My absolute 'must haves' are cayenne pepper, chili powder, curry powder, red pepper flakes and Coleman's dry mustard because I love hot and spicy type foods.

Actually, I have a cabinet full of herbs and spices because I love experimenting. What spices are your must haves?

Old Bay is a must for seafood, especially crab cakes and steamed shrimp.

Also use a lot of garlic powder, basil, celery seed and red pepper.

I love the scent and flavor of fresh rosemary even though I don't use it much. It adds nice flavor to olive oil for dipping bread.

Fresh Ginger, garlic, chillies, turmeric, coriander, sezchuan pepper, cumin and salt.

Lemons, honey, soy sauce, English mustard and Olive Oil..

Don't know if Olive Oil qualifies.
And I don't care, either.... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I could do just about anything with those...

dill, powdered onion, fresh and powdered garlic, chives, parsely, salt, pepper, curry powder, chili powder - I think that about covers it!

Oh, I almost forgot my holiday baking spices:
cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mace
<img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

Vannie, what bridge is in your avatar? I grew up near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge connecting the western and eastern shores of Maryland.

Susan,

The bridge you see is similar to the CBB. It is the Brigantine Bridge, in New Jersey, it is at Atlantic City's north end and is a direct connection to the City of Brigantine. Brigantine is a small beach town.

Thanks for letting me know - out of curiosity I'll look it up on the map.

I looked it up - it looks like it's just off the coast. I went to Ocean City, New Jersey as a teen a couple of times and enjoyed the beach.

Same here except I'd add black mustard seed, curry, and a bottle of Herbes de Provence (for when my garden isn't up to par for providing fresh). That covers most of my ethnic dishes as well as basic meats and sauces.

Yep. When I am in Atlantic City or Brigantine, I dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean. BTW it was your avatar that inspired me to dig through my photos. <img src="/images/graemlins/beamedup.gif" alt="" /> Ocean City is lovely.

Old Bay seasoning is such a good thing to have on hand. I use it on french fries and onion rings. It took me *years* to discover the 'secret' to those spicy fries some restaurants serve.

Yep. olive oil is definately a must have and I do think of it as a seasoning of sorts. So is butter. A lot of recipes do call for butter, but I also use unsalted butter for seasoning. I always put a pat on steak or burgers.

Garlic, garlic, and more garlic!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> If it is a savory dish - it is going to have garlic in it - no vampires in MY house, LOL!

I also love dill weed, it just peps everything up! Basil, ginger, Kosher salt (no more iodized for me, just doesn't have the same flavor). Really I love any fresh herbs. Oh, and I love grating my own nutmeg, the aroma is just amazing as opposed to getting the already ground up stuff.

Fresh ginger, garlic, cumin seed and powder, corriander powder, fresh green chilies, dried red chilies, mustard seeds, turmeric root and powder.

Scarborough Fair spices (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme)

Just 1/4 teaspoon of each spice in green beans with REAL butter is a nice taste treat.

Gotta have onions, garlic, and cinnamon as well.

Salt and pepper, too....

Cilantro! Mmmmmm. I grow my own in the summer. And cloves. I use clove essence as an aromatherapy oil in my therapy practice.

Latest additions to my spice collections - Star anise, fresh cilantro, fresh mint, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves.

I must have oregano, no-sodium meat tenderizer, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, parsley, sage and thyme.

I also get large salt-free shakers of a variety of seasonings mixed together. Something along the line of Mrs. Dash but from a restaurant store.

Thyme and rosemary are two I use all the time. Both have great health benefits and I tend to go heavier with these two than the "recommended" recipe suggestions. :-)

Garlic is another seasoning we use often at our house.

Angela <><

Basil, Rosemary, Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon.

Seasoned salt and my pepper mill which contains white, black, green and red peppercorns.

All the above and bay leaf & red pepper flakes.

How about whole cloves and the perfect season for them...I usually go to CVS for a cheap bottle and then insert and cover a whole orange. Makes a great holiday decoration and keeps all year long.

I love to put the cloves in oranges. I usually tie a ribbon around it and hang it near the front door. This makes a nice Hostess gift also if you are invited over around Christmas time.

Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon are definitely "must haves" for me at this time of year. Year round it is pepper, garlic powder, sea salt, basil, sage, rosemary, parsley and savory. Savory is a good sub for salt.

The 2 Gs--Garlic and Ginger. Also cinnamon, crushed red pepper flakes, Madras curry powder and cracked black pepper. Italian seasoning mix and herbes de provence. I could live without cloves, though. Something about them ...