Essential Spices

Best spice store in the Italian Market is the Spice Corner at 904 S. 9th Street. Website: http://www.thespicecorner.com/

Salt- Gourmands love their sea salt, but I think it's overrated and lumpy. I spend $0.98 on a huge can of the iodized kind, and use an extra pinch to get my Na+Cl-

Freshly Ground Black Pepper: (call me a poormand on this one) Buy a big grinder and whole black peppercorns at a spice store. Use A LOT in cream of mushroom soup

--I make a cup of white rice in 2 cups of water OR 1 cup pearled barley in 2.5 cups water, then add 1 can condensed Cr.o.Mush, 1/2 can water, handful of diced white mushrooms (caps and all), 1 cup of frozen peas, 1 tsp salt, 3 splashes of soy sauce and lots of pepper (1-2 tsp) for a feel good soup. Add a can of black or white beans and you've got a meal--- Takes as long as the rice/barely does to cook

Garlic- Don't buy Chinese! This isn't a union-backed boycott of the stuff, it's just never good. Chinese garlic usually comes with 4-5 bulbs in a sleeve and it is cheap. But, it's also soft, has been in a container ship for weeks and is not as flavorful as American garlic. Pick the hardest, tighest individual bulbs from a basket in the grocery store.

--To Roast-- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the very top of the bulb (not the root, which holds all of the cloves together). Place on a 6x6 inch piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil on top. Wrap foil around garlic. Place on a pan and cook for 1 hour. Garlic will be HOT and gooey when it gets out, so let it sit for 15 minutes before peeling.-- Great for spaghetti sauces, hummus and other spreads.

Ginger: Buy fresh at your grocery store or market. Break off a manageable piece the size of your thumb, instead of the trees that they sell. --Use in stir fry's!

Indian Spice Rack:
Cumin Seeds --put a Tbsp cumin seeds and tsp salt in with 2 cups of rice mid-way through cooking
Ground Cumin- in most curries.
Garam Masala--staple combination of many of these spices (depends on your spice store what the exact combo is, but cloves, bay leaves, star anise, nutmeg, coriander, cumin seeds and cinnomin might be in there)-- used in chana masala.
Tumeric-- gives many Indian dishes their bright orange color with a subtle, "earthy" flavor that I would describe as enjoyably metallic. Also used in Middle Eastern dishes like Falafel
Mustard Seeds --Really good on potatoes and can sometimes be found in samosas
Chili Powder- Ever order your favorite Indian dish "hot" and get a wimpy "medium" instead? Known as "white person hot" this can be a big letdown for pain enthusiasts who happen to be white. Buy the most pungent and foul chili powder you like (spice stores have multiple chili powders) and scoop it into your take on Indian cooking.
Coriander Seeds- also used in chana masala, but ground. I designated an empy McCormick Black Peppercorn grinder for Coriander Seeds.
Cardamom & Cloves--brew with Lipton tea bags for chai

I keep these spices in the bags they come in at the spice store and in my freezer. They should stay fresh longer that way and they won't stink up your cabinents.

More, relevant recipes to follow...

Phils in 5, still.

-PH