Preparation, Preparation, Preparation....

The key to being able to create tasty, exciting meals is a) to have a well stocked storecupboard, and b) planning ahead. First the storecupboard. here's a list of what I consider to be essential storecupboard staples enabling you to create dishes inspired by any part of the world.

Dried herbs, eg. thyme, marjoram, oregano, sage, rosemary
Whole spices , eg. cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, black mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, black peppercorns, poppy seeds, pimento berries
Ground spices, eg. ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, 5 spice, celery salt, turmeric, garam masala, chilli flakes/powder, cayenne, paprika

Other important storecupboard essentials are:

Tinned chopped tomatoes
Passata
Double concentrated tomato puree
Anchovies in olive oil
Soy sauce - light and dark
Fish sauce (nam plaa)
Tabasco sauce/hot sauce
Tinned or dried beans and pulses such as kidney beans, aduki, chick peas, butter beans, lentils
Tinned (or frozen) sweetcorn - unless you have time to dehusk them yourself!
Frozen petit pois
Tinned fruit such as peaches, berries, pineapple, apricots - perfect for baking and great if you have run out of fresh. (My kids love stewed peaches with a dollop of cream)

Fresh garlic
Fresh ginger
Fresh chillies
Fresh herbs, eg. parsley, coriander, basil, thyme
Olive oil
Ground nut or vegetable oil
Toasted sesame oil
White and red wine vinegar - cider vinegar is also a good bet

Flour (wholemeal and white)
baking powder
Bicarbonate of soda
Vanilla extract
muscoavdo and light brown sugar
maple/golden syrup
Oats
Stork butter - for pastry and cakes

This might seem like a really long list, but it's by no means exhaustive.
There are plenty more things that I use on a regular basis that I haven't included, but this is a good starting point. You don't have to go out and buy all this at once - I've accumulated mine over the years, and thankfully most of it is really cheap to buy. A big tip though is to buy ethnic spices from ethnic stores (including dried beans and pulses) as they are always way cheaper than in supermarkets and you get bigger packets.

Next, planning ahead.

In order to make life easier during the week, I plan my menu on a weekly basis. This stops me from having to decide everyday what I'm going to cook and having to invent something on the spot. It also helps when I'm short of time because if I know in advance what I'm going to cook, I can sometimes prepare parts of it in advance. The added bonus is that I also spend less in the supermarket. I prepare my shopping list based on my menu and it prevents me from buying on impulse. (Another tip when shopping is to never go shopping when you are hungry. I'll buy anything if I'm hungry and then end up throwing most of it away.)

Yesterday I went shopping in sainsbury's armed with my shopping list and menu (in case I needed to make substitions) and bumped into a guy from work. He thought it was funny that I had this list, though I'm not sure if he was laughing at the fact that it was so long (well I do have to feed a family of four and he is single!), or that it was typed up in an excel spreadsheet!!! Well, all I can say in my defence is that it works very well for me thank you very much!