Using herbs and spices

By Staff
Suzanne Langcuster
Franklin County Times
One of the best things to happen in my kitchen was experimenting with herbs and spices. Spices have been with me since we started housekeeping, herbs were added later on. Some herbs and spices were very popular in our family like cinnamon, nutmeg, dill seeds, celery seed , parsley flakes, chili powder and cloves. We used cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in our cakes and cookies, celery seeds and parsley flakes in salads and stuffed eggs and chili powder in soups, chili, spaghetti, and Mexican foods.
Allspice is a good spice that you can virtually add to anything from salads to desserts.
Basil is good for tomato dishes, many salads, and cooked vegetables.
Anise flavors cookies, candies, and pastries and poultry dishes.
Bay leaves are wonderful in soups and stews. Remove leaf before serving.
Black ground pepper has come to be a favorite of ours. It can be used on any dish you wish to make mildly hot.
Caraway seeds have a sweet nutty flavor and are good in goulashes, cookies, cakes, and applesauce.
Cayenne peppers are fiery hot. Use sparingly. Use in anything you want really hot. Wash your hands after handling.
Rosemary is one favorite of mine. It is so delicious in chicken soup or chicken stew. Also delicious in a chicken casserole. Use sparingly. As the soup cooks the rosemary softens up, and makes the soup wonderful tasting.
We hope you have tried several of these wonderful herbs and spices. The prices on some of these have increased but with careful measuring and storing carefully you will get a lot of use out of them. I store some in the refrigerator. It really helps to keep them fresh longer. Make those dishes tasty by adding something tasty and maybe a little different to them.