How many spices do you need in your rack? If you’re like our family, there are far too many sitting in there, collecting dust, turning into chunks of cement because we used them once in an obscure recipe, then placed them back in the dark corner to congeal.
 
Spices shouldn’t hide. They’re meant to be used. Why do we purchase caraway seeds, sage, capers or cloves? You may use them once, but probably never again.
 
Over the weekend, my younger brother and I were discussing how we check out recipes when in a waiting area for the doctor or dentist. One thing we both enjoy is browsing recipes and thinking about throwing our own twist on them.
 
We laughed though at the unknown spices that are often included in the instructions for the dish, and it’s a dab of this or a dash of that. Really? “Hey, let’s go buy that $4.99 spice, use it once and let it decay in the pantry for the next 17 years.
 
If you dig into the back of your spice rack, how many do you really need or use? To provide helpful advice here’s a few tips from my famous chef career.
 
Pepper – gotta have it. Great on potatoes, salads, and anything bland.

Accent – rather than salt, go with Accent. It reduces the sodium and tastes great.

Oregano – if you do anything Italian, oregano is a must.

Curry – if you like to add a touch of Indian-type flavor to your dishes, curry can be worked into sauces quite easily and add a unique taste.

Cumin – love it. Great in chili. Smell it, then think about what dish you can add it to. Be creative.

Meat, pork, chicken rubs – I have two containers with rubs for meat. Sprinkle them on any of the meat you like before cooking to add some extra flavor.

Yellow mustard – a personal favorite that I add when basting steaks (ketchup is probably a necessity for most people, but we don’t use it much).

Mesquite and hickory liquid smoke – unsung heroes. I alternate these when basting meats that I cook on the grill. Coat any type of meat before grill and let sit for a few minutes to soak in and your guests will rave about how much better the food tastes.

Garlic – can’t live without it. Bad for your breathe, but good for your health. Another spice that’s good in most Italian dishes. Great to add a kick to pot roast or meat loaf.

Cilantro – buy it fresh. Awesome flavor that gives a distinct bite to just about anything, but beware that some people find it tastes like soap.
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Forget about tarragon, turmeric and thyme. You’ll use them once every lunar eclipse.
 
Onions are a must, but like cilantro, buy it fresh. You can keep onion flakes on hand for an emergency.
 
Nutmeg, paprika and poppy seed will sit on your shelf forever. Resist the impulse to purchase them in the supermarket even if the recipe in “Parade” magazine calls for it. Find something else you like on your shelf and toss it into the pot, stir it around and see how it tastes.

Bottom line: Buy the spices you like and will use. There’s nothing wrong with stocking up. Just make sure you spice us your dishes and your life with ones you appreciate.

​We need to flame thrower the Emerald Ash Borer. I’m not a horticulturist, but given how many ash trees have been killed in North America from this invasive insect, I think it’s time we brought out the big weapons.

If you drive through Illinois or Wisconsin, you see the tree carnage everywhere. Just glance out your window for a few miles and you’ll see decimated branches, bare trees, multiple trunks in a row with no greenery – the wreckage.

A few weeks ago, I visited with several friends in Kankakee, IL to play golf at the Elks Club. Across the course, there were leafless ash trees on almost all 18 holes. And this was after the greens keepers had taken down many of the dead ones already and burned them.

It was the burning that got me to thinking that proactive action is required in these situations. Frankly, I don’t know how to stop the insect from infesting new areas. So why not burn them while they’re in the tree?

That got me thinking about the flame thrower. I’m not talking about decimating forests, so hear me out.
 
The tactic to defeat the Emerald Ash Borer can start in a stand of trees where it’s clear an infestation has started. Make sure the fire department is on hand. Then bring in the flamethrowers to torch the trees. The fire department stands watch to prevent any spread of the blaze and jumps into action if it looks like there might be a problem.

If not, they just let the blaze burn itself out and kill the insidious insects destroying the trees. As a first step, this tactic can be applied to multiple trees when it is discovered the borer has appeared and started to attack.

This is war. We need to battle back.
 
I doubt there will be an immediate cease fire. Probably, at best, we can slow the enemy down. If we can, for example, limit their devastation of the ash species to 50 percent or 40 percent, we can declare a limited victory in the short run. Perhaps we’ll scare them off. “Henry, here come the humans with those torch things, let’s take a hike.”
 
Seriously, we should be coming up with much more thought-out and intelligent solutions to stop this species loss. I don’t see any forward thinking.
 
A longer term solution is to stop monoculture planting of trees when landscaping is done by businesses or local communities. When you plant the same tree over and over and over again, it becomes susceptible to a specific pest. Why not select five different types of trees and space them out so that you never have the same species next to each other? It only makes sense, but for some reason you don’t see this very often.

We’ve introduced 6-8 local species of trees to our land here in Wisconsin over the past two years. Hopefully over the years that will add diversity to our neck of the woods and lead to a more sustainable ecosystem. My wife and I find great satisfaction in making this contribution.
 
Everyone can take a similar step on their parcel of land in terms of helping to create a stronger mix of woods and forests. Just watch out for the flame thrower.