The FastDay Forum

I was cooking lunch and that made me wondering, do you uses a lot of spices and which one do you use the most ?

Right now I have a pot of fresh basil I will put in my little garden and I put some basil everywhere and in everything. I just love the taste and smell of it

There's also paprika, 4 spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger) on desserts or vegetables and herbes de provence (rosemary, thyme, marjoram, savory, basil, origano), and fresh thyme

And, it's not a spice but I use it a lot to give taste when I cook a chiken and almost anything, really, lemons. I use a lot of lemons since I began to diet.

If you're counting herbs, I would say basil, cilantro and Italian parsley. Spices I use a lot include coriander, cardamom, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, and Cayanne pepper. Hey! They all start with C!

I think ginger counts as a vegetable in Japan. haha (though having said that, it is so flavorful here, I tend to use a lot less of it than I would in the US or UK)

I have always had a herb garden for decades now so I grow parsley, rosemary, mint oregano, marjoram, chives, sage, lemon thyme, basil and lemon grass. I pop out into the garden every day for my different herbs to lift each dish I make. I also dry my.herbs now too and they exist alongside my various spices too many to name and they are used in some way in every meal.

I also like to make mustards, chutneys, herbed vinegars, lime pickles, preserved lemons for example as standbys in my pantry to spice up my meals. When I say I make from scratch it is such a joy when I have also grown what I prepare from seedlings knowing they have no chemical,sprays and that they have grown in my garden along side my herbs in soil nourished by compost I have made as well. It is so rewarding I must say

[Debs]

Chilli, chilli, chilli and chilli!!

Can't get enough of it, in pasta, of course, but also in a lovely chilli, lime and coconut icecream from Sweet Envy, our favourite cake shop in Hobart.
Apart from that we love using herbs and spices, especially basil, coriander, cinnamon. We always despair going out, at how bland some restaurant food can be which is why we tend to go for ethnic food. Friends bought us a lovely Sicilian mix of dried mediterranean herbs and, wait for it, chilli. It packs a great punch!

[carorees]

For me: basil, thyme, coriander (cilantro), cinnamon, paprika, cumin, and lemon pepper.

I have lashings of cinnamon on my porridge every morning. At the mo, I suppose the only other one I'm using regularly is cumin seeds which are in my current lunch fave - a carrot and lentil soup.

Um.... how do you define garlic? Is it a herb or a spice? I use loads of that!!!!

In the garden I have parsley, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil and two chilli plants (that have surprised me by giving me mini chilli's all summer).

In the spice rack I use oregano, ground coriander and leaf coriander (cilantro?), all the curry spices, plus different strengths of curry powder, garam masala, lots and lots of ginger (I may find out about growing it as we use so much), fresh root and dried ground.
Mixed spice, nutmeg, 3 different types of paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, bay leaves, Chinese 5 spice, mace, cardamon pods, cumin and turmeric. I also have cloves and tarragon but don't use them much.

It helps having a chef in the family living at home.

edit. I forgot the garlic I grow, I just pop the cloves in the ground between other plants and mark them for next year..

I don't really have a herb garden as I am awful when it comes to grow things, I have only basil, but I would love to. As well as included some lavender in it as we can safely eat them and I love lavender

I put herbs in the spices category, I mean I put eveything which can give taste to a dish, really. Cooking without fat can be tricky sometimes so herbs, spices, lemons and even broth help a great deal. I never used them before, now I use them all the time

For example, I have some plums ready to go roasting in the oven with some 4 spices I talked about earlier. It's one of the tastiest dessert I ever had and so simple......

For the garlic, I use it as spice. Right now I have tomatoes cut in 2 in the oven with garlic and basil on it and it's just wonderfull with a bit of chicken

Rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, mint, oregano for herbs

Have started to use more spices - recently saffron, paprika (and smoked) cayenne ... But have to be careful because they may affect my skin

[Betsysgr8]

Creole and cajun seasonings, lemon pepper, garlic/onions ooooh yes and a new one I just purchased South African Smoke seasoning blend (paprika flakes, sea salt, garlic and basil). I also top a lot of dishes with Tapatio Salsa Picante hot sauce. When the weather gets a bit cooler I'll go back to making stir-fry's with curry and asian seasonings.

Couldn't diet without herbs and spices. My faves are smoked hot paprika (good with anything requiring tomatoes), and cinnamon.

[Betsysgr8]

Moved topic from non-diet chat to The Foodies Corner.

[janeg]

Garlic, in just about everything
Fresh basil
Rosemary- I buy it fresh and use it from the fridge, it dries out and I use the dried stuff
Jeera (cumin) dhanyia (coriander seed) and haldi (turmeric)
Lemons and limes
Local spice/herb mix is zaatar which I really don't like but love the Omani one.
Love asophetida and nigella too but don't use them much.
Can't tolerate chilli though- nippy burny!
Aromatic all the way

Herbs: basil, spearmint, oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, chives and coriander.

Spices: black pepper, chilli flakes, wild cumin, coriander seed, lots of mixes (5 spice, kajun, tandoori, pilau rice), mustard seed, dry roses, saffron (the Greek one), curry (all of them), pimento and bay leaves.

I also use lots of garlic and ginger, not sure if these are herbs or spices or just roots, LOL.

Edit to add: I also use a variety of salts, such as Greek sea salt, Himalayan, black, smoked etc.

A herb that I don't use often but I love adding to bread is lavender.

I only use semonela and frozen garlic, I don't use fresh garlic, really, except when I make a garlic bread

I began to cook with lavender last year. In scones, lemonade, bread, even ice cream... Here some examples on how to use fresh lavender

http://www.yummly.com/recipes/fresh-lavender


I bought some fresh thyme and will try, today, to make a tisane of it as it is good when you have a cough. Fresh herbs are so mucha tastier than dry ones...

TML, how do you use dry roses and where do you find them ?