Stocking Your Spice Cabinet and Freezer with Herbs

Cooking Tip of the Day

As cooks, we all have spices in our cabinet. There are, however, those we don’t think about having around until we need an ingredient and don’t have it.

As many of you that come here often know, I prefer fresh ingredients in most cases…. but there are those times when at the last minute I need to cook something and simply don’t have everything. Dried ingredients can be a lifesaver.

Dried minced onion, garlic and red and green peppers are among those “extra” spices or ingredients that are good to have on hand… while not as good as fresh, they certainly can do the job in a pinch. Dried chili peppers and jars of pimentos are also good to have around.

With winter approaching, and in the northern parts of the country where it can snow substantially and often…. it’s a particularly good idea to check over your spice and ingredients cabinet for those items you can readily use as substitutions for fresh ingredients in recipes you are likely to make.

Many herbs, such as parsley can be cleaned and chopped then frozen in airtight containers… ready to use when you need it. You can also freeze chopped onion and peppers.