Cooking Herbs ? Spices ? what do you use in your kitchen ? chilis, sauces, condiments, garnishes all welcome!!

[Daisys and Diamonds]

when i worked in garden centres we always carried an extensive range of herb plants
im trying to make a recepie for Hungarian goulash?
it requires careaway seeds
they are so hard to find, im going to have to get them off the internet

how adventourse are you?
we grew up with pretty basic mint, sage, thyme, rosemary and chives (gotta love an egg and chive sandwhich)
i grow basil because it smells so nice but i only use it in slow cooked tomato and garlic soup as i found i dont really enjoy the taste of basil
i use oragarno (i got a bit mad the other day, our pizza shop just dropped oragarno as an add on) and marjoram

the last few years ive slowly got into Chineses 5 spice
and also star anise as i make my own pickled pork, the recepie calls for four, im up t two !
at Christmas i made quick fridge pickled veg and i went down by the river and got some wild fennel, cant say i liked it but the wild fennel smells like heaven in the heat of the sun, i dont like licorice but love the smell of it

now corriander, that is the work of the devil
ive read its a genetic thing if you think what you may call cilantro tastes like soap

when i first started to cook i used tons of this

one has to start somewhere

my favourite spice is cuman, how can something that smells like BO tatse so good

thoughts, ideas, pictures, recepies ?????

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I cook a lot of Indian food naturally, so I have quite a well stocked spice cupboard

Imo for Indian food if you don’t have the patience to collect individual spices, you can get a lot of food cooked if you buy the mixes (usually specific for each dish, but there’s some all round MVPs too).

I also like cumin a lot (we use it pretty extensively in Indian food), but my favourite is either cardamom (which I like eating raw and also always put in my tea) or asafoetida (because it’s what gives Indian food depth. If your food tastes flat compared to a restaurant dish, it might need asafoetida).

On a non Indian note, does chilli oil count as a spice? I eat it with my eggs almost daily.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I cook a lot of Indian food naturally, so I have quite a well stocked spice cupboard

Imo for Indian food if you don’t have the patience to collect individual spices, you can get a lot of food cooked if you buy the mixes (usually specific for each dish, but there’s some all round MVPs too).

I also like cumin a lot (we use it pretty extensively in Indian food), but my favourite is either cardamom (which I like eating raw and also always put in my tea) or asafoetida (because it’s what gives Indian food depth. If your food tastes flat compared to a restaurant dish, it might need asafoetida).

On a non Indian note, does chilli oil count as a spice? I eat it with my eggs almost daily.

defintaly chillie of all types counts !!!

i once had to buy cardaman for peach muffins

i always like to look around those Asian/Indian grocery stores, usually for hot sauce but you just never know what one will find

 

[HGar]

I love cooking so I have a huge amount of herbs and spices - my family has an aversion to bland food so everything here has something added to it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I love cooking so I have a huge amount of herbs and spices - my family has an aversion to bland food so everything here has something added to it.

on the back of our pantry at our old flat we had a spice rack, it was not big enough

so Gary was a carpenter/ joiner by trade
i waited 5 years for an expansion of my spice rack
i had to bring my own timber home on the train ( I worked in a hardwear store) and then he made it too tight to fit the brand pf herbs and spices we brought

 

[SparklieBug]

now corriander, that is the work of the devil
ive read its a genetic thing if you think what you may call cilantro tastes like soap

I love corriander, and my DH detests it in equal measure. LOL! He's probably got the genetic thing going on as well.

I love all manner of herbs and spices, and tend not to cook a lot with them due to DH's issssues with spiced up (not even "hot" spicy) these days. He has an autoimmune condition, and has grown increasingly adverse to being adventurous with foods. He used to be able to eat a wicked-strong Caesar salad but even the smell of garlic will now give him a headache. Poor thing!

In the past couple years, I've been getting more and more into fresh hot peppers. I also love dried Aleppo peppers to add depth but not heat. Very yum!

Am growing Kambuzi peppers (hot as Hades!) indoors, and this year have a Lemon Drop pepper (meant to be medium hot and have a lemony taste, so it may be like a mild version of the Kambuzi?), two Portuguese peppers, an Aleppo (to see what they're like when fresh), and a Shisito pepper which is more mild.

Last fall I made several batches of fermented pepper sauce that were excellent!

I love fresh basil, rosemary, mint, parsley, and am growing all of them. If I had more room, I'd grow more fresh herbs.

For dried, love any of the aforementioned, as well as marjoram, cumin, oregano, dried coriander, and baking spices, too, in some savoury foods—cinnamon, nutmeg/allspice. Oh! Also sage, savory, chipotle...

Now I'm hungry for something spicy!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I love corriander, and my DH detests it in equal measure. LOL! He's probably got the genetic thing going on as well.

I love all manner of herbs and spices, and tend not to cook a lot with them due to DH's issssues with spiced up (not even "hot" spicy) these days. He has an autoimmune condition, and has grown increasingly adverse to being adventurous with foods. He used to be able to eat a wicked-strong Caesar salad but even the smell of garlic will now give him a headache. Poor thing!

In the past couple years, I've been getting more and more into fresh hot peppers. I also love dried Aleppo peppers to add depth but not heat. Very yum!

Am growing Kambuzi peppers (hot as Hades!) indoors, and this year have a Lemon Drop pepper (meant to be medium hot and have a lemony taste, so it may be like a mild version of the Kambuzi?), two Portuguese peppers, an Aleppo (to see what they're like when fresh), and a Shisito pepper which is more mild.

Last fall I made several batches of fermented pepper sauce that were excellent!

I love fresh basil, rosemary, mint, parsley, and am growing all of them. If I had more room, I'd grow more fresh herbs.

For dried, love any of the aforementioned, as well as marjoram, cumin, oregano, dried coriander, and baking spices, too, in some savoury foods—cinnamon, nutmeg/allspice. Oh! Also sage, savory, chipotle...

Now I'm hungry for something spicy!

thats too bad about the other half, but we dont want to upset his tummy
anytime i have ever grown any mmber of the pepper family i always get white fly but i buy the odd bag of what ever is the normal commercially grown small long thin hot pepper her and throw them into the freezer

i forgot all about parsley
its so pretty and i like the smell but its another one i avoid, in was in grandmas' herb garden but wouldnt grown at home, but our elderly neighbour kept mum in parsley
my first boss in the garden centre grew parsley commerically, he reconned yes its good for you but if all you ate was parsley for three days it would kill you, personally i think one mouthful would finish me off

at work when we make up orders of our fanncy club sandwhiches i always think we need a spring of parsley, we thought about growing some in the garden down the fence line but our boss Linda is worried someone or dogs would wee on it

an ex boyfriends family had the stuff growing wild everywhere and they would put it in colslaw ,,,,i dont like colslaw at the best of times

if you ever see these in the grocery store (perhaps in the international section these peppers from South Africa are are so good, you can get different heat strengths, they are yum stuffed with cream cheese , the juice is so good, not like regular pickle juice, i use it as salad dressing

The vibrant red, bite sized Piquanté Pepper was discovered in South Africa in the mid 90's by the founder of Peppadew International. Following extensive research and testing, the perfect recipe was established to present the world's first Sweet Piquanté Pepper and the PEPPADEW® brand was born.


you can buy them stuffed in the shops but im too tight to buy them so i stuff my own, its fiddly

 

[dk168]

I bought and used a variety of spices when I tried to follow recipes from an Indian cookbook, even made different types of spice mixes from that cookbook from scratch. However, that phase has passed!

My go to herbs are flat leaf parsley and coriander leaves, and spring onions.

Go to ground spices are cumin, coriander, cinnamon, hot smoked paprika, chilli powder, and Chinese 5-spice powder.

Fresh ginger and garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Quite like the original Old Bay spice mix.

Is sesame a spice, as I use lots of toasted sesame oil and seeds!

DK

 

[pearlsngems]

I use spices and herbs quite a lot. My spices take up about 1 and a half shelves of my cabinet.
Right now I have these:

Baking:
Vietnamese cinnamon (Penzeys)
nutmeg
cloves
ginger
vanilla— imitation, and real and powdered vanilla sugar
Wellesly Farms (BJ’s brand) organic Dutched cocoa powder
I have cardamom pods but have not figured out what to do with it

Savory:
sun dried tomatoes
paprika — smoked and sweet
dill weed
rosemary
oregano
thyme
basil— I chop it in my food processor and cover it with EVOO in freezer safe containers to use all year
fresh Thai basil— we grow it
parsley— we grow it and I also make a pesto with EVOO to freeze and use all year
cilantro— we grow it
bay leaves
Northwoods Seasoning- Penzeys-- we love it with Cornish hens and with salmon
black peppercorns (Penzeys Tellicherry)
dill weed
Chesapeake Bay seasoning (Penzeys)
fennel seeds
caraway seeds
Maggi seasoning
jerk seasoning
Colman’s mustard powder
and a few other sauces/seasonings
I also have some tamarind paste I want to start using

Mexican/Chili/Thai/heat:
Cajun seasoning (Penzeys)
chipotle
cumin
cayenne
Aleppo pepper, ground
Ancho pepper, ground
Thai chiles— both the fresh Birds Eye chiles (which we freeze), and dried crushed chilis
roasted sesame oil
some curry pastes

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I use spices and herbs quite a lot. My spices take up about 1 and a half shelves of my cabinet.
Right now I have these:

Baking:
Vietnamese cinnamon (Penzeys)
nutmeg
cloves
ginger
vanilla— imitation, and real and powdered vanilla sugar
Wellesly Farms (BJ’s brand) organic Dutched cocoa powder
I have cardamom pods but have not figured out what to do with it

Savory:
sun dried tomatoes
paprika — smoked and sweet
dill weed
rosemary
oregano
thyme
basil— I chop it in my food processor and cover it with EVOO in freezer safe containers to use all year
fresh Thai basil— we grow it
parsley— we grow it and I also make a pesto with EVOO to freeze and use all year
cilantro— we grow it
bay leaves
Northwoods Seasoning- Penzeys-- we love it with Cornish hens and with salmon
black peppercorns (Penzeys Tellicherry)
dill weed
Chesapeake Bay seasoning (Penzeys)
fennel seeds
caraway seeds
Maggi seasoning
jerk seasoning
Colman’s mustard powder
and a few other sauces/seasonings
I also have some tamarind paste I want to start using

Mexican/Chili/Thai/heat:
Cajun seasoning (Penzeys)
chipotle
cumin
cayenne
Aleppo pepper, ground
Ancho pepper, ground
Thai chiles— both the fresh Birds Eye chiles (which we freeze), and dried crushed chilis
roasted sesame oil
some curry pastes

if you lived nest door you could give me a teaspoon of caraway seeds !
ive recently become attacted to smoked paparika

my mother used to freeze chopped mint in ice trays all ready to make into mint sauce, we had a spring at Moreki, it would not grow in Dunedin, it doesnt grow here either, i have to buy it from the supermarket (which i dilignelty plant to no avail)
im surprised mum let us pick that mint, it was a very deep water hole, you had to just stay on the edge not that you could tell the edge till your feet got wet

 

[pearlsngems]

@Daisys and Diamonds,
Our mint (spearmint) bed grows like mad! And comes back each year on its own.
I wonder why it won't grow where you are?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Daisys and Diamonds,
Our mint (spearmint) bed grows like mad! And comes back each year on its own.
I wonder why it won't grow where you are?

i think too dry
we have a pumas base here so we never get rain puddles as we are so free draining
but then when mum moved to Christchurch she had it growing on the edge of the lawn -in Dunedin we were on sand too so mint didnt like that either
you always here people say dont plant that in the garden, it will take over....im still waiting

 

[pearlsngems]

I suppose if you really wanted it, you could get a large pot or a 5 gallon bucket, put some potting soil in it and plant seeds. That would limit its spread, and it is a perennial so you'd only have to plant it once. If you don't get enough rain it would need to be watered.

 

[MMtwo]

I’ll fully admit to having a spice addiction. I use so much of it that we’ve started buying bulk from Costco.

Interesting on cilantro I’m one of the soap people that actually have reformed to the other side. I live in a small town in Virginia, but our town has about 25% of persons from Hispanic or Latino background. There’s no escaping cilantro where I live so overtime I’ve actually overcame my resistance. It will never be a favorite, but it no longer tastes like soap.

My favorite spices are smoked paprika, white pepper, sage and savory blends.

I am amused when my sister or daughter visit from larger cities and bring spices from Trader Joes . Clearly I need more!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I’ll fully admit to having a spice addiction. I use so much of it that we’ve started buying bulk from Costco.

Interesting on cilantro I’m one of the soap people that actually have reformed to the other side. I live in a small town in Virginia, but our town has about 25% of persons from Hispanic or Latino background. There’s no escaping cilantro where I live so overtime I’ve actually overcame my resistance. It will never be a favorite, but it no longer tastes like soap.

My favorite spices are smoked paprika, white pepper, sage and savory blends.

I am amused when my sister or daughter visit from larger cities and bring spices from Trader Joes . Clearly I need more!

nice collection !
one thing i have to remember when we order Thai is no corriander on the rice
it just spoils it and i love rice from the Thai places
interesting that you now tollerate it
i did come around to star anise but i always liked the smell

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I suppose if you really wanted it, you could get a large pot or a 5 gallon bucket, put some potting soil in it and plant seeds. That would limit its spread, and it is a perennial so you'd only have to plant it once. If you don't get enough rain it would need to be watered.

id be too lazy to water it in a pot
i d keep planting the pots of mint from the groceries in the garden, some years i get a few springs, i must go check as it is winter and it has been raining for like 6 weeks
i would be happy for it to take over a corner of the garden but it never happens

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

hay @Karl_K are you please able to edit the thread title to extend it to
.......chilies, sauces, condiments, garnishes all welcome

(with out the spelling mistake )

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I just got home from a tiring session at the laundrette
Like every one else in Wanganui I am swamped with laundry and it's been raining for like 6 weeks
Anyway I wanted something quick from lunch. Gary has to have a high protein diet with lots of meat while he's recovering (i've never known doctors to say eat more meat before.and the nutritionist at the hospital said the same thing )

So I brought some pork steaks to serve with salad and a potato gratin (premade)
So I poked around in the pantry
I used rosemary, smoked paprika and freshly ground black pepper and then some smoky BBQ sauce
It's the middle of winter and I'm craving salad - happens every year when the price of tomatoes and iceberg lettuce are sky high

I adore freshly ground black pepper
I have it on almost everything and in almost everything- I even out it in my tradional Xmas cake
The pork was yum
im really enjoying rosemary of late - even on pizza
I don't do pretty plating
My potato gratin had a bit of an accident

 

[Karl_K]

hay @Karl_K are you please able to edit the thread title to extend it to
.......chilies, sauces, condiments, garnishes all welcome

(with out the spelling mistake )

Hows that!!!
Share you sauce recipes would make a great thread by itself!

 

[MMtwo]

Looks delicious! Love smoked paprika and fresh pepper! I wonder how different it would be if you jumped over here to America and ate standard American fair versus if I jumped over to Australia and enjoyed what would be normal local food would have different it would be.

It’s hotter than blazes today and we had lots of storms. Sorry you’re in the bleak of winner. Wish I could send you some sunshine and heat.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Looks delicious! Love smoked paprika and fresh pepper! I wonder how different it would be if you jumped over here to America and ate standard American fair versus if I jumped over to Australia and enjoyed what would be normal local food would have different it would be.

It’s hotter than blazes today and we had lots of storms. Sorry you’re in the bleak of winner. Wish I could send you some sunshine and heat.

i had a friend from Texas
he said Americans are not fat because they are lazy
its because the food is great

i only ate in America in LAX enroute to Canada- -
i was there for hours and hours both ways, the food was yum

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

A sprinkle of curry powder 'brightens' many dishes.
Paprika on split zucchini on the soft flesh.

 

[MMtwo]

i had a friend from Texas
he said Americans are not fat because they are lazy
its because the food is great

i only ate in America in LAX enroute to Canada- -
i was there for hours and hours both ways, the food was yum

The food is pretty good I think we're fat for a few reasons. We can't walk anywhere...it's a car or you're stuck miles from a store.

I was suprised a few weeks ago. I was in DC, and everyone was walking, and also, people were very fit. The neighbourhoods were set up to walk and live (Near Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle).
I also think our food is corrupt. Too much of it, too processed, too many sketchy additives and sugar in everything.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I also think our food is corrupt. Too much of it, too processed, too many sketchy additives and sugar in everything.

We are on a road trip in USA and my granddaughter wanted some savory snacks.
Smart Food cheese popcorn tastes like it has sugar?????

 

[MMtwo]

Oh awesome! Hope you’re having fun!

Yes, almost everything has sweetness. I find this quite annoying as a diabetic! Why would cheese need sweetness? Ugh.

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

I have an herb garden—parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme (!), bay tree, lavender, mint, oregano, chives, cilantro, and tarragon always to hand.

But my most used spice is the very simple but very addictive Cajun ‘Slap Ya Mama,’ with has no unpronounceable ingredients I don’t have at home! I use the original daily.

 

[MMtwo]

MMMM, Slap Ya Mamma!
I like Tony Chacherie's Creole too!

 

[SparklieBug]

Interesting on cilantro I’m one of the soap people that actually have reformed to the other side. I live in a small town in Virginia, but our town has about 25% of persons from Hispanic or Latino background. There’s no escaping cilantro where I live so overtime I’ve actually overcame my resistance. It will never be a favorite, but it no longer tastes like soap.

My niece was in the hate-cilantro camp, and then went travelling abroad, and when she came back, she was in the love-cilantro camp.

ETA: Plus, your spice pantry is awesome! All the variety!

 

[SparklieBug]

How long do you keep dried spices before emptying the jars and getting fresh product? I've read that many spices lose flavour after a year, but I have spices on hand that I don't use much, and they're much older than a year. Perhaps they taste less full/strong than new? But I wouldn't know unless I buy new to compare. Heh.

 

[MMtwo]

My niece was in the hate-cilantro camp, and then went travelling abroad, and when she came back, she was in the love-cilantro camp.

ETA: Plus, your spice pantry is awesome! All the variety!

Interesting! I had not really thought about mentioning the change until now, It is neat that she also overcame that initial dislike. My daughter likes it well too. She never had the soap reaction.

How long do you keep dried spices before emptying the jars and getting fresh product? I've read that many spices lose flavour after a year, but I have spices on hand that I don't use much, and they're much older than a year. Perhaps they taste less full/strong than new? But I wouldn't know unless I buy new to compare. Heh.

HA, some of my more obscure spices probably qualify for retirement plans at this point. I will occasionally throw something out. If it doesnt have much aroma, it won't have much flavor either. As long as the color and smell are potent, I will use it.

I can Southern Lime pickles every other year and make my own pickle seasoning. I will usually buy new spices for that. My mother in law introduced me to those, which we have an addiction, It takes a few days to make with food grade lime soaks for crispness. The first time i tasted them at her house, I fell in love. She told me it was a family recipe. When I married my husband, she gifted me a pound of the Mrs Wages lime, with the recipe of back.

The ginormous mega bottles in the pantry are mostly high consumables that I will use almost daily, such as garlic and onion powder. We make our own bread and bagels at home. I buy yeast by the pound and usually have about 60 lbs of bread flour in the pantry.

Homemade burger buns. Homemade everything bagels.



Oh yeah, bagels and bun dough is made in my Jojirushi bread machine. I premeasure kits ahead of time, so it’s dump the things in from quart jars, add water and yeast and push button.