Spices

[Jay76]

Does anyone use spices in their cooking? if so, what are your favorites? why?

[Pattimeow]

Hi Jason,
Yes I use spices in some of my cooking. One that I really like is made by McCormick, called "Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning" and is of course sugar free. I like to dip my chicken in butter, or other liquid, roll it in parmesan cheese, and then sprinkle it with this seasoning and bake. Since I don't eat chicken skin it gives the chicken a nice color and wonderful flavor.

I will also often use sugar free spices on my vegetables. I started this awhile back because I used to use tons of butter and cheese on them and wanted to get away from that. I don't have the same spice here right now, but I think it was one of the SPIKE brands (there are different ones).

I "play" with spices. Sometimes I throw chicken into the crock pot and some water and then just dump in a bunch of different spices - garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, etc., whatever I happen to have on hand.

Warmly,
Patti

[Connie Brown]

Jason I have 2 options. One is, use a little bottle of premixed spices like Patti mentions.

The other is a garnish from my friend Chef Jeff. It is good and simple and really dresses up veggies.

- 1 part minced fresh ginger
- 2 parts sliced almonds
- white pepper and salt

toast the almonds and ginger slowly over medium heat, with a little olive oil spray if the pan needs it. When the almonds are brown and all is fragrant, add white pepper and salt to taste. I hardly use any salt and it still works. Watch out for those almonds! They can go from perfectly toasted to burnt in the blink of an eye.

The other thing Chef Jeff told me is that cooking with spices is worth taking the time to learn. They spend a lot of time on it in chef school so why shouldn't we? all it takes is a lot of experimenting and heavens knows we must cook enough meals to get the blank canvas to experiment on. :wink:

My 20-something son, who didn't learn to cook until after he moved out, swears by the book "How to Cook Everything."

[Chuck Kechter]

Jason,

I use a lot of spices when I cook. Mostly for flavor, though I am aware of some of the health benefits from each--like garlic and rosemary being good for the blood. I spent nine years in the food industry when I was younger, putting myself through high school and college. I learned an amazing amount that I still use in my cooking at home today.

There are some good suggestions above. Some others. . .

For chicken I use (although not all at once, or all the time):

Rosemary, tarragon, basil, bay leaf, all spice, Chinese five spice, sea salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, et cetera. . .

For beef (although again not all at once, or all the time):

Hickory smoke, garlic, garlic salt, sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, red pepper flake, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, et cetera, (there are some others but I am just blanking right now) . . .

For fish (although again not all at once, or all the time):

Garlic, onion, lemon (juice & peel), lime (juice & peel), dill, sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flake, parsley, et cetera. . .

It all depends on what you want, as far as flavors go.

Hot, spicy, sweet, bitter, sour, salty, et cetera.

I know a lot of people that think cooking is hard, and get all tied up in knots over it, but really it is pretty easy.

There are only so many ways to make a sauce (three or four), only so many ways to cook something (grill, steam, poach, baste, pan sear, bake, broil, microwave, et cetera). And really only so many ingredients that you have available to you (as opposed to how many that are available--if you know what I mean :wink:).

Hopefully this helped.

V/R,

Chuck

[Scotty D.]

Cayenne and tumeric are my favourite spices. Cayenne is very anti-pathogenic and has beneficial circulatory properties.

Tumeric has anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. This antiinflammatory action is a result of the flavanoid curcumin, found to be on par with the drugs cortisone and phenylbutazone.

[i]Eating for Beauty[/u], by David Wolfe]

I like to use these spices (heavy on the tumeric, just a pinch of cayenne) in a base of coconut oil, nut butter (pumpkin seed works well), and lemon juice. Then I mix the sauce into a bowl of veggies, usually soaked dulse, broccoli, and chopped yellow zucchini.

Many nutritionists claim that spices, including garlic and onions due to their high levels of mustard oil, upset the digestive tract and result in poor assimilation. Paprika is a good 'spice' to use if this concerns you, as it is really 'condensed vegetable seasoning' from bell peppers.