Here's a random question for the group.
What are your favorite and/or most used spices/seasonings/herbs/flavorings?
I understand that many are like tools, you pick the right tool for the right job and a particular tool will not be the right tool for every job, but I suspect we all have things that we like more than others and/or maybe use more than others.
For instance, I would assume that garlic is a very popular addition. I do love garlic.
Somewhat along the same lines, Onion, but to me, that's almost more of an ingredient.
Also, if you have the ability to use fresh herbs, in most cases, I say, do it.
I'm sure Cilantro will be a love/hate thing. I think there's some genetic thing so that for some people cilantro tastes horrible.
For the dry spices, we get many of them at
Penzey's Spices, and they are very good. I'm fortunate, that there's a Penzey's brick and mortar store just a few miles away.
On to my answer for my question.
Chili powder, I like chili powder. And right now I have some Chipotle Chili (not from Penzey's) that has more heat than regular chili powder. It's quite tasty. We made some hash the other day, you know, left over meat and starchy/root veggie type stuff. The chipotle chili is very tasty with it. Also, I'm pretty sure that I could eat chili all year round, I don't think of it as a purely winter thing. Chili is, of course, heavily spiced with chili powder.
I've got a coworker that's of Hungarian decent. He's was raised here, but his grandparents were from the old world, so they used A LOT of paprika. When I was younger, my only experience with paprika was as a decoration for deviled eggs. I have since discovered that there are many varieties of paprika and they all should have a lot of flavor. One of my favorites is smoked paprika (Specifically Spanish Smoked Paprika from Penzey's). Add a bunch to the ground beef when you make hamburgers, yum. It's also tasty on hummus and the hash that we just made.
Another favorite of mine is Cardamom. I haven't fully explored the uses of cardamom yet. It's used quite a bit in some of the Indian food that we like. I've even had cardamom ice cream (very tasty), and have started adding fresh fruit and cardamom to oat meal.
I'll also use cayenne powder when I want to add some heat, but not change flavor. You can add cayenne to LOTS of stuff. It's shocking how good it is in macaroni and cheese, for one.
THere are more, but these are getting a lot of use from me lately.
What about the rest of you guys. I know we have a lot of folks that like to cook.