Whats the most important spices,herbs,flavoring that you are using?

yes different people have different taste some like less while other like more ginger in their eatables which is matter of personal choice ...... Hare Krishna Ganesh

Thank you Ganesh44 thats a very informative response about ginger I like the mild spiciness of ginger not that over powering to a dish.

I can see in your choice of spices and herb you are really adept in rustic and homey style of cooking. as what you always says "nothing fancy"

Savory and homey stuff.

cayenne hmmm cajun never heard of that is it a mixed spice ?

hmmm mono sodium glutamate ... i already stopped using it, you can attain body(different inter playing tastes like earthyness,sourness,richness,freshness and etc),flavor,and mouthfeel(smooth,grainy,velvety and etc) without that believe me.

and don't forget the tomatoes for that authentic ginisa aroma and flavor you get from sauteing the 3

true salt and pepper is a match made from heaven .

I grow, and supply all my family, each year, upwards of 1000 cloves...and if you appraise yourself of the basic needs, and cautions you should have a good crop and I never fail to appraise myself of all the growing techniques..as there is always something to learn! I do grow a huge garden..!

My garlics are growing now hope they grow properly and healthy...

Lemon grass and shallots are more common in Asian stores or Asian cooking, yes you can use onion either red or the yellow/white onion. enjoy cooking savory aswell ^^

Ok, so I can use those onionsinstead? That is very good to know, for I have skipped MANY recipes over the years just because I didnt have something to replace shallots :) ..I will remember your advice. I just loaned a beautiful cookery book from the library and its packed with gorgeous recipes and feast dishes. IAt has recipes from China, India, and many more. I love reading it and am looking forward to trying some out. Happy Sunday!

Lol its fine now that you know its okay to use onions instead of the shallots, but If im gonna replace the shallot with onion i prefer the yellow one. Hope you enjoy your cooking and goodluck with the book I hope you find delicious festive dishes but easy to cook . have a great sunday

thanks for the info...i use lemon quite often

The soy sauce enhances the taste of a dish but it depends what cuisine or dish your using it usually soy sauce,oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce and etc are common on Asian and south east Asian cuisine. Basically soy sauce and other sauces i mentioned are flavorings not spices. What spices do is that it enhances/elevates the aroma and the body of a certain dish to make it more palatable and enjoyable.for example ill add a lemon and rosemary to a roast then its expected aroma and body would be bright/zesty(lemon) and earthy(rosemary). Flavoring(the soy sauce) in the other hand adds a contemporary flavor or it creates a significant change in flavor sometimes emphasis a main ingredient.For example im making a Mango mousse I would then add a mango flavoring to emphasize the fresh mango that i used. Same goes with soy sauce i would add it to a stir fry to emphasize its Asian flavor of a noodle,vegetable or a meat and adds depth of taste.

Olives here are expensive and can create a hole out of my pocket... and it taste weird i cant take it .... I think they are condiments...