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I love cooking and experimenting with new recipes and spices.   I can travel the world in a meal! I can visit Africa when I cook with coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves, turmeric and cinnamon. Or visit Brazil if I use some allspice, chili peppers, paprika, ginger, garlic, onion and coriander. Spices add a lot to how we experience the world, through both food and our sense of smell. The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg in a baking pumpkin pie is just heavenly and sets the tone of love, family and friendship for the holidays!

What would our lives be like if we didn’t have spices?  First thing that comes into my mind, is bland, boring, and dreadful. There would be no cinnamon scented pine cones at Christmas, incense to add fragrance to your home, perfumes for your body or all the delicious aromas lofting into the air from our kitchens.

Think about it! No thyme and sage to season the Thanksgiving Day stuffing, you would just have a dish of baked bread cubes. What about spaghetti! The noodles would be bland with no salt and the only ingredient in the sauce would be tomatoes. No oregano, basil, garlic or fennel. It would be like opening an unseasoned can of tomatoes and mixing it with the noodles. It would be a very bland meal! How about chewing gum without the mint? Chewing a tasteless rubbery substance is not at all appealing!

Yes, spices do add to our overall quality of life. They add flavor to our food, scents to our homes and help spark pleasant memories of past experiences. As an added bonus, spices also have health enhancing properties. So while we are enjoying our spiced up foods, we may benefit from a little boost to our health! So grab some curry, coconut milk, fish sauce, peppers, your favorite vegetables and protein and take a culinary trip to Thailand!

What are your favorite spices? Comment below!

1st Chinese Herbs

Sharing the wealth of good health because you come first!