Seasonings

If you are looking for ways to make your cooking tastier without adding salt, remember herbs and spices.  These particular plants have been on the menu for a very long time, and they are still good for adding extra taste without adding any extra calories.

Herbs are plants that are grown in Northern climates, and a lot of them come from the Western Hemisphere.  Plants are called ‘herbs’ if they are grown for some practical use besides giving shade or providing flowers.  Usually, with herbs, the leaf is the main attraction, but sometimes other parts of the plant are used as well.  A few of the many types of herbs are thyme, oregano, marjoram, and mint.

Spices, on the other hand are mostly tropical plants.  These can be parts of vines, trees, or shrubs, and almost all parts are used except the leaves.  Allspice is one exception (it is native to the West Indies), but spices are mostly from the Eastern Hemisphere.  These flavorings were especially useful before the advent of refrigeration.  It is very unlikely that medieval people would eat spoiled meat if they could help it, but most everything in the past was preserved in salt.  No doubt, a different flavor now and then was very welcome.  A few types of spices are cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper.

While herbs have been in use by almost everyone throughout the ages, spices were once only available to the rich.  In the past, they were very expensive, and there were excessive (and extremely unpleasant) penalties for stealing them.   Although the most expensive spice is still probably saffron, most spices are now generally in a moderate price range.  Herbs are also reasonably priced, and many can be grown in your own garden. 

The great thing about herbs and spices is that they can take a really lack-luster dish and give it some pizazz.  And they do all this without adding any extra calories, fat, or sugar.  Herbs and spices are quick, easy, and mostly affordable, and there is a seasoning suitable for almost any kind of dish.  Of course, if you are allergic to any of these things, you will have to work around that.  Otherwise, it is fun to experiment with different kinds of flavors.

If there is a particular herb and spice blend that you like, you can mix the seasonings together for yourself.  Of course, there are a number of blends on the market, but you don’t have to wait for a spice company to do it for you; you can mix your own.  Put together a number of your favorite herbs and spices in a small jar, shake or stir it up, and use as needed.  

This kind of mixture is good to add to meat or fish before you bake it.  We like a mix of ginger, garlic powder, turmeric, sage, and parsley on salmon steaks.  I also mix in a little ground flax seed for the extra nutrition.*  Shake the mixture on the fish, rub it in, and bake as usual.

So, try cooking with herbs and spices.  They can make a boring dish something special.

 

*It is best to keep ground flax meal in the freezer, as it will turn rancid very quickly.  Just take out what you need and leave the rest frozen.  Flax has to be ground to be useful, so it isn’t wise to add the whole seeds.