Mixed dried herbs -I put in almost everything, along with fresh black pepper. Also great to sprinkle on diced potatoes shoved in the oven with olive oil to roast & serve with anything you fancy.
Stock cubes- I put in pretty much everything too.
Cajun seasoning-great for salmon fillets or chicken
Bisto gravy powder -for thickening casseroles but I know some people prefer gravy granules. I have a child with allergies so always avoided the granules as they had a reaction & just habitually buy the powder. It definitely gives a better colour to a beef casserole made with braising steak than granules do.

Make a weekly menu then decide what you need to buy based on what you are going to make for your menu

Eg
Tues - lasagne & garlic bread
Wed- chicken curry (tikka) & rice
Thurs-shepherds pie
Fri-salmon with jacket pot or wedges & peas
Sat- Chicken stir fry
Sun- roast- lamb/pork/chicken/beef with roast pots, carrots, peas,
Mon-leftovers or spag bol

Shoppingwise, if you make a menu it’s easier
So you know you need to buy mince for lasagne along with tinned toms, passata along with herbs & stock cubes if you don’t have them for tues. freeze any leftovers.
Buy Chicken breasts, a tin of curry paste, tinned tomatoes, rice and nann bread for wed
Mince, onion, stock cube, potatoes and gravy granules for thurs
Salmon, potatoes and peas for Friday
Chicken breast, stir fry sauce, noodles (slice & put in any veg you have bought) for sat
Joint of meat to go with the potatoes and veg you have on Sunday
Monday is a repeat of yesterday - I know some people don’t like this so just defrost the leftovers from any other meal.
Then plan a new menu for the coming week & shop all aver again again!

Aha. So because I have been having veg and meat boxes delivered I haven’t been able to plan as I don’t know what will be in them but I see that when life returns to normal I will have to plan. And expand my spice range! But genuinely have been enjoying cooking for the first time in my life! I have made meringues once but they were a lot easier
Than I expected so am keen to do them again. Thanks all.

If you menu plan, that should sort out the issue of missing ingredients at the last minute. A lot of supermarkets sell cooking equipment which is decent quality and should last. Failing that there's John Lewis click and collect at Waitrose. Everyone likes different stuff depending on what they cook, but for me, a set of round Pyrex bowls, plenty of baking trays, a cooling rack plus a decent roasting tin are a good starting point. Wooden spoons are cheap and very versatile too. Is that the sort of thing you wanted to know?

Lentils
Rice
Pasta
Stock cubes
Passage
Dried herbs and spices
Worcester sauce
Balsamic vinegar
Pesto
Roast peppers
Anchovies
Flour
Porridge oats

Mustard (the yellow strong stuff) - half a teaspoon (or more depending on how much sauce you are making) peps up a cheese sauce nicely.

Thanks so much everyone!

If it’s hard to meal plan because you don’t know what will be in the boxes I’d get the basics you need to make stir fried, tomato based pasta dishes and casseroles so then you should always be able to create meals