|
|
Spices turn an ordinary meal into something special!
Spice It Up
by Leanne Ely CNC
Home
Lifestyle
Groceries and Food
Cooking Tips
Spice It Up
Cooking with herbs and spices makes all the difference in the world to the end product, your meal. But if you've never learned how to use the mountain of spices available, sometimes you need a little guidance. Never fear, the Dinner Diva is here! Do yourself a favor and copy this list and stick it to your fridge.
The Dinner Diva Spice Primer is guaranteed to get you cooking in no time!
- Bay Leaf - Used in stews, soup and great with pot roast. Go easy. Bay leaves are strong, especially California bay leaves, which are the kind most grocery stores stock. I use 1/2 a leaf in my stews.
- Basil - Ah, the taste of summer. Who can resist fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden tossed with olive oil and garlic on a plate full of pasta? Dried, it's wonderful in soups, pasta dishes and chicken.
- Dill - It's not just for pickles. Try some dill sprinkled on fish, chicken or even in a light cream soup.
- Garlic - Nectar of the gods, well, bulb of the gods anyway. Garlic has a way of making the most ordinary food gourmet. Try sprinkling garlic powder (not garlic salt) into a prepared box of white cheddar macaroni and cheese. Surprise! It's pretty good. Fresh, though, is best. Squeeze it from a garlic press into almost anything. Don't use with chocolate though.
- Ginger - Sprinkle it in your stir-fry, try it on baked chicken breasts with a little soy sauce and garlic. For fun, get it fresh (it's that alien-looking root mass in the produce department) and freeze it. It will keep almost indefinitely when frozen. To use, hack off a piece, peel it and grate into your recipe.
- Nutmeg - I love nutmeg. If you can find nutmeg nuts and the itty, bitty grater that comes with it, buy it. Once you've had freshly grated nutmeg, the powdered stuff in the jar is beneath you. Obviously an ingredient in baking, it's also good grated on sauteed squash, green beans, and carrots.
- Oregano - A staple in Italian cooking, it's also good in stews and salad dressings.
- Rosemary - This beautiful plant grows wild in my garden and provides an intoxicating aroma to meats, stews and root veggies. Try some crumbled in your carrots for a change of pace.
- Tarragon - An almost licorice flavor, this delicate herb takes front and center in vinaigrettes and as a delicious sprinkle on the top of baked or poached poultry and fish.
- Thyme - Make time for thyme! It's strong and adds a hint of character to an otherwise pretty standard dish. Use it with chicken, soups and beef.
Even though I'm not numbering these last two, I need to give a shout out to plain old salt and pepper. But not just the stuff in the blue cylinder with the little girl on the label or the familiar pepper sitting in the red and white can. I'm talking about sea salt and freshly ground pepper. You can buy both ready to go with their own grinders anywhere. Once you've used this kind of salt and pepper, you'll never go back to the old stuff. It's that much better.
And while this is an abbreviated list of spices, it's a good start. I've skipped a lot of them because they are used so infrequently or just take up room on the Lazy Susan. Feel free to add or subtract ones you know you won't use or you know you need!
Leanne Ely is a New York Times best-selling author of Body Clutter and the Saving Dinner
© 2010 Leanne Ely. Used by permission in this publication.
Take the Next Step:
- For more on cooking with spices and other great cooking tips, please click here.
Share your thoughts about this article with the editor: Click Here
Subscribe to TDS Newsletters
Join over 250,000 other subscribers!
To subscribe, check the newsletters you wish to receive, enter your email address and then click Subscribe.
View the TDS privacy policy.
|
Money problems? Struggling with credit card debt? What you need to know about bankruptcy? Trouble repaying student loans?
|
Get free money-saving articles in your inbox!
Sign up for our free weekly eNewsletter Surviving Tough Times.
Looking for an answer to a frugal living question? Click here to ask a
Dollar Stretcher Stretchpert!
Copyright 1996 - 2013 "The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." All rights reserved unless specifically noted.
Contact the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton FL 34280
941-761-7805
"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation.
| About Us | Privacy Policy | Writer's Guidelines | Sponsorship | Media | Contact Us |
