Okay folks, I’m gonna be real with you. I’m not really feeling it today. Like at all. I didn’t particularly have anything in mind for today’s post anyway. Unfortunately, just not posting anything at all isn’t an option because it kills momentum and that’s how the blog gets abandoned.
So I’m gonna half-ass it, and we’re gonna pretend like it’s the thought that counts. Cool? Cool.
I don’t understand people who don’t have a spice rack. I have an entire cabinet devoted just to “things that get used when I’m cooking.” Both sides. Just full to bursting with jars and bottles and grinders. Plus the little cabinet directly over the stove, more stuff lives there. And I mean, I suppose with people who just never cook I kind of get it. But I don’t really understand how people can cook and not want access to a wide range of ways to make food taste differently.
And yet, my selection isn’t even all that expansive. I don’t have saffron or fennel or dill. No coriander, though I do have some cilantro on hand for the rare case I want something with a cilantro-lime vibe. (Cilantro and coriander come from the same plant.) Honestly I don’t like cilantro but it has a few contexts where it’s useful. Nor lemon pepper (I have pepper and I have lemon juice) nor garlic powder/garlic salt (I buy minced garlic. I used to mince fresh but honestly the workload just got to be more than I cared.) MY actual repertoire isn’t all that expansive so I just need to be able to cover a medium range of flavor profiles, and most of them can be accomplished by mixing and matching things I have on hand in different combinations. Oregano is a good example of this. Want something to have a bit of an Italian lean, combine with basil. Want something to skew a little Mexican? A little bit of sage and thyme.
Something else you won’t find in my cabinet are seasoning blends. I think we might have a container of Italian seasoning I inherited along the way, but for the most part I prefer to have everything individually so I can adjust the balance of things to what the dish needs. There’s nothing wrong with blends, I just don’t really use them. With one exception: Chinese Five Spice powder. A container of this stuff lasts a while because it doesn’t take much at all. It’s cinammon, star anise, fennel, and cloves with either ginger, white pepper, or sichuan peppercorns. The brand I use has ginger. Again, a little bit goes a really long way with this stuff. But at the same time, you can just make the stuff yourself if you have all the things on hand separately. Though admittedly, that can get a little expensive if you’re not going to use it all that often. But especially if you’re kind of a picky eater (which I am, I have a lot of weird texture issues with foods) keeping a wide range of ways to make the same basic ingredients taste different is the thing that keeps monotony from overtaking the enjoyment of food.
The Passion of the Grice 