Thursday, April 10, 2008

13 Condiments I Always Have In The House

I'm a bit of a condiment addict. I love condiments that are concentrated foods especially high in nutrients or of herbal value. Some of them I make myself but for lack of time or space I get them at a health food store or Whole Foods.

Most friends and visitors who know me probably know by now that I am a fussy eater. No, I love lots of food but I am super fussy about how it's prepared, where it lived before it arrived at the table...and I don't eat a lot of food that most people in our culture are obsessed with...like starches.

As for condiments, I am using condiment as anything put on food after it is prepared.

More or less in order of preference:

1) Tamari. Organic wheat free tamari. I live off the stuff. On tofu, on brocoli. You know how some people are wine connoiseurs...I am kind of a snob when it comes to soy sauce. Tamari offers some nutrients like iron, magnesium, ribofalvin and niacin.

2) Mayonaise. Homemade, or organic pre-made...tricky to find a consistency I like that tastes fresh. In a pinch of course, Hellmans. Never Miracle Whip (which is probably made out of some edible petroleum oil?)

3) Maple syrup. If it wasn't enough that it is delicious the nutrients include niacin, vitamin A, folic acid, potasium, calcium and manganese.

4) Miso. I like a good rich miso...again like tasting wine or balsamic vinegar. I like the miso that is made from fermented soybeans.(some misos are made from rice or wheat...) I like to put a scoop in hot water in the afternoon for a "pick-me-up". Miso provides a source of Vitamin K which is difficult to find in many diets. Zinc, copper and maganese are also immune system strengthening nutrients and found in miso.

5) Mustard. I get totally stoked about mustard...I kind of go in phases...I like the crazy hot mustard and sometimes the honey mustards. Mustard is a surprisingly good source of fiber, selenium, iron and magnesium. I recommend a homemade or organic mustard rather than the prepared commercial brands because they have tons of salt.

6) Umeboshi Paste is a salty/sour pickled plums or apricot I love it on cucumber slices. It rocks brocoli or cauliflower too. Occassionally I add it to salad dressing. A good supplement of vitamin C, A and potassium. Cucumber slices with the peel are an amazing source of iron because the body finds it easy to assimilate.

7) Thai roasted red pepper paste.

8) Balsamic Vinegar. I could almost drink this straight from the bottle. Balsamic vinegar fascinates me like many other condiments by it's processing, helah benefits and how it's flavour is affected by it's aging methods. I pick up all kinds of balsamic vinegar but I also have a friend who produces and distributes a brand: here is what they say Our Balsamic Vinegar is produced in a very restricted area of the Modena territory of Italy from the wine vinegar and grape must of organic cultivations of Trebbiano, Lambrusco grapes. The mixture is then stored in roble barrels, a type of oak, and aged for three years through rigorous and methodical filtering, giving the vinegar its unique taste and fragrance."

9) Flax Seed Oil. Yep, I take this in a shot glass with my nose plugged and chase it with a glass of water. It's amazing how it makes your skin look and improves memory and brain function.

10) Tahini. Made from raw ground sesame seeds this is awesome with celery and cucumber. I always make humous and eat it dipping with celery as a tv snack. It's super easy to make with tons of garlic and olive oil and lemon and use a potato masher to smash garbonzo beans.

11) Salad dressing. A little honey, a little salt and pepper any old herbs into olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I love sald...one of my favourite foods. I load salad with salmon and avacado, cucumber and radishes.

12) I am crazy about horseradish. I love it burning hot. Just typing about it here right now I'd love some roast buffalo with a pile of hot horseradish.

13) Butter. I'm totally lying...this is like my #1 favourite condiment. I try really hard to eat it in moderation. I love cooking garlic and onions in butter...the only reason it is last here is because I confuse it with a food group and almost forgot about including it at all. I could eat it like a slice of cheese! I believe margerine is treason!

What are your favourite condiments? Visitors will be linked here: 1) Lazy Daisy 2) Ornery's Wife 3) The Urban Zoo 4) Puss Reboots 5) Writing In Faith 6) A Piece Of My Mind 7) Fond of Snape 8) Mister Anchovy 9) Hazel Nut 10) One Gal's Musings 11) Collector's Quest 12) A Gentleman's Domain 13) Single Parents Unite 14) Tweetey

23 comments:

Lazy Daisy said...

Wow, this is quite a list...many I have never heard of. Very interesting.

orneryswife said...

Well, that was interesting! I am not into soy, since it doesn't like me very well, and I am sure this will make your very healthy list cringe, but above all, my #1 is ranch dressing. I get the kind w/o MSG, but it is still my favorite condiment. I could just about do without all the rest. Happy TT!
TM

Susan Demeter said...

I have a few of those :) #7 sounds just too yummy though!


Happy TT and have a great rest of the week :)

Candy Minx said...

Lazy Daisy, hi thanks for stopping by!

Ornery's Wife, For the "soya sauce" or tamari...I get it wheat free because it is much easier to assimilate. I love ranch dressing...I also just about live on it and I make it from scratch...super yummy!

Sue, good to "see" you, thanks for stpping by I'll be by your blog shortly...thai chili paste is SO good!

pussreboots said...

We keep a number of those condiments around here too. Mayo isn't something we use very often. Happy TT.

Jane said...

I love condiments too: I am a vinegar addict - my favourite is malt, and I have sipped it from the bottle! And I just can't get enough hummus in it's many varieties. I also use bruschetta as a condiment - it's great spooned onto an omlette, a cracker, into a sandwich mmmm. Sorry, gotta go make a sandwich!

Anonymous said...

I think we have a few of those, but I never use them. Except butter of course (yum!).

Janet said...

Your kitchen sounds like mine :-) I have almost all of those things as well, and I especially love umeboshi paste!!! When I lived in Japan, I was lucky enough to try 80 year old paste started by a Japanese obachan when she was a young girl!

SandyCarlson said...

Ketchup, mayo, Dijon mustard. We're so basic it's sad. Your list is wonderful.

The Gal Herself said...

Your comment on Miracle Whip makes me wonder if maybe that isn't what the crazy plastic surgeon shot into Priscilla Presley's face ...

My niece (now 15) takes her condiments VERY seriously, too. She has started making her own salad dressing. I'll have to pass #11 on to her.

Thanks for visiting my TT

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Tahini - yum. And mustard - yum, especially honey mustard.

I love tadziki sauce and donair sauce. YUM.

Lori said...

I need to get more Flax Seed Oil...I forgot how great it made me feel. Happy TT:)

Anonymous said...

Fascinating list.

garlic and onions in butter is just YUMM!!

Anonymous said...

Powdered mustard would get my vote -- but maybe that's more of an ingredient? Heck, I know just enough about cooking to hurt myself in the kitchen...

mister anchovy said...

no anchovies?

tweetey30 said...

I like mustard, butter, and my favorite salad dressing is Ranch but if I cant have it I like the vinegar and oil deal.

Malcolm said...

Butter is #1 on my list too! I also like Thousand Island dressing, mustard, and mayo (for my french fries).

Candy Minx said...

Pussreboots, I could ...almost...eat mayo straight out of the jar!

Hazelnut, yes, you reminded me that salsa/bruschetta is an awesome condiment. I do put salsa on lots of things. I love vinegar too...it can be magic.


Nicholas, so you have lots of stuff in your house you don't use, that's funny. Always good to have options! I thought British folks liked horseradish?

Janet, that is so cool you tasted a family heirloom umeboshi paste...wow. Some condiments are really like wine aren't they...and what a history some ingredients offer.

Sandy...I eat ketchup...only I say it in it's original root word "chutney". I hjave actually been known to make my own tomato ketchup...with no sugar. But I get ketchup without sugar and organic at Whole Foods. I think tomatoes are somethign that should be carefully grown organically. I also eat chutney on all kinds of foods...

The Gal Herself...poor Presley...her surgery turned out to be done by someone who wasn't even licenced but had forged their credentials. But I think she has been looking better every week...she is getting the work "undone"...oh yuck do I ever dislike Miracle Whip! I hope your neice keeps on going. I find making food supplements/condiments to be a very zen activity...especially making pickles and chutney.

Julia, I almost added tzsatsiki to this list...I just ate some yesterday...I eat tons of yogurt it's a crime!

Lori...yep I love the incredible energy flax seed oil provides...also very good if you are working out for pain relief.

Jorneywoman, yep I eat garlic on just about everything. I love garlic and butter on artichokes and even eggs.

Deanna, yeah...I guess that might be an ingredient but then...I also add many condiments into meal prep...so I don't know...

Mister Anchovy, I tend to eat anchovies as a portion...I like them on things as a whole dish and not just as flavour. Like with cheese and cucumbers...but I suppose when it comes to pizz toppings they would be considered a condiment.

Tweetey, ooh yum Ranch dressing is so versatile and useful. I make my own quite often with a buttermilk base...so it's very good for digestion...but then I guess thats the nicest part about oil and vinegar is how good it is for immune system and digestion.

Candy Minx said...

Malcolm...oh yes, mayo as a dipping sauce good on chips...

Cinnamon Girl said...

Oooohh....Basalmic. I could swim in it!

Mines Up!
http://absinthedreamers.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Ah, the umeboshi paste now has me craving real umeboshi and a bowl of miso. I've recently started keeping tahini on hand at all times. Great TT!

Gardenia said...

Oh, the only thing I don't love as condiment is mayonnaise, except on white bread and baloney (sp?) sandwiches - which is a rare, rare, rare, indulgence. Tzaziki - yes! Horseradish and roast beef - oi! Flaxseed goes right into the shakes. Favorite salad dressing - a clove of garlic or two, olive oil, Italian spices, basalmic vinegar, salt & pepper, blend - yum! (Sometime try garlic, olive oil, soy sauce over a salad of lettuce and pears!) - I love Tobasco - you must be a fabulous cook! Butter is a weakness for me too - in fact right now I am craving a grilled cheese sandwich made with velveeta, grilled in butter - - - I love butter on popcorn, crackers, vegetables, rolls, bread, cinnamon rolls, tons in mashed potatoes with sauted garlic (in butter of course) - mushrooms in butter - butter in butter - this is not good thinking for a dieter - so bye for now

Anonymous said...

ooooh, where to continue.

I had mayo with oven fries last night, sooo good....

lets see, I would add(from our fridge)ketup manis, chipotle chiles, (not to mention many hot sauces from around the world), truffle oil, antipasto to slather on home made (yogurt based) cream cheese, olives!!!, all the colours of Thai curry pastes, I also keep on hand an Indian curry paste or two, olive oil, which we pour on to everything...and use to make mayo.
Ok, I'm going to do a condiment theme on theunderground baker when I get going next week - recipes for condiments, recipes to use condiments with, and recipes for variations on mayonaise. Aoili anyone?

I would like to add that I look at butter as two seperate condiments, that of salted and unsalted, to be used differently.

theundergroundbaker

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