Basic Kitchen Equipment

 I am assuming you've probably got your kitchen fairly well stocked, since your mom just left.  Sorry I didn't get this list to you sooner.

Dan and I were talking about what things we thought were most important to have in your kitchen. Here's our first pass at what we would try to have.
-cheap, but decent non-stick skillet
-small sauce pan
-large sauce pan
-soup pot
 -cutting board
-decent knives (this is the one place I would spend a little more)
--a paring knife and a big carving knife are sufficient to start out, but you want something that can be sharpened and will keep and edge.
-mixing bowls (make sure there's at least one large one)
-plastic spatula
-plastic mixing spoon
-whisk (if you can find one that won't scratch non-stick, those are great)
-wooden spoon -measuring cups
-measuring spoons
-liquid measuring cup
-garlic press (unless you like the smell of garlic on your hands)
-small strainer/fine mesh sieve
-blender or food processor (both if you have space)
-One of our favorite kitchen pans is cast iron, but it's kind of a pain to season it. If your mom or grandma has one for you, take it! It's like having one of the really great,expensive pans, but you can almost never ruin it. If you forget and leave water in it, you just sand and re-season it. However, it's not necessary in a small kitchen.

Spices- If you have a Penzy's store in Kansas City, their spices are all wonderful and it is my understanding that they are all Gluten free. They end up being pretty close to the same price as grocery store brand, only you use less because they are fresher and more powerful. Don't buy spices at Aldi, as it is one of the things they tell you may be cross-contaminated.
We use these a lot:
-Chili powder
-Cayenne or Ground Red Pepper
-Cumin
-Oregano
-Mexican Oregano
-Basil
-Thyme
-Rosemary
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-Vanilla
-Almond Extract
-Salt and Pepper (of course!)

Once you have the basic equipment and spices, the rest is pantry and perishables.  In my pantry, I almost always have-
-Cornmeal
-Corn Starch
-Masa (Maseca brand is gluten-free and probably the easiest to find)
-Quinoa (it's a little tougher to find, so let me know if you need some and I'll ship it to you.  It cooks as fast as white rice, but has a lot more fiber and protein.  It's what I used to make the "tabbouleh" that we had for Heather's shower)
-Brown Rice (I prefer brown basmati, but others really like short grain brown)
-White Rice (sometimes, you just need it done fast or a little stickier than brown rice)
-black beans
-refried beans
-white beans of some sort (great northern or cannellini)
-garbanzo beans
-salsa
-canned tomatoes
-tomato sauce
-red wine vinegar
-white vinegar
-balsamic vinegar
-cider vinegar
-rice vinegar
-olive oil
-canola oil
-canned broth (chicken is easiest and most versatile - really watch labels here, since they seem to randomly add gluten where it's not necessary)

I usually keep a few bags of various frozen vegetables around.  One of the easiest meals is rice, frozen vegetables and whatever leftover meat I have on hand with a little vinegar and olive oil.

I'll get recipes going now :-).

-Jennifer