My kitchen must-haves

I leave my pastas and oils in the cupboard right above the stove hood. Whenever I'm in a rush, it's a lot easier to have all of my staples right in front of me. I eat a lot of pasta, as you can probably already tell. Usually I have on hand farfalle for quick pasta tosses, shells for stuffed pasta, orzo for soups or for a break from couscous (great with a little pesto blended in, and compliments salmon superbly), penne, spaghetti, fettucine, angel hair, lasagna, cappellini, and macaroni. I also have thin rice noodles and egg noodles as backups for when my usual pasta fix won't do the trick.

As for the oils, I have two different kinds of extra virgin olive oil (one's sweeter and lighter), peanut oil for higher temperature cooking and sauteeing, Smart Balance blend oil for baking, truffle oil for fancy occasions and dinner parties, and I keep the walnut oil in the fridge since it spoils.