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7 Things Every Witch Should Have in the Kitchen

July 4, 2012 in Hearth Witchery

1.      Homemade Cleaners:
All-Purpose Scrub
1/2 cup baking soda
Plant-based liquid soap
1/2 of a lemon
Pour baking soda into a bowl. Add just enough liquid soap to make a creamy paste. Spread mixture on the flat side of lemon and scrub. The lemon acts as a sponge and leaves a natural citrus scent. Use a damp rag or sponge to wipe away any residue. You’ll find the paste will stay moist for a few hours.
Helpful Hint: To save leftover scrub, add in a few drops of vegetable glycerin (a thick, clear syrup derived from plant oils, available from mountainroseherbs.com) and seal in a glass jar.
Window Cleaner
1/2 teaspoon Castile or plant-based liquid soap
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
Pour all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake. Spray onto window and wipe clean with newspaper or a 100 percent cotton cloth.
Helpful Hint: The liquid soap included in this recipe helps remove any streak-causing wax left on the window from commercial cleaners used in the past. You can eliminate the soap after a few washings. Safety note: Always be careful to label containers of homemade cleaners intended for storage and keep them well out of the reach of children.
Floor Cleaner
1/8 cup plant-based liquid soap
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1 gallon water
10 drops essential oil (scent of your choice)
Mix all ingredients in a bucket and mop as usual.
Helpful Hint For ceramic and stone floors, eliminate soap (which leaves a film) and use 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of water. Don’t use water on unsealed wood floors. Instead, combine 2 cups of vinegar with 1 tablespoon of olive or jojoba oil in a bucket. Spread a thin coat over the floor with a mop or soft cloth. Let it soak in for 20 minutes; dry mop to absorb excess liquid. Open windows to air out the vinegar smell.

Mold + Mildew Spray
2 cups distilled white vinegar
Pour vinegar into a spray bottle and spray on infected area. The smell will dissipate in a few hours (open a window to speed up the process).
Helpful Hint: For areas with persistent mold problems, use tea tree oil instead of vinegar, combining 2 drops of tea tree oil with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. A natural antiseptic and fungicide, tea tree oil costs more than vinegar but will kill most types of mold and help prevent new growth.

2.      First Aid Kit:
In most homes the kitchen is command central, so it’s more logical to keep your kit easily accessible in the kitchen instead of tucked away in a linen closet or bathroom. Some items to keep in mind when building your first aid kit are:
- Tweezers
- Oral thermometer
- Sterile gauze pads of various sizes
- Ace bandages
- Scissors
- Non latex gloves
- Adhesive cloth tape
- Packs of different sized band aids
- Any homemade items like the aloe spray and cut slave listed blow

Healing Salve for Kitchen Cuts:
½ cup all-vegetable shortening (at room temperature)
10 drops tea-tree essential oil
10 drops calendula extract

In a small bowl, whip ingredients together using a small whisk or spatula until thoroughly blended. The salve should have the look and feel of fluffy, orange butter-cream frosting. Store in a labeled plastic or glass container in a cool place for up to 3 months, or refrigerated for up to 1 year.

Remember please that there are some types of injuries you should leave be and let the doctor take care of, animal bites of any kind for example are always on that list, as far as cuts go, if the cut if more than a quarter inch deep, or bleeding more than it should, leave your salve for another day and go see a doctor.

Aloe Spray for Burns:
4 oz. aloe juice
1/2 tsp vitamin E oil (or 2, 400-I.U.capsules)
1/8 tsp lavender essential oil
Combine ingredients and pour into a spritzer bottle (which can be
found at most drugstores). Shake well. Spray on burn as needed. The
vitamin E will promote healing. Make sure that you use aloe vera
juice, not gel, which will clog the sprayer.

I chose to give you a spray recipe because it is so much easier than trying to rub a cream onto a sensitive burn. If your burn is excessively bad however, I recommend seeing a doctor.
3.      Baking Soda:
- Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in case of grease or electrical fire.
- Wash garbage cans with baking soda.
- Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open container of baking soda to    absorb odors. Stir and turn over the soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months.
- Polish silverware with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rub, rinse and dry.
- To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and rub them hard with   soda, then rinse.
- Apply soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy to relieve discomfort.     Make a paste with water. 

4.      Salt:
- Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.
- A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them beat up fluffier.
- Soak your nuts in salt brine overnight and they will crack out of their shells whole. Just tap the end of the shell with a hammer to break it open easily.
- Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.
- Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are too salty.
- If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spilled juice.  The mess won’t smell and will bake into a dry, light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled.
 5.      Vinegar:
- Rinse glasses and dishes in water and vinegar to remove spots and film.
- Prevent grease build-up in your oven by frequently wiping it with vinegar.
- Hardened paint brushes: simmer in boiling vinegar and wash in hot soapy water.
- Pour boiling vinegar down drains to unclog and clean them.
- Apple cider vinegar and honey as a cure-all: use to prevent apathy, obesity, hay fever, asthma, rashes, food poisoning, heartburn, sore throat, bad eyesight, dandruff, brittle nails and bad breath.
- Vinegar promotes skin health: rub on tired, sore or swollen areas.
- Add 1 tsp. vinegar to cooking water for fluffier rice.
- Boil vinegar and water in pots to remove stains.
- Remove berry stains from hands with vinegar.
6.      Lemons:
- Ants, fleas, and roaches really hate the smell of lemons, so to keep your pest problem down squirt some lemon juice into holes and cracks where the ants are coming in. Place small pieces of lemon rinds or peels around the house and mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it.
- Lemon can disinfect germy hands. So skip the hand sanitizer, and grab the nearest lemon.
- For dry skin, you can use a lemon-sugar scrub, or rub a cut lemon on particularly dry areas, such as knees, elbows, or heels. Be careful when applying to cracked skin.
- Relieve a sore throat. Cut a lemon in half. Skewer one half over a medium flame on a gas stove or an electric burner set on high and roast until the peel turns golden brown. Let cool slightly, then mix the juice with 1 teaspoon of honey. Swallow the mixture.
- Furniture polish. For varnished wood, add a few drops of lemon oil into a cup of water. For unvarnished wood, mix equal parts of olive oil and lemon juice. Use dry cotton rags to wipe the furniture.
- Make lettuce crisp again. You can “revive” it by squeezing half a lemon into a bowl of ice water. Soak the soggy lettuce for about an hour. Rinse and dry the lettuce before serving in a salad or sandwich.
- Combine the juice from two lemons with ½ cup of vinegar to create a powerful grease-fighting cleaner.
- Cut a lemon up into chunks, place in the garbage disposal and turn it on for a good clean and fresh scent.
7.      Love:
You’ve heard me say it before and you’ll hear me say it again, intent is everything. The most important part of the kitchen is the love you put into it. It is not simply a space to accomplish a chore; it is the scared place where you nurture your family with the most basic necessity to survive so you might as well make it enjoyable for everyone involved by creating a warm, loving, safe atmosphere.

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Basil Pesto

June 23, 2011 in Guests

Basil

Basil and parsley  flourish in almost any garden.  Need a way to use more of their yummy goodness and get the kiddos involved?  Pesto is your answer.
 
Before beginning, take your family out into the garden and demonstrate how to pick the leaves off the stem and how to identify each of the herbs.  Bring your herbal harvest into the house and allow your children to wash the herbs in cold water.  If time premitts, allow the herbs to dry.  If not, just use them wet.  You may want to let your kiddos squeeze the excess water gently from the leaves first though.
 
Note…
  1. The recipe below can be complete mostly by your children.  Even the youngest of children are capable of  pressing a button to pulse the food processor. 
  2. Be sure an adult completes the more difficult steps such as chopping or toasting the walnuts.
  
Ingredients…
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves removed from the stem
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions…

1  Place walnuts in the food processor and pulse a few times.  Toss in the basil and combine by pulsing again.  Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.

2  Slowly add the olive oil into the food processor and pulse.  Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended.

3  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4  Serve with pasta, on pizza or spread over baguette slices.  Personally, I am a dipper.  If that’s the case for you, consider drizzling in a free form design on a plate and serve with cubes of baguette… the perfect dipping size.

Makes a bit more than 1 cup.

NOTES…

  • To lighten up this recipe, use 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in place of the olive oil called for in the recipe.  Still very yummy!
  • Consider lightly toasting the walnuts before adding to the food processor.  Simply place chopped walnuts in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray.  Allow the pan to heat and gently stir the nuts for about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Add to recipe as stated.

Have fun in the kitchen with your children.

& As always, blessed be.

RELATED POST: Herbs… A Child’s Connection to Nature

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Kitchen Basics – The End

June 17, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

Well folks, this will be the end of my Kitchen Basics series. Today, I want to share with you my favorite recipe. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve never shared it. It’s fabulous and delicious. It’s amazing. If you use it in a recipe instead of its over-processed, store bought brother, your recipe will be elevated to ambrosial level.

I speak of homemade mayonnaise. And yes, it really is that good. It’s actually fairly easy; the only time I’ve ever had an issue with it is when I rushed it. Take it slow and steady, and you will never want to go back to jarred mayonnaise.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade Mayonnaise, made by myself!

1 Large Egg Yolk

2 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Vinegar

1/4 Tsp Mustard

1/2 Tsp Salt

3/4 Cup Oil, Divided

Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Using a 1/4 tsp measure, add 1/4 cup of oil to the yolk mixture one spoon at a time. Whisk constantly throughout. Slowly add remaining 1/2 Cup of Oil in a slow thin stream, whisking constantly until mayonnaise is thick. Cover and Chill.

This recipe is easy to altar and customize. For a fruitier flavor, use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. Use white wine vinegar instead of normal white vinegar. Use Dijon mustard instead of regular yellow mustard. If you want to make aioli, add one clove minced garlic and use olive oil. If you want it to taste more like Hellman’s mayonnaise, substitute all white vinegar for the lemon juice.

Remeber 1 egg yolk can emulsify 3/4 cup of oil and no more. If you want to make more mayonnaise, you will have to use an extra egg yolk! This is an awesome mayonnaise to use for everyday sandwiches, but it really makes a potato salad. It tastes a little salty, slightly tangy, and simply superb. Like no other mayonnaise you’ve ever had.

Hope you enjoy!

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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Kitchen Basics – A few Staple Recipes

June 3, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

There are a few types of recipes that everyone should have handy.  Either these recipes will be used all the time, or are easy enough and good enough that you can whip them up in between the time company calls and when they get there.

Picture Via Kraft

First, Cookies.  One of the quickest, easiest cookie recipes I’ve ever come across was on the back of a Peanut Butter jar.  Yes, you know the one I’m talking about.  Three ingredient peanut butter cookies, via Kraft. When I first saw the recipe, I was a little put off.  After all, the peanut butter cookies I remember as a kid had about a dozen ingredients in them…flour, baking powder, salt, 2 kinds of sugar, etc.  Three ingredients?  Really?  Yes, really.  These are the softest, chewiest peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had, and they are perfect.

Another thing I think everyone should have a recipe for?  Banana bread.  I posted my own recipe on my blog recently.  I call it Best Banana Bread, because it is!  It’s simple and tasty, and easy to add extras to!  A cup of chocolate chips or walnuts goes a long way.

One of the basics is also a tomato sauce – the catch all sauce you can use for spaghetti, pizza, parms, lasagnas or anything in between.   I don’t actually make the tomato sauce in our house…my husband does!  Once every couple of months we’ll get out the big pot and he makes a mess of the whole stove.  It’s worth it though.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t use a recipe.  I found this one which is pretty similar, but my husband has more veggies in his.

Meatloaf is another standard.  My mom would always make the same meatloaf; 2 lbs ground beef, an egg, a handful (or two) of breadcrumbs, and some salt and pepper.  She’d put it in the loaf pan and pour a can of tomato soup mixed with a little water over top, and bake until it reached 170°F.  Simple, and delicious!  I like to make mine with Cream of Mushroom soup too.  The great thing about it is that you can make it with almost any soup!

These are of course a small, tiny fraction of my staple recipes.  I keep them in a giant notebook, which is by now a sticky mess!  What are the staple recipes you use?

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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Kitchen Basics – Pantry Staples

May 20, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

While this list of course will vary depending on the type of cooking or baking you most often do in your home, some things just translate from kitchen to kitchen!

Salt

Yes, salt. Not sea salt, not kosher salt, just salt. From a nutritional standpoint, Sea Salt or Kosher salt is no better or worse for you than regular table salt. If you want to use Sea Salt in your cooking for magickal workings, that’s another matter! But as far as taste and nutrition go, they are the same.

Pepper

Cracked black pepper is so much better than normal grain pepper you can buy. Simply because it is fresher; you are most often cracking it yourself, after all! You can always use different types of peppercorns as well, some of them are almost fruity!

Oil

From greasing a pan to making banana bread and cookies, oil in the kitchen is just one of those things you have to have. Some people will use only Olive Oil, I use mostly Canola. One thing to keep in mind: The oils you use in cooking will have an impact in the taste of the finished product! Canola is a mainly bland oil, so it’s a great base. Mazola (corn oil) does give a slight corn taste, where as Olive Oil tastes slightly fruity. Try a bunch of different ones to see what you like!

All-Purpose Flour

Even if you normally have whole wheat flour on hand, it’s best to have a small amount of all-purpose flour as well. The large grains in whole wheat flour don’t lend themselves well to dusting the tops of bread, making a roux or thickening sauces.

Garlic

I like to keep garlic in three forms: Garlic Powder, jarred minced Garlic and fresh bulbs. Garlic Powder is better for things like sauces or soups, where it might not be entirely pleasant to bite into a piece of garlic! The jarred garlic is great for stir fry, because it can touch pretty much every other ingredient! I like to use fresh bulbs for everything from flavoring broth to scenting oil.

Vanilla Extract

Any one who bakes, or wants to attempt baking, or ever wants to sell their house, needs Vanilla. Wait, what? Sell the house? Yes. Vanilla is a scent that we equate with home, with love, and with wonderful memories. Love the smell of chocolate chip cookies? That’s the vanilla you’re smelling. Bake a batch of freshly baked cookies before someone comes to look at your home, and you’ll get a higher offer because of the memories you will invoke. Realtors and professional stagers use this trick quite a bit! When using vanilla, you can always safely put about double the amount the recipe calls for…it creates quite a different flavour, and it’s fabulous! You can’t go wrong with vanilla.

Chocolate Chips

Have you ever gone to bake something, and discovered that some of your ingredients were missing? Most often for me, this happens with chocolate chips. I use them for other things, maybe for coating fruit or making chocolate icing for brownies. Then I want to make cookies, and I have none left! Or, as happens occasionally, my husband decides to have a little snack, and eats a whole bag of chipits. Ah, well. I try to keep one bag of these hidden at the back of the cupboard, away from prying husbands.

Dried Spices

Regardless of being a hearth witch, I keep a huge amount of dried spice in my cupboard. As spices dry, the flavour of most becomes more intense. You can also reconstitute them in a pinch to use (almost) as fresh. Soak 2 parts basil in 1 part olive oil, blend with some garlic, salt, and grated Parmesan cheese and you have yourself a mock pesto. Mix 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup oil, and a few tablespoons of dehydrated minced onion and dried chili flakes, and you have yourself an awesome marinade for bright, spicy, chicken. The onion and the chili will reconstitute in the marinade, and will stick to the chicken when you cook it. It makes for an extra burst of flavor when you bite into one!

Soda

Yes, I said it. Soda. Whatever kind you normally drink, keep a couple of cans in the back of the pantry. Why? Coke, Pepsi or Root-beer, mixed with a little spicy dijon and some nutmeg, make a great glaze for ham. Take a boxed cake mix and add in one can of diet soda, whichever flavor you want, and bake as cupcakes for a low fat snack. In a pinch, pop can work in place of quite a few liquids in your kitchen. You can search on the internet and find recipes for bread, pie crust, cobbler, and cookies that call for soda. Or you can just drink them on a hot day in the kitchen!

White Vinegar

As any of my family can attest, I’m addicted to vinegar. I love it. I put it on everything. Okay, well not everything. A lot of things though! Vinegar is essential to the kitchen. Vinegar has a place in a lot of other things we consider staples: Barbeque sauce, mustard, mayonnaise. You can also put half and half vinegar and oil in a jar, add some spices and shake for an easy vinaigrette dressing. A small amount of vinegar in marinades helps tenderize the meat, as well!

There are dozens of other ingredients I could list that I use on a regular basis!  Of course, we all use what we have locally and culturally, as well.  What do you use most in your pantry?

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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Kitchen Basics – Essential Tools

May 6, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

Which tools you use in your kitchen will of course be determined by the type of cooking you do.  I do a lot of baking.  In fact, I bake 99% of the bread that my family uses.  So it only makes sense for me to have a big stand mixer, because I’m using every other day.  Most other people I know hardly bake even on holidays.  There are a few tools that no matter what else you need, you should always have these on hand.

Wooden spoons

Rising Goddess Kitchen Wands from The Whimsical Pixie

What more can I say about wooden spoons?  Wooden spoons are possibly the most versatile tool in the kitchen.  These wooden spoons pictured, called kitchen wands, are offered from the talented owner of the Etsy shop The Whimsical Pixie.  She has more sets other than the one pictured and I highly recommend you check her shop out.

Rubber Spatulas

Everyone needs a rubber spatula.  From folding egg-whites and smoothing icing to digging things out of jars,  they are infinitely useful.

A Good Knife

Chef’s knifes are the best (in my opinion!) for pretty much anything.  The key is to keep them sharp.  Even at Wal-Mart, you can buy a steel, which is used for keep the edge keen.  A sharp knife not only cuts better than a dull knife, but you will cut yourself less as well.  You don’t require as much pressure to cut with a good, sharp knife!

Mortar and Pestle

Useful for everyone, but especially us Kitchen Witches!  A Mortar and Pestle are great ways to add some Magick into your cooking, as you can chant and charge the herbs and spices with energy as you grind them.

A Grater

I really love the ones that have a removable bottom, to hold all of whatever you are grating!  No more mess on the counter.  At the very least you need to different size holes in your grater, a small size for fine cheese, they kind that goes on tacos, and a larger size for a “normal” grated cheese.

A Can Opener

You never know when you’ll need to open a can!

Dry Measuring Spoons and Cups

These are truly essential, as you can’t do much cooking with out them!  I recommend a metal set, as the plastic ones will start to crack after about a year.

Wet Measuring Cup

Most commonly the brand of these is Pyrex.  I’ve never had a problem with Pyrex products, and I love them.  A 2 cup clear class measure is just enough.

Cutting Boards

I love the ones you can get that are very thin plastic, they come 4 to a package for about 5 dollars.  Each one has a different symbol in the corner, stating that one is for red meats, one is for poultry, and one is for fish.  A great way to stop cross contamination in the kitchen!  Not to mention you won’t be cutting up your counter.

A Digital Meat Thermometer

You can always be sure your meat (or bread, or anything!) is up to the proper temperature with one of these!  Simple to use and not very expensive, they usually even come with a few standard temperatures for Chicken, Pork, and Beef!

These aren’t in any exact order, the two I could never live without are the measuring cups and wooden spoons!

What are your essential Kitchen tools?

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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Earth Day Kitchen Basics – Sustainaibilty

April 22, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

Today for Earth Day, I thought I would talk about sustainability in the kitchen. Especially for us as Pagans, this is an important issue. We can truly make a difference even through our cooking, even though it may not seem that way at first.

Sustainability is simply the endeavor and ability to endure. We want nature to be sustained; she is our mother, after all. One of the best ways to do this is simply to waste less, and do things in a “green” manner. It can pertain to food waste, as well as paper and plastics that are used in the kitchen. Here are a few ideas on basic sustainability in the kitchen.

5. Don’t waste Sauce! Chance are, when you make pasta (or other saucy things) you make a lot more sauce than you actually need. If you use sauce from a jar, maybe you try to use only half the jar of sauce instead of the whole jar, trying to save the rest for later. But do you ever really use it? We make giant batches of pasta sauce, use what we want, and freeze the rest. If you have extra ice cube trays, these are perfect! Spoon pasta sauce into the tray, and freeze! When frozen, empty into a Ziploc bag. Repeat until the sauce is gone! Not only are you not wasting the sauce, you are now portioning! Each of the “pasta sauce cubes” is about 1 Tbsp. worth of pasta sauce.

4. Plastic Wrap. This is a big thing for me. Not only is plastic wrap infinitely annoying, getting stuck to itself, it is obviously not good for the environment. Sometimes, you need it. Everything, of course, in moderation. There is a Etsy shop, Orion Baby Designs, who makes reusable bowl covers! Cotton on the outside and polyurethane coated fabric inside, they keep moisture in just like plastic wrap, but are even machine washable! Who can say no to that?

3. Compost and Garden! This is one of the biggest ways not to waste. Some of us, this isn’t feasible for. Some of us live in tiny apartments, or as my husband and I did for years, a tiny basement suite. For those who can though, it’s a great way to conserve and reuse. Organic “garbage” goes into the compost, which you use to fertilize soil, where you grow more vegetables, which produce more organic “garbage”! It’s a great cycle of sustainability.

2. Paper towel. From wiping up spills to cleaning windows, paper towel can be useful in so many places! But so can kitchen towels. I use crocheted cloths, one for natural cleaners, one for chemical cleaners, and one for wiping up spills. They are each a different color so I don’t confuse them, and it really cuts down on the amount of paper towel we use. I sell some myself on my Etsy store, in Sabbat Colors.

1. Shop used. One of the biggest issues in the kitchen is the need for better, newer, shinier products. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer. I bought it refurbished, not brand new. It works just fine, is shiny, and was about 200$ less than brand new. You can find gently used kitchen items on EBay, vintage ones on Etsy, and of course everything else in your local thrift store.

I was a child during the birth of the current recycling movement. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It’s a great concept that is still used today, and it is something that we should remember all year long, not just on Earth Day.

What can you do to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle this year?

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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Kitchen Basics – Spices

April 8, 2011 in Hearth Witchery

Making a kitchen from scratch is a difficult thing to do. So many of us for so many years have turned to fast food or pick up meals instead of cooking ourselves. In recent years this is starting to change, most of us now realize the benefits of cooking in our own homes. Less fat, less salt, and more family.

Which one to use?

So when one is creating a kitchen, what do you need? This is the first in a series of posts about kitchen basics, things that in my opinion no kitchen should be without. Mealtime staples, pantry items, kitchen tools, and standby recipes are a few of the things that will be covered over the coming weeks. Today I’ll be looking at the top 10 spices to keep in your cupboard.

10. Paprika

Paprika adds a wonderful smoky flavor to anything

you put it in. It’s wonderful in soups and barbecue sauces, and of course on top of deviled eggs. It’s wonderful on top of hash browns as well!

9.Rosemary

Rosemary leaves are quite like pine needles in look. Rosemary has a slight bitter taste and is wonderfully aromatic, and it lends itself well to strong meat flavors and soups.

8. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is actually the inner bark of a tree, believe it or not. Aromatic and pungent, use it in pies, with chicken and lamb, and with chocolate.

7. Nutmeg

Nutmeg is actually the seed of an evergreen tree that grows in the Indonesian Spice Islands. It is used in sweet and savory dishes, and lends itself well to everything from pumpkin pie to pasta.

6. Basil

The most common basil used is sweet basil, a member of the mint family. Basil was originally cultivated in India, and is best added to dishes at the end of cooking as overcooking can ruin the flavor. Popular in Italian Cuisine, it is wonderful in homemade pesto and I love it in soups.

5. Oregano

America developed the taste for Oregano after WWII, when American soldiers stationed in Italy got a taste for it. It is more flavorful when dried, and is wonderful on roasted vegetables and beef, and of course on pizza!

4. Bacon Salt

Mmmm....Bacon...

Bacon Salt. Where do I begin? This is a staple in my kitchen, although not many people have heard of it yet. I add this to soups, to chicken dishes, beef dishes, pork dishes, potatoes. It is one of the most versatile things I’ve come across, and when used in the right amount adds a subtle smokey flavor of, well, bacon! Check it out here at J&D Foods.

3. Onion Powder

The most common kind is white onion powder, although it can be found in Red, Yellow and toasted varieties as well. Add to anything you want to have a taste of onion when you don’t have any, or if you can’t eat them.

2. Dill

Not many things are more flavorful than fresh dill. I admit I use the dried variety a lot, it’s just easier to get for a lot of us. I add Dill to my chicken salad, to eggs, potatoes, and beef. I find that almost anything can be improved with a few shakes of dill, but that might just be me.

1. Garlic Powder

Number one on my list is of course Garlic Powder. I would bet 90% of people reading this have it in their spice rack or cupboard. Garlic powder is awesome in everything, but if you take some garlic powder, add some paprika, bacon salt, onion powder and a little salt it makes a great dry rub.

This, of course, is my list. My top ten. What are the spices you use the most in your kitchen? Are they similar, or completely different?

Goddess Bless,

Stacy

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