What Every Kitchen Should Have: Spices

Here at Living Well, if you don't already know, I make a lot of dishes homemade.  I even go as far as inventing some, which turn out really, really well.  So, in order to do this, I have my favorite go to spices in my cabinet.  Now, I'm not going to go and tell you what you absolutely have to have, but what you should have according to the cuisine that you cook most often.

So, where to start?  Let's start with the basics, and go from there.

1) Salt - not only for flavor, but for baking as well.
2) Whole Peppercorns (and of course a pepper mill) - I enjoy the pepper mill so much more than ground pepper.  I use it on all my recipes, and never, ever, buy ground pepper again.
3) Different Salts: Onion Salt, Garlic Salt, other specialized salts.....that you may want to add to this list.
4) All in one seasoning - Season All and/or a Mrs. Dash seasoning.  
5) Paprika
6) Chicken & Beef Bouillon cubes or packets.
7) Rosemary
8) Poultry Seasoning
9) Pumpkin Pie Spice, and/or Nutmeg, Ginger, Cloves & Allspice
10) Cream of Tartar 

And that about sums it up for the basics at least.  Since I tend to do A LOT of Italian cuisine as well as an occasional Spanish inspired dish, I also keep the following:

1) Red Pepper Flakes
2) Cumin
3) Chili Powder
4) Oregano
5) Basil
6) Bay Leaves
7) Mediterranean Blend

Now, your spice rack is yours to customize as you wish.  This, is however, just a brief list of what I maintain on my spice rack, and an idea of what you should have on yours.  

Now, get out there and continue to Live Well. 

Coming up Next Week:  Take that Dream Vacation!

Coming up in Two Weeks: What Every Kitchen Should Have: Baking Ingredients