My Favorite Spices – Let’s get spicy!
A few weeks ago, I was rereading a random post while looking for a recipe. The recipe called for dried dill. A reader commented that they didn’t have dried dill at home. Tanner, was that you? I can’t find the post again.
My jaw was on the floor. A life without dill is not a life I’d like to be living!
That got me thinking about my favorite spices. In no particular order, spices I can’t live without are:
- Dill
- Fresh garlic (I used to buy the stuff in the jar, until I got the best garlic press ever made, and realized how easy it is (and delicious) to use fresh garlic. I’m so sad I missed out on fresh garlic for so long)
- McCormicks Montreal Steak Seasoning. Oh my goodness, we use this on everything! Ironically, I’m not sure if we’ve ever used it on steak. It is amazing on grilled chicken and grilled veggies. Eternal gratitude for my friend Elaina who turned me on to this.
- Smoked Paprika. Hot damn, I love the stuff!
- Good sea salt (I use Real Salt, or as Troy likes to joke like a jackass “not fake salt”), and freshly ground pepper.
- Kosher salt. Amazing for roasted chicken, awesome on top of homemade pretzel rolls, and on oven roasted veggies.
Spices I am pretty sure that I have never used:
- Marjoram. Never owned it.
- Curry. I.HATE.CURRY!!
- Saffron. Can’t afford it. Wouldn’t know what to do with it!
But more than anything, I want to know what kind of spices YOU love. I adore reading about your adventures in the kitchen! What are your favorites?
Funny because my mom and I were just talking about this. We just added cumin to the cupboard a few years ago because I learned a recipe for sweet potatoes with it and I hadn’t used it before now!! Our favorite spices are cinnamon (my son love cinnamon and sugar on everything) and Lawry Garlic Salt (the one with parsley in it). I don’t think that I have dill either…sorry!!! I like it but I never cook with it. My mom started buying all of our spices in Amish country in PA and they seem to be so much better priced and so much more tasty. I usually make a list of things that I want for Christmas and I get some yummy spices. I knew I liked you for a reason because I HATE curry too 🙂
I found a yummy spice mix called “Tajine” when we were in Florida last year…and found it a Meijers in Michigan…spicey, a little hot a little sweet..even says on the jar “this is not a candy” LOL…love it on sweet potatoes with some coconut oil, on chicken, on fish, popcorn,etc
2nd favorite is Zatarains Creole Seasoning……good on everything..and yes, Montreal is a go-to spice for us as well…no wonder spice was worth more than gold……
DILL FOR LIFE!
Also garlic and salt. But mostly DILL.
Siracha! Especially love it with anything fried like dumplings.
I would love to hear where you purchased your ” best garlic press ever made” and how it works. It could turn my life upside down!
Red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and thyme. I LOVE the smell of thyme I think I’d wear it as perfume if I could
Before I met my husband it was: Ground Cumin, Chili Pepper (not powder), Garlic, Oregano and Thyme. After I met him we’ve added: Turmeric, Garam Masala, whole Cumin and Ginger as major staples in our spice cabinet.
Since I’m pretty much the only cook here (hubs can, but doesn’t) we use onion powder, garlic powder, salt (just plain Morton’s because of the iodine, we have thyroid issues), pepper, can’t live without my home made chili powder (hubs recipe, we are from the south and use chili powder on almost everything), rosemary (love it), turmeric, cumin, celery salt, sage, and lots of other spices that are seasonal or for specific recipes. Cinnamon goes in a lot of things, like chili, and I use cocoa as a spice in Mexican foods. I can’t keep enough onions around so I switch between powdered and fresh, just depends on what I’m using it in. Garlic bothers the hubs (why, I don’t know), so I just keep the powdered around and use it sparingly even though I LOVE it! I know they say to throw away spices after so long a period, but I never noticed any difference. If it isn’t strong enough I just add more. I use paprika quite a bit, too. Don’t care for commercial spice mixes as much because they all tend to have too much salt in them. I don’t bellieve all the hype about salt and blood pressure, it’s been found that it doesn’t affect it like they thought, but I do tend to retain water too much so have to watch it.
Cumin. I used to hate it as a kid, but now I adore it.
Cilantro, and I found a company that sells it freeze-dried. Otherwise I use fresh or a chutney — regular dried doesn’t taste like anything!
Garlic, ginger, onion are all staples, as are thyme, turmeric, good chilli pepper, oregano (local!) and basil.
Rosemary is a treat. So is cardamom, especially in sweet baking and coffee!
We recently discovered Herbamare, which is a mix of salt, celery, leek, and a bunch of other stuff. Yes, it goes on every bite of food I eat (well, not the sweet foods).
We also love our Real Salt, fresh garlic, cumin, mustard powder (the kiddo likes to add this to meatballs and scrambled eggs), and pepper. If fell like someone is fighting some sort of inflammation, I’ll use tumeric more as it’s anti-inflammatory, and ginger for the same reason.
Sara Lewis, I’ve been making my coffee lately with vanilla extract and cinnamon!