If you add beans to your vegetable soup, you could try cumin. I add it to soups, bean dishes, and chili.

A good bay leaf.

oh my. some of you use so many spices! lol! I have s/p, garlic powder, celery flakes, chili powder and Italian spice (mixed). That's probably it. Been thinking of buying some cinnamon again. I threw out all I had yrs back when I moved. They were old and had been in the heat of the AZ summer.

I've only been adding the s/p to my veggie soup since I moved here. Maybe the bay leaf is what I need? I know I had those yrs ago and not sure what else I used them for. I only make vegt soup, barley (but I just add that in w/the vegt soup) and spaghetti soup (I use the Italian spices in that). I put kidney beans in that too. I think those are the only soups I made while the kids were growing up too. well, chili. I've found my normal (prev) chili is too hot for me now. I've had to refigure that!

maybe I should start with the bay leaf. then maybe basil? I don't cook much anymore so don't want to collect a bunch of spices I'll mostly never use. Decades ago I cooked a lot (and canned/pickled) so I had a fair amount of spices - probably 25-30. With the kids grown and gone and me working a lot and going out to eat more, I just pretty much quit cooking at home. I was disabled in 2001 and since then, just cooking a few basics. Things like omelets, grilled cheese, a couple of chicken breasts (I then slice into strips and freeze to make chicken salad, put in w/rice and veggies or make chicken and noodles).

I also make up hamburger patties to freeze and meatloaf and meatball 'patties'. They're easy to cook up and freeze that way and in the right serving size for a meal or 2. The meatball patties crumbled nicely into some spaghetti sauce to top spaghetti.

Bay leaf is an excellent and easy reach for nice background flavor. I think you should get a couple more spices. Buy the small jars so you minimize waste.

Look for coupons and combine with a sale and you'll get great value.

I would feel hamstrung with only 4-5 spices! My collection is huge!

Basil would be in the italian spice. Bay leaves would be a great addition.

Everything sounds good! My 'go to' spice (or actually herb) is dill weed. It's wonderful in almost everything. Basil is always good with tomato, which has already been suggested.

Then sage is nice, especially if you have any chicken or turkey in the soup. The nice thing about sage is that it's easy to grow, too. At least in our area....and there are so many varieties.

With your warmer climate, I would imagine you could grow many herbs in pots. For frangrance and tea, spearmint and lavender are both lovely. And you can use them for baking/cooking, too :)

The only herb I use in veggie soup is thyme, which you can use on chicken, so it's versatile. Some fresh chopped parsley is nice in the last 30 minutes of cooking. You can use parsley in your meatballs. Italian parsley keeps longer in the fridge than regular. I'm always throwing out the regular before I can use it all.

Tarragon is good with vegetable soup and also with tuna or chicken salad. If you have a trader joes near you I like their Everyday Seasoning. It's salt, pepper, mustard seed, coriander, onion, garlic, and paprika, and it comes in a jar with a built in grinder in the lid. It pretty much goes with everything.

mimipadv and others w/lots of spices - lol! you all cook more than I do - and more of a variety too! I always chuckle when someone on kitchens is trying to figure out where to store ALL those spices and I'm saying 'I have 5!'. I did have more when I cooked more tho.

I don't want to get to that point - like making something once a yr that I need a particular spice for - then it will die in the cabinet til I throw it out in 5 yrs. I don't want to need to find more space to store them either. But I can manage another 1 or 2 - or in time maybe even 3.

I'm going to get the bayleaves for the next time I make veggie/barley soup. And I think I'll pick up some fresh sage too. I read some on sage and that has a lot of health benefits! I don't care so much for minty taste but I'll put a pinch or 2 in a bowl of soup first to see how I like it. Will add to the pot if I do like it.

I do remember yrs ago putting parsley in my meatballs. If I think of it I might pick up some fresh before the next time I make them (in patties).

I've been going to look at a different store to buy spices cause where I go mostly has McCormick and I don't care for that brand. But with bayleaves and fresh parsley for now it won't make a difference.

and maybe a small cinnamon - it's been decades since I've had cinnamon toast and cinnamon has health properties too - besides tasting good.

you've all been very helpful in what spice to use in what dish/type of food. I've made notes on a word doc to save so I can pull it up to check what to use with whatever...

desertsteph- I actually do recommend you look beyond McCormick's for bay leaves. They just aren't that potent, and believe me, potent bay can make all the difference!

Cinnamon- I put cinnamon in my ground coffee when brewing and the aroma is heavenly.

Bay leaf has a really strong flavor. I used to use it in stew but decided I didn't like it. I make a rich beef stock so I don't miss it. And rutabagas! They are so good in stew. I only used dried sage for Thanksgiving stuffing, so I stopped buying that too as I had to throw out the jar. A store here sells fresh herbs in bulk so I buy just enough for my stuffing.

I also use basil and bay leaf in my veg soup. I'm not much of a spice person, but I suppose it's because I haven't experimented with them enough.

Fresh sage keeps well in the freezer. I buy a package to use in sweet potato gratin at thanksgiving and remove the stems and freeze the leftovers to make it again later or to use for sage and brown butter pasta.

I don't care much for bay leaf. It's ok as one flavor in something that has several other spices, but I would never use it by itself.

I'm kind of a spice hoarder though - my small kitchen has 1.5 18" shallow drawers devoted to spices. When I make soup or something I like being able to look through and decide on a whim what to throw in it.

Some Whole Foods stores and many "foodie" type supermarkets sell bulk spices so you can buy tiny amounts instead of an entire jar.

mimipadv - there's a store not too far from me that has a section of spices w/small amts in a plastic sleeve type pkg. Last time there I looked and some were just 1.00 - 1.50. I didn't look at any particular spice 'cause I didn't know yet what I wanted to get but they were small amts and that'd probably be better for me. If I like it, I can always buy more.

schoolhouse - I don't use 'em much these days either. As I posted above, mega yrs ago I used more of them (tho not nearly like some do ) but then I cooked every day from scratch and had a family of 6. I only do a few very simple things now. After 30 some yrs now, I don't even remember what all I did have. Even then I wasn't a big spice user. Most were for baking, canning and pickling.

fishcow - that's a lot of spices! back in my day of 'lots of spices' I only filled 1 drawer that was about 9" w (inside). I don't have the energy or desire to cook much any more.

We use a LOT of spices! We've found them to be a good substitute for salt, sugar, and fat to get flavor without calories. We've never had good spice storage, so I created a dedicated spice drawer for our new house- it holds 100 jars! I don't think we need quite that may, though. We keep bulk spices in the freezer to refill the small jars. Need to get started on filling and labeling........

I only have a few herbs/spices and I do cook from scratch. But, I don't make a lot of the 'exotic' foods that take particular spices. Onion is not really my friend (except the old-time Walla Walla Sweets) so that limits a lot of options.

Those were the best onions! You could slice them up really thin and eat them on tomato sandwiches. Ripe tomatoes, right from the garden. Then the onions got popular and they had to make them 'ship-able' which really ruined their flavor.

LL, those of us in the southeast love the sweet Vidalia onions... which probably would not taste as good if they were shipped out west to Walla Walla world!

I bought some onions at a farmer's market in FL that they called Strawberry Onions. Similar to a Vidalia, but sweeter, if you can imagine that. Supposedly growing them in between strawberries makes them sweeter? You could actually eat one like an apple.

That sounds wonderful! My mom said the only onion even close was the Vidalia...I'll have to tell her about the Strawberry Onions.

Do you think growing some of the "new" Walla Walla Sweets between strawberries would help? :)

wow jay! that is one heck of a spice drawer! I'd get so confused with that many...

LL - you should give it a try and see what happens.

One of my favorites when vegetable soup is just a little bland is a spice blend such as

Lantana of Texas or Slap Ya Mama Cajun Spice Blend

We also use them on chicken, pork, or potatoes. Adds just a little zip. I also sneak in just a little sugar to most vegetable soups.

Ooh! I just bought Weber's Cajun spice mix and it was really good!

I'll try to post my spice cabinets.

Seriously, I have a problem and maybe even need a 12-step program.

I hope no one is upset if I don't post a pic of my spice 'storage' - of all 6 of them - lol! I do admit to using a lot of onion and some chili peppers (not hot).

Basil is my go to spice for just about everything--soups, stews, meat rubs, omelets. I used some fresh Sweet Basil my DD raised, mixed with dried basil, roasted elephant garlic, olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and sea salt, for a spread on roast pork, provolone, and mushroom sandwiches tonight. Last night I roasted the pork loin with a rub of crushed basil, thyme, rosemary, paprika, ginger, garlic, cracked mixed peppercorns, bay leaf, and dried onions, smothered in mushroom gravy.

For vegetable soup with chicken stock I also use thyme and rosemary. Oregano and bay leaf with beef stock, especially if I add a lot of tomatoes, and parsley for potato soup. I love cooking with herbs and spices--when I was growing up my mother used only salt, pepper, oregano for spaghetti sauce, and chili powder for chili.

Too many spices here, too! In the new kitchen, I have 2 spice cabinets - one for cooking and one for baking. I did throw out stuff I haven't used in ages when I packed up the kitchen. Curry powder and turmeric were out, but I kept all 3 kinds of paprika (mild, hot, and smoked).

If I were limiting myself to just a few spices, (I'm in the have a lot camp), I would add whole nutmeg to the recommended ones above. It lasts a long time, and is a favorite of mine to grate into squash soups like butternut and pumpkin, as well as a must have for custards and eggnog. I advise avoiding the pre grated.

Hungarian paprika is one of my basic go to spices . I put it in soups, deviled eggs, casseroles, beans, and braised meats including roasts. If you have a Kroger store in your town, look for the Papa brand in the large orange can among all the other spices.

texasgal - what does Hungarian paprika taste like? why is it different? One of my favorite restaurants (I even worked there for a time in my 20s) was owned/run by a Hungarian chef. Best pizza ever - enough so that I'd pay to have it frozen and sent to me - except he died a number of yrs back and it was closed down. It was a very well known restaurant in town (he had 2 of them). and his Hungarian vegt soup was beyond awesome. Anytime I went back home I always made a point to eat there.

I haven't made deviled eggs in decades. I used paprika for those - and I don't remember what else. There is a store close to me that I guess is now owned by Kroger. They have Kroger brand stuff. Are their spice brand(s) better than McCormick? I don't usually go there, but it's very close and has good prices. (gee, that tells me I oughta go there more often instead of W - which I'm beginning to dislike more and more).

If you want really good spices, order them from Penzey's on line. Much fresher and more flavorful than store brands. We use Vietnamese cinnamon, which is sweet and strong. I put a teaspoon full on my oatmeal every morning.