Spice it up

You have your plate of food in front of you. It smells so delicious that your mouth waters as you wait to dig in. Your stomach clenches and gurgles with hunger as you gaze at the plate, full of your favorite foods. You say a quick prayer of grace, grab your knife and fork, and take the first bite.

But now imagine having to spit it right back up. It tastes horrible! What went wrong? It looks so appetizing, but now you have no choice but to push it back with disappointment. Why does it not taste as good as it looks? That might be because there are no spices to add any flavor to the food.

Let’s be honest: Salt and pepper is not going to cut it when it comes to your food. That’s nice to add when it’s done, but if that’s all the spice you are going to add, you’re going to find your meals to be very, very boring. Some people do like just salt and pepper, but the best foods that you have probably ever had have a lot of other spices.

When you go grocery shopping, go down the spice aisle and see what’s there. Try at least one new spice a week on your food and see what you like and don’t like. Branch out from the normal salt and pepper spices and try new things. Here are some spices to try on certain foods:

Oregano: This is an Italian spice, and it has a slight kick to it. It actually tastes really good, especially on pasta and vegetables. Sprinkle a little on your green beans or peas or any other green vegetable while it’s cooking. Sprinkle a little bit on top of your spaghetti after it’s done and you’re about to eat it (add some into the spaghetti sauce while it’s cooking too) for that fresh kick to your food.

Cumin: This is a spice known best for its taste in Cuban cuisine. It’s rather spicy, but it really adds a lot of bold flavor to food, again, especially vegetables. Adding it to rice and beans as well with some chicken on the side is great.

Seasoning Salt: This is a really strong spice, but it tastes amazing on meat, especially tougher meats like steak, pork and beef. It’s powerful and smells a little overbearing, but when added to meat, it adds a bold flavor and a bite to your meat.

Accent: This is almost like a salt substitute, but it can change the taste/flavor of your food. Try this: make scrambled eggs one day without Accent, then make some with it and see if you don’t taste the difference. This is a universal spice; you can add it to anything like chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, rice, potatoes, etc.

Just remember — spices can make the difference between a great meal and a terrible meal. So next time you are cooking, try a few different spices in your food and see them make a world of difference.