Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy · Episode 206 · August 26, 2025 · 30 min
What’s In Our Pantry? Our Top 10 Essentials for Quick, Tasty, and Easy Home Cooking (Re-Release)
What if the secret to making effortless, delicious meals was already in your pantry? If you’ve ever opened your pantry searching for dinner inspiration but ended up cooking the same-old boring meal, this episode is for you! By the end of this episode, you’ll: Learn how a staple like tomato paste can be the base of a flavor broth or quick sauce Learn why chefs swear by anchovies to bring a punch to countless dishes… including an easy dressing! Find out how Japanese curry cubes are your ticket to a quick dinner with any protein or veggies you have on hand Hit play now! The secret to flavor-packed cooking is already sitting on your pantry shelf! *** Links: Tomato paste: in Sonya’s manti in brothy tomato sauce , and Alison Roman’s caramelized shallot pasta, and for our go-to coconut red lentil dish Canned chickpeas: Kari’s #1 quick meal = bite-sized pasta with chickpeas, and whatever veg/herbs she has (we also love Serious Eats' pasta e ceci ), and a simple chickpea salad is always a great base for a bigger salad. We love a simple chickpea coconut curry , and also using a can for a 5-minute hummus ! Anchovies: Discover what to do with a tin of anchovies from Serious Eats , and we love them for a simple dressing , and as the base of pasta sauces like Midnight pasta Coconut Milk: for a 30-minute veggie coconut curry from Minimalist Baker , and for Coconut Miso Salmon Curry from Kay Chun for NYT Cooking (unlocked), and in Kari's sunny chicken soup with lemon and coconut milk Tahini: Some of our favorite tahini brands: Soom , Seed & Mill , Whole Foods 365 Organic Tahini , and Eden Foods . Sonya’s 3 favorite tahini sauces , and her sesame sauce for noodles . For a sweet treat, try Sonya’s tahini chocolate chunk cookies (swap the chocolate with dried fruit) Farro: Charlie Bird’s farro salad, the cabbage and farro soup from Six Seasons , and crusty baked cauliflower and farro from Smitten Kitchen Orzo: One-pan garlic butter chicken orzo from How Sweet Eats , and a one-pan lemon orzo and salmon from Something Nutritious Couscous: Ina Garten’s couscous with pine nuts, currants & shallots, a showering of fresh herbs Japanese curry cubes: Here’s a great guide and recipe for Japanese chicken curry , but Sonya typically makes hers vegetarian Jarred Roux: Kari’s go-to premade jarred roux for gumbo, soups, stews, and more. Pomegranate Molasses: For salad dressings like this one , as a sauce for wings , and drizzled on top of roasted squash. (We love the Cortas brand for its flavor) *** Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084 For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here . We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @ foodfriendspod , or drop us a line at [email protected]!