PREP THE PANTRY

Sophie Gray, editor of Food magazine, suggests doing a quick inventory of your normal spices, stocks, sauces and spreads to make sure you have enough on hand. Canned goods – Tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn, baked beans and chilli beans are useful to make meals go further. Canned fish is flavourful and nutritious – tuna and salmon can go a long way tossed through rice. Flour – Add yeast and water to make bread; add raising agent and milk to make scones and quick breads; add eggs to make pasta; butter and herbs for dumplings or cobbler; oil and water for roti; or fat and water for pastry and dough. Use gluten-free flour for coeliac and gluten-sensitive family members. Meat – Your freezer is your friend. Choose things you can stretch out – freeze boneless chicken breasts singly. Cook and shred them into soup, stir-fries, risotto or pasta. Freeze sausages in ones or twos to be used as an ingredient – spicy chorizo will add flavour to a whole dish. Freeze bacon in small packs to be used as an ingredient to add flavour. Milk powder – Use in drinks, baking and to make porridge. Mix the night before in an empty milk container, chill overnight and in the morning the kids won’t know the difference! Fats – Butter freezes well. In an emergency we’re likely to eke it out, but if you have some stashed in the freezer you might appreciate it if you need a bit of normal – such as baking a cake for a child’s birthday. Vegetable oils such as rice bran or canola oil are inexpensive and versatile. Oats – Use to bind meatballs or make a filling breakfast or snack. Combine with peanut butter and dried fruit to make energy-dense snack balls. Eggs – Eggs will keep for several weeks in the shell, or break single eggs into a 12-cup muffin pan then transfer to a plastic bag when frozen. Defrost overnight and use in baking.