I opened my spice cabinet today and as I pulled out my Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning to go on my avocado egg toast this morning, I had the following thought:
"What spices or herbs would I chose if I could only had 5 to use for 3 months". Yeah, I know I am weird. But that was where my head went. It was a difficult thought process. I mean, I could chose 5 spices and seasoning for a month, but 3 months...I would get really tired of the same thing right?
And honestly, fresh versus dried herbs would change my decision.
So I then modified my thought process.
5 dried or fresh herbal/spices/blends for the first month. Add one additional for the second month and one more for the last. Salt and pepper are "free" and already available so they are not a choice.
Here are my choices.
Fresh garlic, fresh rosemary, Spike, fresh cilantro, Mexican seasoning
add fresh basil (2nd month)
add curry (3rd month)
That was hard. Anyone else want to try?
( All this assumes I have access to lemon and olive oil. I am not sure how I could cook for long without those staples. And I love my Trader Joe's Chili Line and it didn't even make the cut.)
@lovendures great question! For me it's Paprika, basil, cilantro, garlic, and ginger. I'd add in cumin and then cinnamon though not necessarily in that order.
@lovendures Mine "free" are Himalayan Sea Salt, and tricolor Peppercorn Medley
5 for the first month : #1 True Lemon's Crystalized lemon
#2 https://www.truelemon.com/products/true-lime-garlic-cilantro-spice-blend.
#3. Tony Chachere's original Creole Seasoning
#4 Konriko Greek All Purpose seasoning.
#5 Mexican Spice Blend: 4 TBSP chili powder,3 TBSP Cumin powder,3 TBSP coriander,2 Tsp garlic powder,3 TBSP smoked paprika,4TBSP dired MExican Oregano, 1 TBSP prink Himlayan salt, 1 TBSP black pepper.
add in's would be fresh thyme, fresh rosemary,
I always cook with fresh garlic and sweet onions.. those are like salt and pepper to me LOL
@lovendures I really like it.... I mix it up and keep in a mason or ball canning jar with tight lids . Another one I would miss? I love Tajin - sprinkled on my tacos of any sort, and fresh veggies like fresh corn on the cob and added in to Mexican Chicken Soup.. but.. if all I could have were the above.. I would still knock out some flavorful meals.
Oh and my fingers got too happy on the keyboard LOL that is DRIED Mexican oregano, PINK Himalayan salt.
That seasoning blend from True Lemon the garlic/lime/cilantro blend? it's the dried lime juice crystals, garlic and cilantro... no salt .. I use it on my avocado toast topped with a poached egg. Da Bomb!
The True Lemon blend sounds wonderful.
I am now cleaning out my spice cabinet. Also my tea cabinet. Need to see what is old and what I am missing. Sprouts had a bunch of different organic teas they were discontinuing not even close to their expiration date for .99 cents each this week and I bought some. Well, more than some. Haven't bought new tea for awhile. They had some new spices earlier in the summer that were also on clearance for .99 cents and with long expiration dates. I hadn't bought new spices for some time and that was fun.
It's time to get CREATIVE in the kitchen again and discover new recipes.
@lovendures ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Like Penzey's spices say : "Love People, Cook them Tasty Food" "Heal The World". "Heal The World Cook Dinner Tonight". I love that he is all about Democracy and the GQP hate him. He sends out a newsletter with his commentary on current politics and runs specials..their "Just Blend" is fabulous and Bill truly believes in the power of good and love and feeding everyone. He's one of my heroes. He stood up and took a stand no matter how it hit the bottom line of his business.. and.. we flocked to him to support him. Doesn't hurt that the spices and blends are really really good :-). One of my traditional Christmas gifts to loved ones? The $1.00 trial size bags.. I will get like $12.00 of what I think that person would enjoy and gift them. They are great!!
My thing is getting emails from all these good food sites... keeps me creative and making tasty dishes I wouldn't have tried otherwise. For example : email@newsletter.bonappetit.com is one I get.
I love Penzey's! I have their magnets on my refrigerator with their wonderful sayings. I love their Arizona Dreaming blend! I also currently have and us their sandwich sprinkle, Spanish smoked paprika, sandwich sprinkle, taco blend and Chinese five spice and so many others. There is a Penzey's store about 20 minutes from my home and they were still requiring masks this summer when all of AZ had stopped . I love their specials and social activism. Love your idea for trial sizes for gifts. I need to keep that I mind.
Wow! I am so happy now thinking about them. haha
@lovendures Yes...Sandwich Sprinkle and Justice are two of my faves. I like the Arizona Dreaming too :-) Their Cajun? I prefer Toney Checheries for that LOL But soooo many good blends they have and I love that it supports Democracy and making a stand your ground statement. I don't know if there is a store near me or not? I have always ordered on line... fast and delivered right to my door.
What's for dinner tonight?
Pulled smoked ham and beans with biscuits and corn.
We should have a nightly WFD thread just for fun.
I love the idea of "What's for dinner?"!
Love your comfort food dinner tonight Polarberry! Sounds wonderful.
Last night I made Wild Mahi Mahi with Herbs de Provence and garlic, delicate squash , quinoa and garlic brown rice and a field green salad.
Tonight?
Some kind of chicken...maybe BBQ? Or rosemary and lemon.
@polarberry WFDT? I took leftover pork loin roast and made a green chili - a kind of a fly by the seat of my pants cross between white chicken chili and red beef chili. I used 4 cups of the broth from cooking the pork loin ( I always save pan drippings make my own broths) and shredded up what was left of the pork loin and diced onion, celery,garlic,jalapeno pepper from the garden, added a can of diced tomato with green chili, a can of green chili, Hatch green Chile powder, a few TBSP of tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and right before done about a cup of chopped fresh cilantro. Served with some flour tortillas that I had cut in to strips and browned in the skillet on top of some sour cream and sharp white cheddar cheese. I added El Yucateco Chili Habenero Hot Sauce Salsa Verde to my bowl .. cause I like it HOT and this one is not just hot it has great FLAVOR that you can taste all through heat. Served with Ice Tea or a cold beer... the diner's choice.
@journeywithme2 Love these dishes. I pulled carrots out of my garden bed that turned out to be white, yellow, purple and orange carrots. I planted the seeds in the spring without knowing what they'd be like. They are magical. And huge! I sautéed them in garlic infused olive oil (I can't digest straight garlic ? ), garden grown rosemary, dried and ground up, salt/pepper and some other weird things I grew that came out weirder than I had planned. They were supposed to be just simple sweet bell peppers, but they came out purple, like PURPLE. Maybe I harvested them too soon and they were planning to turn red. Also threw in Swiss chard. Served over basmati rice, so aromatic and lovely. With dollops of goat cheese all over the top.
@jeanne-mayell That sounds delicious!!!! My mouth is watering! A chunk of crusty rustic loaf and a glass of chardonnay ..YUM relaxing at a table in the yard watching the sun go down and the gleam of solar lights shining around the bistro table as you listen to the sounds of the day fade softly in to the night sounds. Ahhhh ... soooo relaxing.. Imagination is a wonderful thing!!!
You guys ... you're all making me hungry! Every dish you've described sounds fabulous. You're also inspiring me to try something new.
@lovendures, I'll have to think more about the 5-spices-in-3-months idea.
@jeanne-mayell, I've purchased purple sweet bell peppers at our local farmers market. They were beautiful and delicious! We had a nice crop of mini sweet red peppers and cherry tomatoes all summer -- they're still coming up. The herbs I've grown are hanging in there ... the fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme and doing great, but the basil has seen better days. I love fresh basil and sliced tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella, salt & pepper, dressed with dark balsamic & EVOO.
@deetoo ❤️ anything you grow yourself the comes out of your garden tastes so wonderful..nothing grocery store bought can compare. I love tomatoes that way too. I also love rocket arugula mix with fresh figs from my trees halved and walnut pieces and honey goat cheese dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette reduction. Yummo for salads!!