There are now recipes on the blog. If anyone’s reading this to get ideas for dinner, keep in mind that I will never post the four or five most important ingredients in my cooking because they go in EVERYTHING that I cook. Salt and pepper are not included on this list for obvious reasons…they make everything better and should be used by you on all occasions. Fresh-ground pepper is vastly superior to the pre-ground stuff.
The first is cumin. This is my favorite spice of all, and I put a lot of it into everything. I strongly suggest adding it to sauces, rice, and rubbing it on chicken before sauteeing.
Second, paprika. There are two kinds–I prefer the spicy, but if you’re not into spicy foods the sweet is fine too. Works well with tomato-based sauces and cream sauces.
Third, garlic powder. You want to be careful to get the powder and not the salt…with garlic salt, if you want the garlic flavor you end up making everything salty. Add your salt seperately and you have control over the amount of salt that goes into your dishes, and that’s important.
And finally, perhaps the most important of all, cayenne pepper. I’m addicted to spicy foods and cayenne adds a nice amount of spice without adding or changing the flavor of the dish. I like cayenne a lot more than chili powder, as it has a hotter flavor and not as much of the chili flavor.
Cumin is also used a lot in Indian foods… it’s great with lentils or tomato-ey foods.
I’m likin the blog :o)