Grex Kitchen Conference

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Grex Kitchen Item 174: Seasonings
Entered by keesan on Tue Oct 5 00:47:51 UTC 1999:

What sorts of seasonings do you use to keep your cabbage and potatoes from
always tasting the same?  Include spices, herbs, sauces, etc.  How do you use
the different seasonings?

14 responses total.

#1 of 14 by keesan on Tue Oct 5 00:49:15 1999:

My mother had a very short list of herbs and spices.  She put oregano on lamb
chops and cinnamon sugar on toast, and she kept a small package of pepper for
my uncle's occasional visits.   Also mayonnaise, used solely in tuna salad.

#2 of 14 by i on Tue Oct 5 01:14:34 1999:

Well, my mental image of "seasonings" rules out (fresh) onion & garlic, 
cider vinegar, olive oil, pickled jalapen~o slices, etc. that i use for 
flavor.  That leaves salt & pepper as my favorites, followed by a small
gaggle of only-in-certain-things spices - cinnamon, dill seed, oregano, 
bay leaf, chili powder, red pepper, cumin, & a few others, and `sauces'
- ground horseradish, A-1 sauce, hot mustard, and a few others.

What qualifies as a "seasoning"?  Is cocoa one?

#3 of 14 by keesan on Tue Oct 5 17:03:37 1999:

I supposed cocoa could be used as a seasoning, but it would not be a seasoning
in a cup of hot cocoa.  A seasoning would be something used in small
quantities to add flavor, not calories or vitamins.  But Jim uses olive oil
as a seasoning on all his vegetables (it also adds needed calories).

#4 of 14 by abc on Tue Oct 5 21:29:12 1999:

What's in the pantry: black pepper, basil leaves, oregano, parsley flakes,
garlic powder, bay leaves, cinnamon

I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly what goes on what...

Oh, there's also a bottle of sherry.  Sometimes I use that to marinate food.
Does that count?

#5 of 14 by keesan on Tue Oct 5 23:06:40 1999:

Sure it counts.  Anyone have suggestions what seasonings I can add to borshch,
which consists of cabbage, beets, carrots, tomatoes and water at the moment.
I just added dried celery leaves and will add garlic.  Green pepper?  I am
not supposed to cook with salt (Jim's idea).  Available seasonings:  tamarind
paste, fermented bean curd, dried salted black beans, oregano, basil (five
kinds), citric acid crystals, tahini, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce,
pomegranate syrup, cumin, coriander, cardamom, vanilla, paprika (mild), and
for a possible thickener instant fufu (elephant ear and cassava), cassava
grits, green rice flakes, sweet potato powder, whole wheat pastry flour, teff.
Which of the above would go well with cabbage and beets?  We also have zatar
(a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds) and chubritsa (some sort of wild
Bulgarian thyme).  Are there any other interesting seasonings I should have
around?  And what would I do with them?

#6 of 14 by omni on Wed Oct 6 06:35:33 1999:

  You could add tumeric to that list. I recall seeing cocoa listed, and of
course you cannot make Cincinnati Chili without it. (i'll explain on request)
I keep a bottle of Frank's Hot sauce on hand just in case. Franks is a milder
version of Tabasco, but does not overpower the food you put it on. I like to
drop some in spaghetti sauce to make it a bit more interesting.

#7 of 14 by keesan on Wed Oct 6 14:50:29 1999:

I also have anise and star anise and cinnamon and pickled Indian lime.  I
don't find turmeric to have any flavor, just color.

#8 of 14 by denise on Tue May 16 22:03:13 2006:

With just having moved, I'm trying to rebuild my spices [I through away some
outdated stuff before the move].  So I, too, would appreciate any interesting
ideas for condiments, seasonings, etc.  One I've brought but haven't tried
yet is a sesame seed/salt blend of sorts. At a dinner at my brother's house,
my sister-in-law had several different types of seasonings for rice [and ither
foods, I'm sure]. I couldn't read the Japanese writing on what she had but
the one I tried consisted of sesame seeds [black and white seeds as I recall]
along with a salty flavor. So when I found this blend in the asian spice
section, I decided to get it...  Now I'll need to find stuff to add it to.

#9 of 14 by eeyore on Mon May 22 20:52:59 2006:

If you are up for a drive, may I highly reccomend Penzey's Spices, in
Southfield?  Prices are reasonable, and you can take a sniff of anything
they've got.  I can spend hours there, and it's a running joke that I've
broken my sniffer there more than once :)

For those not familiar, Penzey's started life 20 years ago as a catalog only
spice supplier.  Their prices and quality are such that the certainly deserved
to survive and thrive over those 20 years, and ever since they opened near
me last summer, I've been in there quite a bit.  Yeah, I'm really fond of the
place :)

www.penzeys.com

#10 of 14 by denise on Mon May 22 22:43:39 2006:

I have some family near Southfield [in Bloomfield]. where abouts is Penzey's?

#11 of 14 by mary on Mon May 22 22:55:34 2006:

Although I've never visited one of their stores I've been ordering
spices from Penzey's for many years.  I'm especially fond of their
peppercorn and cinnamon.  The poppyseed and black sesame seeds are
also good and much cheaper than what I can find in the standard
supermarket.  I used their garam masala just last night - it made
the keema masala.

#12 of 14 by denise on Tue May 23 02:14:48 2006:

Perhaps sometime we can take a field trip to the Southfield store? :-)

#13 of 14 by cmcgee on Sat May 27 19:56:05 2006:

anyone know how their prices compare to the Food Coop prices?  I buy in small
amounts, and the coop always has really fresh product.

#14 of 14 by eeyore on Sat Jun 17 05:52:09 2006:

Their website is www.penzeys.com, so you can easily compare prices there. 
Quality has never been an issue....it's always top grade :)

The "local" store is on the corner of 13 Mile and Southfield road, in the
little strip mall with Borders.  Great place!!!

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