Stocking the herb and spice cupboard...

The more I cook and the more I learn about natural medicine, the more I feel the need to make sure that my spice cupboard is well stocked! I looked at most of my recipes,both for cooking and for herbal remedies and home made cleaning products and noted the main seasonings.spices, and herbs. Then I made a list of what I needed. I buy from a place I have used for 20 years (Atlantic Spice) and placed my order. It is so much cheaper to buy in bulks! I got one pound packets of most items, some that I use a lot, I got 2 pounds. The things I could grow myself, I didn't bother with...things like oregano, basil, chives, dill all come yearly from my own garden. I have more herbs of the medicinal sort, that I started last year and hopefully these will do well and I can cross more off my list. Many people worry that their herbs and spices will go "bad", but in reality, they are most likely to fade in flavor rather than go "off" or bad. I figure that in the old (old, old, old)days, spices were brought around by pedlers once a year at the most and those had come around the world by pack animals and ships a year or more before that. My grandma had spices she had kept in her cupboard for 10 or more years that still were flavorful. I just don't worry too much about it. Either I can get them or I can't, but I'm going to start with a full cupboard if I can! Many herbs and spices are also natural insect rellants as well. Here is some my list that I keep: Cinnamon - I have powdered AND bits. It's a good medicinal herb as well as seasoning for many items! Cloves - again, both medicinal and flavoring Cilantro - though I can grow it if I need to, I haven't had a lot of luck with it, so I got some in bulk. Curry - we don't use it much, but it can make many plain dishes flavorful Nutmeg - I got some powdered and some whole. Mustard - both powdered and seeded. It has some medicinal uses, but mostly it's for flavoring. Bay - I used to use this in floral crafting, but it's a good spice to have and is an excellent insect rellant. Buying in bulk is the way to go with this as a jar with a few leaves can cost $5 in the store...a pound of bay leaves will surprise you with how much it is! All Spice - a good seasoning for baking special treats. I like it also in potpourri. Garlic - though I grow some, I have yet to get the crop I want. I use it so much in my canning and cooking that I find it handy to have some dried in the cupboard. It is an ingredient in some herbal antibacterial stuff as well. Rose Hips - I picked some up in bulk to make teas with, even though I have roses. Many of my roses are not of an age to give me enough for a year of teas yet. Rose hips have an incredible amount of vitamin C in them! They have a light fruity taste and mix well with other herbs for a tea blend. Celery Seed - I have yet to be able to grow this to the point of getting seed, so I got some in bulk. It makes a fine seasoning, but you can make a tea with it also and it's supposed to be a good diuretic. Rosemary - I don't grow this, it has never over wintered for me whether I leave it out of bring it in. It's a basic seasoning, but it's also an ingredient in 4 Thieves vinegar, being an natural anti bacterial supposedly. Elderberries - I have some elderberry bushes and use what I get from them, but I make a lot of elixer for family, so I get dried in bulk to make sure I never run out...like I did this year! Some folks like the blossoms in a tea and the berries are ok for that as well. They have a lot of vitamins in them, particularly vitamin C. They are anti viral, anti bacterial and have a particular affect on the flu. Many like making jam from them, but it's a lot of work to get the seeds out. I go through several pounds of these for tea and elixer, so I find it a worthwhile purchase. There are other herbs I get as well, but that's a personal taste thing for teas. Check out the company: Atlantic Spice and their sister company on the west coast SanFransisco Herb Co. Great service and great pricing! If you couldn't get tthese seasonings due to a shortage or economic reasons, I think our families would really miss what they add to cooking! It doesn't hurt to stock up! Tonights radio show will be on the important of talking with other preppers and the particulars of having a group or group get togethers. I'll be having a guest as well. This was sceduled to be on last week, but we had tech issues and postponed it until this week. Check us out at: shtfradio.com Thursdays @ 8 eastern time!