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

DancingLady said:
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.
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I have a friend with type II diabetes and she uses a lot of cinnamon to help regulate her sugar. I add it in whenever I can, just in case.
 
pattyk said:
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?
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Yes it is. I like them for their smokey earthy taste. Much nicer to me than green cardamom.
 
I'm currently in a sort of "curry phase". I put curry on everything and I don't know if I'm making this up in my head or whatever, but I honestly think it makes almost everything taste better.
 
My two regular grocery stores don't have bins of food/spices, etc., where I could get the cardamom pods, but I hope to get some when I'm able to get to HEB, which has that type of set up with the bins and more natural foods.
 
ChanellG said:
I wouldn't say I have a special ingredient. but I use garlic a lot as well as Spike seasoning blend. Last year I was in love with lemon zest, lol. It just adds such a lovely brightness to a dish. I love being about to go out to the garden and snip some fresh basil to toss into a dish as well.
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I am in such agreement! I feel like if I add garllic to anything it automatically tastes better. I love garlic in general but recently it has become a real obsession. I add it to pasta sauces, if im cooking potatoes (garlic & cheese or roast potatoes), I also add it if I am sautéing something (flageolets, mushrooms, green beans, brussel sprouts), stir frys, making pil pil (garlic chili prawns) In other words I find dishes to cook in order to add garlic.....
 
I also use garlic in almost everything. If a recipe doesn't call for it, and it seems as if it should (not desserts), I add it. I'm also a big fan of lemon zest. Lime zest too, depending on the taste I'm going for.

When I cook Asian food, I've been using an ingredient I found at the International Marketplace. It is only called "Hot Spice Powder" and the ingredients on the bottle only say "Pepper, salt, spice". I bought several bottles of this wonderfully flavored stuff and gave away several as gifts. You can guess what happened next. I was getting low on Hot Spice Powder and I went to get more and, of course, they don't carry it anymore. I have a bottle with about two teaspoons left in it, and I tasted it yesterday. I think it is white pepper, salt, 5-spice powder and MSG. I think I can make it. I'm gonna try because this stuff is great for bumping up the flavor of Asian food. I used a precious few shakes in a Chinese Chicken Salad I made the other day and I don't think I can live without if.
 
Being vegan, I use lots of spices in my food to add flavour and taste, I've recently discovered COCONUT AMINO ! It's so good and it so much more flavoured than soy sauce!

What's your fav recipe with coconut amino?
 
I do like some spices like dill, basil, parsley and ground pepper. Mint is one of those and I use mint in both, sweet and savoury dishes. It goes great with chocolate in any shape and it is also good with roasted beef or pork. It gives freshness to meat and chocolate is so classy when you put some mint in. Of course I like to make mint tea and I even tried to mix it with coffee and it is fine.
 
I have a bad habit of adding the maggie powder seasoning to any meats I'm cooking. One bottle lasts me a while since I don't use plenty of it at all. There is also the fish and chicken ones but I really don't use those.
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I don't think it's special but salt and pepper will make or break a dish! I also love to use garlic. I always have those 3 things in my kitchen at all times. In the summer I grow my own herbs (dill, basil, cilantro and rosemary) fresh herbs really help brighten a dish and make them extra special.
 
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