(no subject)

[coraa]

Silly quiz time (but this time not an LJ poll, because it doesn't lend itself to that):

I need to rebuild my herb and spice collection. I had a fairly good one, but moving a couple times messed that up -- plus, in the last move, the last thing I wanted was an extended determining of 'which spices did you buy and which did I?', so I left most of them; all but the ones I knew she hadn't bought because they still had a label from a little Indian grocery in LA. But it's time to rebuild the collection.

What herbs and spices do you consider to be essentials? What do you make sure you keep on hand -- fresh or dried, whole or ground?

(Right now, I have: whole mace, whole cardamom, whole cloves, wasabi powder [yes, I know it's not the real thing, but the real thing is $50/lb at Uwajimaya, outside my price range if I just want some kick in a stir fry], whole cumin seeds, black peppercorns, dried whole chiles, and fennel seeds; in my window is a miniature herb garden of basil, flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, tarragon, sage, and thyme, although the sage is sadly withering and I can't figure out why.)

Comments

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

So, I like my food pretty heavily spiced, and I tend to cook southwestern, italian, and asian style most of the time. That influences my herb and spice choices! Some of my things in the "less frequently" category are things that I use for baking, I just don't bake that often.

I frequently use the following: chili powder, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, italian seasoning blend, basil, thyme, oregano, curry powder (I have Thai red curry powder and an Indian curry powder blend), lemon pepper, ground black pepper, whole black peppercorns that I keep in a grinder, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, paprika,

I less frequently use the following: ground allspice, ground cloves, garam masala, garlic powder, onion powder, whole bay leaves, ground coriander, ground nutmeg, cayenne pepper, caraway seeds, mexican seasoning blend, turmeric

I keep the following on hand but don't use them too often: greek seasoning (I used to use it a lot though), chipotle chili powder, ras el hanout, berbere, vanilla beans, whole yellow mustard seeds, ground mustard seed, marjoram, sage, parsley, saffron threads, 5 spice powder, szechuan seasoning blend, tarragon, rosemary, cajun seasoning, old bay, ground cardamom, poppy seeds, poultry seasoning, herbes de provence, cream of tartar, sesame seeds

Extracts and the like: vanilla extract, almond extract, anise oil.

In my fridge I keep bottled minced garlic and bottled fresh grated ginger.

When I need it, I use fresh mint, cilantro, and chives. In our garden we grow sweet basil, oregano, and thyme, which I use fresh or freeze for winter. We are also growing Thai basil, chives, lovage, borage, and cilantro, but we only really use the basil, oregano, and thyme.

I'm not in front of my spice cabinet right now, and I feel like I left something out, but like I said, I am big on seasoning foods so I have a huge spice collection.

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I have pomegranate molasses too, plus soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, thai fish sauce, and thai chili and garlic sauce. And worcestershire sauce.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Pomegranate molasses is something I'd really like to try. (And worcestershire sauce is one of my secret weapons for anything that tastes a little flat -- as long as I'm not serving vegetarians.)