You for sure need basil.

What about curry powder? Orange peel and bay leaves are also good. I'd go look in my cabinet for more ideas, but I'd barf. So I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, a great marinade for a steak is to rub it with lemon, toss on a little soy sauce, and massage it with sea salt (we use a Hawaiian sea salt mix with brown sugar and some other spices in it)...really massage the hell out of it. SO good!)

It sounds like you have a good start.

Ginger is good if you like to make Asian food. I buy the minced fresh ginger in the produce section. You keep it in the fridge. I make yummy sweet and sour meatballs using ginger. I use a pkg. or hamburger, a package or ground pork, egg, cracker crumbs, garlic and ginger. Form into meatballs and pan fry. For dinner add a package of frozen asian vegetables and a jar of sweet and sour sauce and serve over rice. I also make them as an appetizer without the vegetables and just throw them in a crock pot with the sauce to keep warm after I've browned them.

Cumin is great for Mexican food. I use a bunch when I make spanish rice. Just add Cumin, I don't measure maybe a tablespoon, and minced garlic to the water then when the rice is done add some tomato sauce to it. Not too much. Yummy. Cilantro is also great for Mexican food. Add some to any Mexican dish. I wish I had recipes but I just kind of throw things together. I'll try to see if I can come up with something.

Happy cooking!

Ground Ginger
Nutmeg
All Spice
Mixed Spice
Chinese 5 spice
Mustard seeds
Turmeric
Masala (which I think is a mixture of some of stuff you have already and I've listed, but I don't know the recipe so I can't help you there)


I think you're pretty much set though.

First of all - great title - you sucked me in here with it, for sure

My wife is a great cook and I don't mind cooking either. We have a large selection of herbs, spices and flavourings in our fridge and pantry. Please excuse me if I've repeated previous suggestions:

Thyme (there are a few different varieties; if you like fish, lemon thyme is a great flavour)
Sage
Cummin
Rosemary
Coriander (if you can't get it fresh)
Fresh garlic (much, much better than powdered - if you can't stand peeling it, look for crushed garlic in a bottle - it stores well in the fridge)
Chili (both fresh, powdered and, if you can find it, Kecup Manis (sp) which is an Asian crushed chili and very hot)
Garam Masala
Chinese 5 spice
Curry powder
Parprika
Tumeric
Lemon grass
Basil leaves (just throw one of these into a bolognaise or stew - great flavour)
Kaffir lime leaves
Ginger
Parsley
Mint
Cardamom
Cloves
Oyster Sauce - great for stir fries
Hoi Sin Sauce - a chinese bbq sauce - again great for stir fries
Soy Sauce - there are two sorts; heavy - for cooking and light - for dipping spring rolls or a splash on top of a stir fry

I'm sure I've missed some but the above is a very good start, I think.

Whip:

Im lucky in that a friend of my family's goes back to Yugoslavia every year to visit, and brings me back a bag of real paprika and a small jar of saffron every time she goes. Yummay!

I'm envious - saffron is so bloody expensive as is real vanilla sticks. As for real paprika, well I've only ever heard about it.

These are what I'd say you shouldn't be without:

Thyme, rosemary and sage.  Those, plus the oregano, are the basic herbs that I think everyone should have.  You'll be surprised at how versatile they are. 

Bay leaves: again, very versatile.

I don't care for garlic powder personally, I much prefer fresh or the kind that you can get minced/chopped in a jar. 

Saffron.  Spendy, but a little goes a long way.

Cumin and curry powder.

Ginger - essential for asian-inspired meals.  You can either get ground ginger or you can buy ginger root that you keep in the fridge. 

This isn't a spice, but it's still something that I'm never without: sesame oil.  You'll be surprised at how much you can do with it - I have a recipe for sesame baked chicken that I think you'll really enjoy.  I'll email it to you.

Liquid smoke - I use that a fair bit as well.

Soy and oyster sauce.

Paprika.

Allspice and cloves.

Cinnamon.

Mint.

Dill.

I'd also recommend that you use fresh if at all possible.  In fact, you can grow most of the basics (oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, dill and mint) in containers on a windowsill.  I have one of those ceramic planter pots that has holes down the sides of it that I use for herbs so I'll always have fresh stuff.  I think that once you've used fresh a few times you'll be very reluctant to go back to using the stuff that comes in jars.  I have some seeds left over from this year's planting; I'll mail them to you.

 

 

 

kick out the iodized salt and buy boxes of kosher. Gets the job done without the medicine-y taste. It also has larger grains so when you use it for roasting, etc., it doesn't just dissolve and run off in the first minute or two. Also, think about Celery Flakes; it does the job of Celery in a lot of brothy/saucy recipes. Also Bay Leaves.

Mexican - Cilantro, Cumin, Garlic, Chili Powder, Rosemary
Italian - Basil, Oregano, Garlic, Olive Oil, Rosemary
Chinese - Soy Sauce, Garlic, Ginger, Sesame Oil, maybe Hoisin Sauce,

If you want to do more complex things, use the recipe as your guide. If you plan your meals with recipes, and buy the spices it calls for as you need them, you'll find you get a big selection without even realizing it. A lot of people spend a fortune on a huge rack of spices and then most of them just sit there. Buy them as you need them.

Also, about once a week pick up a cheap bottle of red and white wine, pop them in the fridge and use them instead of water in recipes. You'll be surprised at the improvement. Pick based upon what you would drink with the dish.

Also, about once a week pick up a cheap bottle of red and white wine, pop them in the fridge and use them instead of water in recipes. You'll be surprised at the improvement. Pick based upon what you would drink with the dish.

Good call on that one. The last bit is also important ... if it ain't worthy enough to drink, why on earth are you cooking with it?

To add to the list:

Worcestershire sauce (use it in a couple recipes + as part of steak marinade)
Natural sea salt (works MUCH better than regular iodized salt)
Garlic is always a must ... that reminds me ... I'd have to look, but I think 95% of the meals we cook have garlic in them some where ... That explains the severe lack of vampires in the neighbourhood.

One tip, too. Buy about 4 or 5 heads of garlic at a time. Cut the top off of three or four, about 1/4 or the way down from the pointy part. Coat them in oil and sprinkle with salt and roast them for about 30 minutes at 375. let them cool and then peel them or squeeze them out (the cloves will be soft). Store what you need in the refridgerator in a little container of olive oil for a week or until they get funky.

You'll find you get a LOT better results than just using raw garlic in most dishes. I use raw garlic in Chinese and like dressings and other stuff where things are mostly fresh and raw, but any cuisine that likes rich, deep tastes like Italian, roasted garlic will make a TON of difference. It makes your sauces taste like you spend hours on them.

Good for soups, too.

I like Creole seasoning.

You'll find you get a LOT better results than just using raw garlic in most dishes. I use raw garlic in Chinese and like dressings and other stuff where things are mostly fresh and raw, but any cuisine that likes rich, deep tastes like Italian, roasted garlic will make a TON of difference. It makes your sauces taste like you spend hours on them.

Baker is this like the Garlic Hash?

Not really familiar with Garlic Hash, AD, dunno. I just use it in place of fresh garlic in stuff like italian sauces, garlic bread, soups, stock-based stuff, etc. It's especially good when a recipe for roasting something says "rub with garlic." That never made sense to me because raw garlic falls off and nothing really rubs off much. This stuff is basically a paste, so when you rub it on you actually coat whatever it is with garlic. The sugars in the garlic caramelize and give you a nice brown as well.

P.S. As an addition to the original article, use real butter, not margarine. I'm trying to think of reasons my food tastes different to people and that is one thing they always cite. When you brown real butter you get a rich taste that you don't get with margarine. Pair that with roasted garlic and it will knock your socks off.

I am not super familiar with Garlic hash either but I know that it is MUCH more potent than minced or fresh. I love Garlic (could be why I don't have friends ) and use it in about 90% of my dishes. But with Garlic Hash use it very sparingly. Even as a garlic lover it can be TOO MUCH! All well who needs friends when there's voice mail.

Ones I already have (in addition to what I listed): worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, olive oil, beef bullion cubes,

Possibilities for expansion so far (multiple reccomendations): Ginger, Rosemary, Basil (leaves), Bay Leaves, Curry Powder, Mint, Chinese 5 Spice, Sage, Saffron, Thyme, Oyster Sauce, Allspice.

Other things I may pick up now (well, next time I shop): Chopped garlic in oil, Montreal Steak Seasoning (just got my grill up here... thanks, SSG Mad Dog), Lemon Juice, dry onion soup mix, some other sort of mixed seasoning.

I usually do buy fresh garlic and cilantro. The commisary doesn't carry fresh cilantro, and my last cloves of garlic went bad... I usually have a fresh onion or two in the crisper because I like damaging my breath that way, too.

I greatly appreciate all the suggestions, and especially the minor recipe ideas. I'm going to have to make a shopping list soon...

Just got back from the grocer. Picked up Kosher Salt, Poultry Seasoning, Ginger, Curry Powder.

I'm going to cook up some chicken breasts in the oven, with green beans. Salad to start, and Chicken and Garlic Rice-a-Roni.

Oh, and beer. (But not too much, since I'm going to be in charge of the exercise tomorrow.)

I have to make a correction; I said Kecap Manis was an Asian chilli paste but I actually meant Sambal Olek (sp?). Kecap Manis is a thick, honey like soy sauce used a lot in Indonesian and Malaysian cooking. Oh and what you call Cilantro we call Coriander.

Whip:

It's delicious, and unlike anything I've been able to purchase here, which seems to be sold more for its pretty color than its bite. The saffron she picks up for me is not the powdered type, either, it's whole stamens, and the tiniest pinch flavors (and colors) a whole pot of rice.

Hmm, I'm going to go looking in local delis to see if they stock real paprika. As for Saffron, we only get it 'fresh' i.e. slim threads of it in tiny pouches. It really makes a difference.