Do You Have A Special Ingredient You Use In Almost Everything?

Diane Lane said:
I'd never heard of Spike seasoning blend, so I looked it up. It sounds as if it has a lot of good things in it, so I'm sure it tastes delicious. I have a blend like that that was given to me by a friend, but I don't have the original container, so I can't compare the ingredients, but I might look for Spike next time I go shopping, so I can try it out. I'll be grilling soon, and it's always nice to spice up the grilled veggies.
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I love it! It would be very good for grilling. When I make salmon (broiled in the toaster oven) I just sprinkle a bit of salt on each side and then load of the filet(s) with Spike. It makes everything better, even eggs! (I'm not too keen on eggs and generally don't eat them unless someone else wants them included in the meal).
 
Diane Lane said:
I wondered about the garlic aftereffects. I often like something going down, but not so much when it lingers, especially as long as garlic does. Love the vampire reference, that could be due to the popularity of certain television shows and movies.
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I think vampire legends is more a case of art imitating life, rather than vice-versa. Vampire myths have always been a big part of Eastern European folklore, though more in the Balkans than the Baltic states. There is, for those who like this kind of thing, a restaurant in Bucharest where one can be served by a waiter emerging from a coffin.
 
Pat said:
I like to bake and I add cinnamon to most of the items I bake or oatmeal, I always have both in the house.
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I also add cinnamon to quite a few dishes. I've also 'cinnamoned' my house, to rid it of ants, which worked. Thankfully, my carpet color is close to cinnamon already, so the added sprinkles didn't make a difference. I have been tucking oatmeal in other dishes as a filler lately, as well. I wasn't aware others did this!
 
Not something I use in almost everything, but I do use cinnamon a lot. Some years ago I foundnoutnit is really good for balancing blood sugar, which is important to overall health, so I really started adding it to more things. It doesn't go with everything, but I pretty much won't eat breakfast without dusting something with a little cinnamon.
 
I would not consider it a special ingredient, but I use onions in most of my cooking. I love the flavor of them, and they are a great way to incorporate a vegetable into the meal. I am really trying hard to get more veggies into our diet, and onions are a good filler in the place of meat.
 
Diane Lane said:
I didn't even realize there were different forms or colors of cardamom. Now I'll have to be more aware when I'm shopping.
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Black Cardamon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cardamom
Green Cardamon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamom

The difference visually.
640px-Black_and_green_cardamom.jpg


By Autopilot (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Black Cardamon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cardamom
Green Cardamon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamom

The difference visually.
640px-Black_and_green_cardamom.jpg


By Autopilot (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Thanks, that's definitely a big difference, visually. I'll have to read up on this and see what I've been missing. I don't use it much, other than in chai, and some chai recipes don't even specify which variety.
 
pattyk said:
I'm going through a cardamom phase at the moment. I cannot get enough of this sweet and somewhat citrussy spice! I keep trying it in sweet and savoury dishes to see if it works. It seems to go really well with pistachios, or if you're baking muffins with a streudel topping, replace the cinnamon with cardamom. Yummy!

I also find it works well with other spices in curries - dopiaza is the one I make most often, and I always chuck in a half teaspoon of ground cardamom with the other spices. Love it.
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Green cardamom orange and rhubarb addiction at the moment with honey
But it is a great curry flavour!
My mouth is watering
 
:thumbsup:
Duck59 said:
Ah, so it's not just in the Baltics.

I'm reminded of the occasion when a friend of mine, under the influence of too much stout in a Killarney restaurant, asked for a 'garlic coffee' at the end of his meal. The waiter, remaining splendidly deadpan, asked, "Now you're sure it's garlic you're wanting in your coffee?"
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It's like the Rocky oyster festival
Don't look for any seafood




http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_oysters
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
are you using green or black cardamom? I ask because whilst I don't really like green cardamom, I love black cardamom which has a really smoky, deep earthy flavour to it.
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Mainly green, but I have recently bought some black cardamom - the pods are much bigger than the green ones! I haven't used the black ones yet, but I bought them to make this cardamom tea:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cardamomtea_71553

They're calling them brown cardamom, but they're the same thing, I think?
 
Pat said:
I like to bake and I add cinnamon to most of the items I bake or oatmeal, I always have both in the house.
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When I read that, I got an intense craving for cinnamon toast. I haven't had that in a long time, and it's breakfast time. Actually I might make french toast! :cook::hungry::soup:
 
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