The Guest-Friendly Kitchen: What to Keep on Hand to be Ready for Anything

When people stop by our home for a visit they usually don't expect us to have on hand whatever food or beverages they prefer, but when we are able to offer a guest a beverage, snack, or meal that's just right it makes our home seem that much more welcoming. Most of us have found ourselves graciously understanding when we've visited someone and been offered a drink with words along the lines of, "Do you want something to drink? I have instant coffee, but the milk may not be good. There's tap water, and I think there's a diet soda." Then, too, there may have been those times when a guest who only drinks green tea ends up staying at our house unexpectedly. Stocking up on items that will make our kitchen cabinets (and refrigerators) guest-friendly doesn't have to mean going out and spending a lot of money, all at once, on items we don't regularly use ourselves. Items to keep on hand "in case someone comes" can be picked up here or there with regular groceries. Sometimes items that are good to keep on hand "just in case" are actually items we would use occasionally if we had them. We just don't use some things regularly enough to always keep them on hand. In other words, not all "just in case" items have to be thingS we, ourselves, will never use. Its also nice to be able to have the occasional green even if coffee is our usual beverage.

Today - more than ever before - people are aware of limiting sugar and/or caffeine.Today - as always however - there are still those who love a good cup of coffee or tea. The following items can help make your kitchen very guest-friendly, and being able to pleasantly surprise your sugar-free guest (or caffeine-free guest or spring-water-only guest) with just the right beverage, snack or meal (when they've become resigned to usually not being able to eat or drink at other people's homes) is just a nice thing to be able to do

Coffee: If you don't drink coffee (or have a coffee-maker) keeping an instant coffee (like Taster's Choice in individual-cup tubes so there won't be an opened jar that eventually gets stale) will allow you to offer coffee to guests. Keeping a frozen, non-dairy, coffee-lightener isn't as good as having half-and-half or light cream, but its better than nothing. Maybe you keep milk on hand, and a guest may prefer that. There are also individual-serving packets of products like CoffeeMate. Again, these aren't as good as cream or half-and-half, but a coffee drinker would often rather have any lightener than none or no coffee. If you drink coffee there isn't likely to be a problem unless you drink it black. Instant coffee can also be used to make a quick iced coffee. If you have a coffee-maker keeping a little Hazelnut or French Vanilla or other flavored coffee is nice.

Tea: Keep a "basic" tea, like Lipton, Tetley, Salada, or generic. A small box of 16 or 24 teabags isn't very expensive. Keeping some "different" tea on hand as well may be a very pleasant surprise for guests. Green tea, a better English Breakfast tea, a better Earl Grey tea, de-caf teabags, and a sampler package of fruit/herb teas are nice to have on hand. Sometimes the guest who ordinarily drinks nothing other than Salada may decide that this is a nice chance to sample something like raspberry or peach tea.

To go with coffee and/or tea: Sugar and a few different sugar substitutes (brand-name or generic are - pardon the pun - equal). Sweet n' Low (or a generic) and Sugar Twin are the same. Many people today use Splenda (different from the other two). Some people may use Equal (this one contains aspertame, which many people do not want to use). Lemon, lime and orange flavoring comes in individual packets now (True Lemon, True Lime, and True orange), or you can just keep a RealLemon plastic lemon in the refrigerator and keep an eye on the expiration date. Guests often enjoy the chance to sweeten their tea with honey

Cold drinks: Spring water is a must. True Lemon or True Orange in water is a guilt-free beverage. Individually packaged orange, tomato and grape juice are standard juices. Frozen orange juice keeps for a very long time. Frozen pink lemonade does too. Easy-to-mix instant tea mix or lemonade/iced tea can be stored indefinitely. Individual tubes of sugar-free, flavored, teas (4C is all natural) offer a different drink to the sugar-free set.

Soda isn't all that necessary, but keeping five cans of soda (one regular Coke/Pepsi, one Diet Coke/Pepsi, one regular Sprite or ginger ale, one Diet Sprite or ginger ale, one regular orange soda, and one diet orange soda and an Arizona Iced Tea in Summer covers a lot of preferences. If you know you get more than the single, occasional, soda-drink stopping by it may not be a bad idea to keep a two or three two-liter bottles or a couple of six-packs in a closet somewhere.

Snacks: An unopened package of cookies (Pepperidge Farm makes nice cookies nice enough for guests) and an unopened package of snack crackers (like Toasteds or Wheat Thins) are good for both adults and children. An unopened container of spread cheddar cheese can be opened for guests. A bar (or the smaller, individually-wrapped, bars) of cheddar cheese can be served on a plate with crackers or cut into chunks or slices and served with toothpicks. Canned fruit keeps for a long time. Mandarin orange slices and pineapple slices/chunks on a plate make a pretty and healthy snack, especially in Summer. Although they aren't the healthiest, candied cherries (which come in a jar and keep for a long time unopened) can add color to a plate of Mandarin oranges and pineapple. If you happen to always have green grapes on hand, they'd be better to add. Keeping a jar of raspberry preserves and apricot jelly will give non-cheese-loving guests something nice to add to their crackers. Snack-sized fruit cups or something like the Del Monte Fruit Chillers (freeze and enjoy sorbet) are good to keep on hand, especially if guests are, or bring, children. Unexpected grown-up guests, though, aren't looking for anything fancy. Its just nice to have something that is refreshing and pleasant to offer them. A can or jar of unsalted peanuts or cashews also offers something to put out in a dish if a guest shows up unexpectedly.

Frozen waffles are good with canned or snack-pak fruit. They can also be used to make ice-cream sandwiches if your freezer has room for frozen strawberries and vanilla ice cream. Keeping a jar of chocolate sauce on hand opens up the possibility of making ice-cream sundaes. Whether its children, the teenage friends of your own kids, or Aunt Susie, this type of snack can be kind of special.

Meals: If you always have eggs and bread that, of course, means unexpected guests can always have eggs or toast (keeping peanut butter and butter/margarine is a good idea, but having preserves or jam offers something to put on toast too). A package of frozen waffles and a small maple syrup offer another breakfast choice. Keeping single-serve cereal offers choices if you always have milk on hand too.

Frozen chopped onions, frozen chopped peppers, oregano, Parmesan cheese and pasta all keep for a long time and offer an easy lunch or dinner if there's nothing else in the house to offer. Tomato sauce comes in small or large cans. Its good to keep that in the house. Morning Star soy scrambles for recipes keeps in the freezer and can be used with canned lima beans, corn, and/or carrots to top instant (or non-instant) mashed potato. Canned mushroom gravy turns it into a vegetarian casserole. Canned cream-of-celery soup of pasta with canned vegetables makes a basic, home-style, vegetarian, meal. Keeping white tuna and mayonnaise on hand means there's always tuna salad for lunch. Keeping an unopened jar of diced dill pickles and a can of Hormel (or other brand) chunk ham (or a small canned ham) means being able to produce ham salad as well. Dill pickles, macaroni and mayonnaise can be turned into macaroni salad. Better packaged soup mixes are easy to prepare, keep for a long time, and, once cooked, can be served with crackers.

Obviously, when your home is a place that gets frequent and regular guests you are very likely to have any number of nice beverages, snacks or meals available all the time. Keeping long-storing basics, and serving the types of meals they make, is for those people for whom guests are not usually a part of day-to-day living and for guests who understand that they are unexpected and that meals offered are likely to be of the most basic nature. It is just nice to know that if an unexpected in-law, neighbor, kids' friend, or anyone else comes by unexpectedly you don't have to say, "Want something to eat? I have a can of water chestnuts, some Altoids, and some bread ends that are probably still good."