https://www.scholastic.ca/our-books/book/something-from-nothing-9781443119467
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Pasta as the “nada” pantry item makes sense for Italian food since it’s a pantry staple. Rice and potatoes (to a lesser extent) are the pantry staples I use for “nothing” meals. If there’s cooked rice in the frig, it’s fried rice. If you have to cook the rice, toss something in the rice cooker like a sausage or fry an egg and put some oyster sauce on it…or open a can of dace. If potatoes are cooked, make some kind of hash from whatever is in the house. If the potatoes are not cooked, loaded mashed potatoes (colcannon) with whatever you have in the house…lots of butter. I do agree that the art is not to overload things, keep it simple and fast, although I wouldn’t say it’s art, more of a craft.
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I keep both parm and ginger in the freezer and microplane it as needed.
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Omelets using leftovers.
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keep ginger in the freezer, but parm stays really well in a glass jar in the fridge.
Same
Unless I forgot to 
In Bengali households, khichuri (khichdi in Hindi) is the classic one-pot hearty meal that can be made on rainy days when trips to the market might not be possible. This originated in days when Indian families shopped every morning or evening for fresh produce, in the days before refrigerators were widely prevalent. Rice, lentils and whatever odd vegetables might be lurking around, cooked into a warming, gently-spiced porridgy meal, drizzled with ghee.
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Not gonna lie…i keep packets of ready-made rice on hand. If I dont put it in the micro per the instructions, I can also add it to leftovers or use it for fried rice.
Barilla makes a heat and serve pasta, too…its a little al dente, but works in a pinch.
Ive made carbonara and quick stir fries for last minute guests, too. Spanish tortilla is an easy one too.
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Poached eggs on buttered toast need nothing but a little salt and pepper to make a perfectly satisfying meal. Feel free to add hot sauce/chili crisp/etc. if available. You can even poach ‘em in a coffee cup in the microwave.
That and a cup of strong, sweet black tea is an easy “I want something ‘real’ with minimal effort” meals.
And a big +1 for the miso/butter plus chicken stock. Tony Kim’s “caccio e pepe” uses miso and chicken stock rather than cheese and adds white pepper and sichuan peppercorns to the black pepper. Works well with most any style of pasta.
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- Toasted bread with a smear of brie. Bonus points for adding either chopped tomato or sauteed mushrooms and herbs.
- Dried legumes and a fragrant, long grain rice.
Both of these benefit from being fairly minimalist. And, I don’t think I’d ever get sick of eating either of those!
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Bone broth and veggie stock is for me the quintessential something out of nothing dish because it’s just water plus things you’d be throwing away or composting.
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I try to keep a few starches, some frozen proteins, and some frozen veggies to hand at all times, plus eggs and diced ham and a few tins of various beans.
I almost always have something to whip up at a moments notice*
*time, energy, and giveadamn allowing, of course
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I always wanted to have a Stone Soup party, asking guests to bring something to add to the pot. I never managed to make it happen, but someday I still might pull it off.
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It’s a fun idea! 
I was fascinated by the story as a child. My Dad told it as “Nail Soup”. It is one of my earliest food memories.
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We made a Stone Soup at school when I was in Grade 6, iirc, when we read the story.
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I forgot about that! I think we were grade 4 ish.
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