Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme... Today I was putting a small chicken in the oven and was just going over the process with our son who was home from college for a short while, trying to do my motherly bit by giving him a basic idea of how I do it. I brushed the bird with oil and then grabbed my little jar of Herbes de Provence and shook it liberally over the chicken. He then looked at the jar to see what it was composed of: things like rosemary, thyme, savory, basil, marjoram, even lavender.
I was thinking it was time for a Mundane Monday, so here is my question: in your day to day cooking and food prep, what would you say are the seasonings you reach for the most? I think I would say, apart from salt and pepper, garlic powder, herbes de Provence, and perhaps oregano are my most commonly used seasonings. I also tend to use Montreal Steak Spice for beef. Also, in the colder months (and around Christmas), my cinnamon jar often needs refilling.
I imagine I will get different responses from people in different parts of the world and I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Dill, parsley, ginger, chillies and garlic fresh. Dried? oooh now there's a question. Maybe cumin closely followed by all the other ingredients in my garam masala (especially cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg), and tumeric in pickling, curries, and hot drinks. Lots of dried thyme, oregano, bay and basil. Our herb/spice collection spills over a couple of cupboards (and the freezer), and graduated years ago from those little matching jars in the neat rack, to recycled coffee jars, mustard tins (now there's one we go through a lot of, hadn't thought of that as a spice) and and assortment of passata bottles.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you make wonderful food!
DeleteOregano is the first herb in my list. We dry bunches in the summer and husband scrunches it up later and stores it in big old honey jars. We use thyme on meat.
ReplyDeleteSummer the combo for almost any dish with tomatoes is fresh mint, basil and parsley, all from pots in the garden.
We don't use much else, a bit of hot dried chilli, now and again cumin.
In winter a lot of soups and stews begin with carrot, celery and onions.
These are the Greek flavours. Not so different from your herbes de Provence
DeleteGetting to be a few lists. I forgot lemon juice!! Lemon, oregano and olive oil. If my husband doesn't have those he can't cook and certain not won't eat whatever it is. Garlic comes hard on the heels of those three. Ahhh Jen, I wonder if I'll think of anything else 😂
DeleteI am now also realizing that my own list could go on and on - I just tried to narrow it down a bit to the ones I reach for most often. I'm glad you commented as I was hoping you would because I was betting you would say oregano! :)
DeleteI don't use many but lemons are a must in my kitchen followed by mint and rosemary, black peppercorns and Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and cumin.
ReplyDeleteYou are my second mint person and I can honestly say that mint hardly ever enters into my cooking. Ah yes, Worcestershire sauce. Here, son and daughter use a lot of hot sauce (various kinds).
DeleteMint is chopped into my salads; mint sauce for when I have lamb; a sprig of mint when I am boiling new potatoes. Mint is the only herb I grow in the garden.
DeleteChicken with tarragon and tarragon sauce - by volume this is the current most highly used. I mean a whole bunch of tarragon in the chicken.
ReplyDeleteI am now checking if my Herbes de Provence contains tarragon -and no, it does not. (oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, anise seed, and lavender) I may have to add some now!
DeleteYou will not regret it. Stock and cream too.
DeleteRosemary, bay leaf, and chili powder!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, bay leaf when making stews!
DeleteI like sweet marjoram, onion powder, celery salt, a little curry on baked chicken. Curry really brings out the flavor of roast chicken, but to me can be overpowering if too much is used. In chicken or tuna salad I really love fresh lemon thyme. Lemon thyme in my herb garden is wonderful because when I water my plants it rewards me by releasing its sweet, lemony scent. Dried basil. Basil pesto from a tube with salads, or even better, fresh basil leaves in the salad. Fresh chives with sour cream on a baked potato. A light touch of cumin added to celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of salt on roast beef tastes good to my family.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I don't like the flavor of anise in any food.
Lemon basil sounds heavenly!
DeleteSalt, pepper, oregano, thyme, garlic, onion, basil are my most commonly used ones. In baking, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Very predictable and safe, LOL! But I do have others which are used occasionally, just not constantly.
ReplyDeleteWe seem like similar cooks!
DeleteGarlic, cumin, turmeric, oregano, basil, ginger. We have kind of eclectic taste in food in this house. Chinese, Indian and Italian and often "fusion" of the three. I agree, Montreal Steak Spice and beef are partners made in heaven.
ReplyDeletewhoops, forgot the parsley. We use a LOT of parsley.
DeleteSounds like I would enjoy a meal at your house!
DeleteMy guy is an Amazing chef!
DeleteThyme, oregano, rosemary, garlic are by far my favorite herbs. Savory meals are my favorite meals and herbs along with butter, evoo and cream are used generously.
ReplyDeleteCream? I often see tv shows where a chef makes a wonderful sauce with cream and I think, I should do that! But then I don’t . New goal.
DeleteOh, this is fun! When I have herbs de Provence (I'm out!) that's my go-to. But I think I put extra thyme in everything, and then basil. Oregano is another biggie for some things. And as you mentioned, cinnamon at the holidays and fall. Cumin for chili. And baking spices like vanilla and ginger (but usually fresh). When it comes to the pantry, my staples -- the things I always have and buy if I run out -- are lemons and shrimp!
ReplyDeleteI love this! So different are peoples’ lives. That you consider lemons and shrimp staples just makes me smile. They don’t even enter my “ sometimes “ foods. I think I’m in a rut.
DeleteI no longer cook for myself, my carer does it but I grow parsley, sage, rosemary,, thyme, garlic and mint so they were always well used.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing more convenient and lovely as going out to your own garden to hand pick herbs to go into your meals.
DeleteMy 'go to' seasonings are fresh onion, garlic, and parsley... and of course a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. But I also use bay leaves, basil, and occasionally herb de Provence. I don't care for oregano and can't stand cilantro. We do use Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. And I do use heavy cream and lots of unsalted butter. When baking, it's mostly vanilla, almond, and cinnamon... and of course dark chocolate.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, my husband also fiercely dislikes cilantro. He never remembers what it's called and will ask me, "What is it I don't like?" and then asks if there is any of it in the food he is going to eat.
DeleteCilantro tastes like petroleum to me... not that I've tasted petroleum, but it just tastes like something someone shouldn't be eating.
DeleteI have pretty much what everyone else does. I use "Riley's spices" from my hometown area.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of that kind.
DeleteHi Jenn... my hubs does all the cooking but I have been accused of over salting everything. Guilty as charged. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI often swoon over the pictures of what your husband has "whipped up in the kitchen"!
DeleteAlso, I find that I salt my food much more now,than what I used to!
DeleteI use Tumeric almost every day and curry powder frequently. My green herbs are Basil, Oregano, and Thyme. Also frequently add a dash of garlic or onion powder.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn - thanks so much for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI don't do the cooking in this house (I am blessed) but I do any and all baking - so for me the most used spice in this house might have to be cinnamon.
Garlic, ginger, oregano, chili powder, dry mustard, Italian seasoning and Mrs. Dash blends (because I'm lazy) are my most used spices. I don't tend to have fresh herbs because I don't use them up quickly enough.
ReplyDeleteI'm addicted to fresh basil on pizza under the cheese! Parsley is also a go to. Cumin in chili. Rosemary on chicken. Cherry tomatoes cut in half, drizzled with olive oil, then sprinkled with rosemary, basil, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Freeze the tomatoes you don't eat and add them to the fresh basil with chicken and ranch. A culinary delight.
ReplyDeleteLicorice basil with mullen tea for phlegm. Lemon basil, lemon grass, and lemon balm tea with honey. Don't forget chicken ranch wraps with borage flowers. My nieces love that. Gosh I'm so ready to garden.
I use tarragon a fair amount we eat lots of chicken and I just love the taste of the two together also great in egg salad.
ReplyDeleteCathy
I actually had to give this some thought, since I use a lot of different spices. I do tend to use pepper, garlic and oregano quite a bit. Thyme and basil would probably be next on the list.
ReplyDeleteNot meaning to be crude, but there are spices here that are known as Shit Spices… Good Shit, Special Shit, Aw Shit, etc… The one we use most often and in everything, is Good Shit. You can look it up on Amazon, and look at all the different ones. Gimmick with the name, but the spices are actually out of this world! If you don’t post this, I totally get it, and I don’t mean to be offensive to anyone. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteGood question! I think black pepper, thyme, sage, cinnamon, cardamom, curry, garam masala. In the summer I use za'tar on everything I make.
ReplyDeletesalt and pepper, of course. For soups and stews, I have a basic go-to of garlic, chicken stock or bouillon, a dash of hot pepper sauce, bay leaf and depending on what I'm making, Worchestershire sauce. For chicken dishes, I love thyme, parsley, chives and rosemary. I guess it really depends on what I'm cooking. I make up my own Italian blend with herbs from the garden--oregano, thyme, garlic, parsley and basil. Mexican calls for cumin, etc. Rarely if ever make curry any more.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Granny Sue, Susan, Wyomingheart, Martha, Acorn Hollow, Bonnie, Maebeme, Gigi, and Chris for your comments! All of the comments have lead me to believe that you are all great cooks, people who make many of their meals "from scratch", rather than just heating up ready-to-eat food. I shall attempt to use tarragon in my chicken preparations, and maybe plant some more herbs in my garden this year. At the most I plant parsley and basil, but I should expand my horizons (but no mint, made that mistake in the past!).
ReplyDeleteLove that you were instilling some motherly life advice.
ReplyDeleteI use Lemon pepper the most, followed by garlic powder, onion powder and a salt free garlic mix we get from Costco that has almost everything MINUS salt since I'm salt sensitive.
I use garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, and chili probably the most for savory cooking. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice for baking.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I am a a great lover of five spice powder. I use it along with cinnamon in my mixture for cinnamon toast. Also I make shortbread cookies in the fall with 5 spice in it for a warm note. After that I am a big user of basil in tomato dishes, along with garlic, thyme and lemon on chicken. Sage goes into my meat loaf mixture along with onion, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and yellow mustard. I love curry in my apple salad along with honey and peanut butter. I cook by the seat of my pants seldom using recipes in my everyday meals.
ReplyDeleteI'm just now reading this. Most commonly used herbs & spices: onion & garlic or Adobo Mexican seasoning mix, cumin, chili powder (I know, its a blend), smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, mustard, parsley. For baking: cinnamon, cardamon. Seasonings in general: Worchestershire sauce, lemon & lime juice, soy sauce, salt & pepper are a given, used everyday and every meal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a fun question.
Kay in Nebraska