Tag Archives: spices

A Cardinal Rule When Cooking

There’s a cardinal rule we should abide by when using a recipe given to us by someone else or from a magazine or cook book. That is to remember that not everyone’s taste buds are the same. This is especially important when dealing with dishes that have curry, chili or other hot, spicy ingredients. Yes, I am speaking from personal experience. Just recently I was cooking Korma Chicken using a packet of ingredients I bought on a shopping excursion. I should have realized Indian people have a higher tolerance than most Western people do but I had it in my … Continue reading →

The Joy of Food Shopping

Last Saturday we visited one of our favorite places- a food warehouse. From the moment you walk in the door the smell of Indian and Asian spices wafts around you. It’s great. We bought our share of gluten free products, shedded coconut, dried lentil and beans, a kilogram (which is over two pounds) of chili flakes and a large number of dried cranberries imported from the USA. The guy on the checkout as he rang our items up had a chuckle about the number of bulk packets of dried cranberries we bought. What can I say? Mick and I love … Continue reading →

Ask a Food Blogger: Chinese Five Spice

Question: Can you tell me what Chinese five spice is? What type of dishes would you use it in and where do you get it? What Is It? Chinese five spice is a spice that as you may have guessed, is used in Chinese cooking. It’s used in a variety of dishes although what it’s used for varies from place to place. In Hawaii, some restaurants even have it on the table as a seasoning condiment. The thought behind Chinese Five Spice is to “bring balance to food” by blending together all of the tastes in Chinese cooking: Tung Hing … Continue reading →

Have Any of These Foods Ever Made You Feel More Passionate?

From time to time I run across articles or stories about food affecting sex drive. A recent copy of Woman’s World had such an article and suggested eating them would enhance a couple’s sex life. But this article was a little different. It not only told what foods would affect love levels, but it also gave the scientific explanation why. Don’t believe everything you read. The above saying came to mind for some of these. Where applicable, they were noted. The Foods and Their Effects • Hot, spicy foods They release endorphins which can make a person feel more passionate. … Continue reading →

Spicy Mixed Nuts

In a previous blog I touted the health benefits of holiday spices—-meaning, those spices featured in countless dishes we make during the holiday season from cookies to pies, entrees to side dishes. When I was done researching the nutritional information on all of the spices I’ve used in my holiday baking thus far I went back to my recipe box to see what other dishes I could “spice” up in the name of good health. That’s when I found this recipe. It’s an oldie (my mom has been making these nuts for decades), but a goodie (these nuts never lasted … Continue reading →

Spicing Up the Holidays with Healthy Spices

My daughter and I spent the better part of last week in the kitchen trying to get our holiday baking done. We’ve got a few more batches of cookies to go before I can collapse under the Christmas tree and start enjoying the fruits of our labor. It’s been hectic, but there’s nothing better than having your home smell like the inside of a spice factory. The mouth-watering aroma of warm spices got me thinking about the nutritional value of some of the ingredients we’ve been adding to our recipes—-namely the spices. Obviously spices make a dish taste good, but … Continue reading →

Spice It Up With Penzeys

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.” ~Erma Bombeck I don’t know which spice Erma Bombeck planned on taking with her to the grave, but if I could be buried with my stock of Penzeys Spices I know I’d be cooking it up right in my afterlife. A few years back when my husband and I lived in Jacksonville, Florida my sister came to visit. We were driving through San Marco when … Continue reading →

What to Do with Old Spices

It is a good idea to clean out your spices on a frequent basis. Most herbs and spices lose their potency within six months to a year and need to be replaced. You can try to use them after that time, but as I once read somewhere, if you have old herbs and spices, then you are essentially just putting dirt on your food. But don’t give up your spices just because of that fact. Cooking with spices can be very frugal. You can make some very flavorful low cost meals with the addition of spices. So what can you … Continue reading →

Inexpensive and Easy Ways to Use Turmeric In Your Home

Finding other uses for household products and items has almost become an obsession for me. Being as frugal as I try to be, I save everything. I also do lots of bulk shopping and use coupons like crazy. For whatever reason, I found a bunch of Turmeric, a very common Asian spice used in Curry in my spice cabinet, and decided to do some research on the spice. I wanted to see if there was anything I could use it for besides cooking and dying eggs. Well, not only did I experiment on my own, but I also asked others … Continue reading →

All About Salt

Before the invention of refrigerators, the only way to sustain foods was to smoke them or to salt them. During medieval times, salt was such an expensive and rare commodity that it was called, “white gold.” Now, due to refrigeration, we don’t need to cure our food anymore. But salt is still the most popular flavor enhancer around. Distinguishing Among Common Types of Salt: Have you ever watched a cooking show where the host only uses Kosher Salt or Sea Salt? It happened to me. I had only used table salt before to season and flavor my meals. But when … Continue reading →