First of all - great title - you sucked me in here with it, for sure
My wife is a great cook and I don't mind cooking either. We have a large selection of herbs, spices and flavourings in our fridge and pantry. Please excuse me if I've repeated previous suggestions:
Thyme (there are a few different varieties; if you like fish, lemon thyme is a great flavour)
Sage
Cummin
Rosemary
Coriander (if you can't get it fresh)
Fresh garlic (much, much better than powdered - if you can't stand peeling it, look for crushed garlic in a bottle - it stores well in the fridge)
Chili (both fresh, powdered and, if you can find it, Kecup Manis (sp) which is an Asian crushed chili and very hot)
Garam Masala
Chinese 5 spice
Curry powder
Parprika
Tumeric
Lemon grass
Basil leaves (just throw one of these into a bolognaise or stew - great flavour)
Kaffir lime leaves
Ginger
Parsley
Mint
Cardamom
Cloves
Oyster Sauce - great for stir fries
Hoi Sin Sauce - a chinese bbq sauce - again great for stir fries
Soy Sauce - there are two sorts; heavy - for cooking and light - for dipping spring rolls or a splash on top of a stir fry
I'm sure I've missed some but the above is a very good start, I think.
Whip:
Im lucky in that a friend of my family's goes back to Yugoslavia every year to visit, and brings me back a bag of real paprika and a small jar of saffron every time she goes. Yummay! |
I'm envious - saffron is so bloody expensive as is real vanilla sticks. As for real paprika, well I've only ever heard about it.