This is my spice rack. Like a lot of things around me in this old house, I inherited it.

It was given away as a bonus for a long ago spice sales promotion for Crystal Food Products, Inc, which I found it in my half hoarder garage. It was sent by mail fully loaded up with spice jars. From the 1970s maybe? Anyway, back when such things were done.

Of course I threw all the colorful jars of stale spices crashing into each other in my 90 gallon trash bin for the fun of it. Most colorful and fragrant trash load ever. But the new-old-stock rack I saved, dusted off, screwed to the wall, and filled with the mostly organic spices I like.

I saved the included spice usage sheet above as well, thumbtacking it up and consulting it now and then. Obviously the spices popular in 1975 don’t always coincide with the ones I like.

The frequently used salt, pepper, and paprika, I keep on the counter for quick access. I throw some white rice grains in the salt shaker to keep it flowing. I like fresh ground black pepper but I’m replacing my stand-up wood model because I keep putting it down on my dirty counter. Unhygienic.

After S&P, I most frequently need to buy organic paprika since I use it on most non-sweet foods. After that, I use sage a lot, in fact all the Scarborough Fair spices: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Plus basil, Turkish bay leaf, cumin, and dill, the last mostly on fish. I use the turmeric rather sparsly despite the known health advantages, an oddly musty taste. But colorful, said to be an important food goal these days. And the cayenne pepper and chili powder I just lightly dust on. Spices are a key part of soup.

The ginger I bought on a whim but I can’t figure out anything to put it on. I much prefer fresh garlic but settle for garlic powder because the fresh stuff, if cheap from China or pricey from Gilroy, always goes bad before I can finish it. Perils of cooking for one.

Though I do usually do give a pint of each soup batch to my landlord buddy when I go over to pet his little dogs and pay my rent, bore him with bass riffs. Keep him alive and happy.

For this batch I peeled and cut up a gummy black garlic clove and threw it in. Black garlic won’t go bad for 1,000 years. And to make up for no mushrooms, I threw in a tablespoon of dark reishi mushroom powder, and another of light lion’s mane mushroom powder. To fight neuropathy and tinnitus. Maybe.

This time all my ingredients were fairly fresh, though I had to ditch a big bunch of expensive organic mushrooms. For some idiot reason I’d cleaned them and stored them in the fridge in a plastic lined coffee bag instead of a paper bag and they got slimy.

I chopped three red potatoes, two large carrots, three large celery sticks, all organic. Three big Mexican green onions, 24 oz organic chicken bone broth (with more garlic and mushroom juice!). And chicken & guyere cheese sausage, chopped in quartered 3/8 inch (.095 cm) slices.

The chopped chicken/cheese sausage I sautéed for a minute in 2 tbls (29.5 ml) olive oil in my (new!) soup pot, before I dumped the rest of the vegetables in. Which I sautéed while stirring with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. Using my new Cuisinart soup pot! A $29 deal at Ross Dress for Less.

I added around 34 oz (966 ml) filtered water to bring the level to within 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) of the top. Bone broth and water I poured on top of the lightly sautéed vegetables on high heat until full boil. Reduce to a slow simmer, cook uncovered. Usually I give my soups about 45-50 minutes of simmer after a full boil, but I gave it a little less time today, and it was a bit more al dente. But I’ll freeze some pints (liters) and that softens the texture.

Spices used were a big selection of the rack: S&P, paprika, 2 bay leaves from Türkiye, basil, cumin, dusting of chili/cayenne, Scarborough Fair spices, garlic powder, dusting of turmeric. So fun to see the full mason jars in the fridge or freezer, waiting in line to nourish me. It was tasty even without the mushrooms I wasted.

Unless noted, all text and images by todgermanica.com.