Get your minds out the gutter - I'm not talking about that kinda spice, though my daughter in law just informed me there is an app called Quinn with audio erotica for women, which is made by women, for women, which I'm not going to listen to, because I'm either past it or completely satisfied, thanks.

Nope, I'm talking about cooking with various herbs and spices, which has always been a thing for me - the spicier the better. As I've taught myself to cook over the years, I've been inspired by various travels and cultures and the breadth of world cuisine in Australia (particularly Melbourne) where I've picked up a thing or two, going through phases where I might learn about Southern Indian cooking, for example (hence the curry plant in my garden), or lately Bahraini/Persian spices.

This means my spice drawer is intermittently, and quite often, a mess - spilt turmeric on the benchtop is not fun. I need to top up the jars from the packets I have in the cupboard, and so usually do an inventory on what I'm missing (I always run out of coriander seeds) and either order them online or pop into the local wholefoods. Lately it's aleppo chilli that I'm going through at a rate of knots, particuarly for a crunchy middle eastern chilli I'm addicted to, also containing fennel and caraway and coriander seeds, and pine nuts, onion and garlic.

I often share new spices with my son, who also loves to experiment, and in turn, if he buys or orders them he gets them for me, so last week we swapped aleppo chilli and dried limes, which I'm yet to use. I have a second drawer too, with jars of sesame seeds, dried limes and other spices I don't fit in small jars.

One of my favourite must have spices is cummin, and it's so much better ground from seeds fresh. I love having it in a pinch pot to sprinkle on eggs or in soups. In Morocco they have it on the table with salt and pepper, so it reminds me of that, and in this instance, it's liberally sprinkled on dal with kalonji (nigella or black onion seeds) and aleppo chilli.

Big bags of lentils was the first thing I bought in response to the fuel crisis - I ain't going a winter without dal, and it's an easy meal to make, nutritious with various aliums and greens from the garden if I have them.

This version is the best I've made in ages - I think because I cooked the lentils first, then added the veggies and fried onions and lots of grated ginger, and of course spices - whole coriander seeds, cummin seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric. I add silverbeet too, carrot, sometimes potato, fennel tops, cooking it til soft and creamy, and at the end, a bit of coconut cream to really mellow it out. It's so good.

I do have a lot of spices in bags in a tub in a food storage bucket at the moment, prepper style. I always think that even if we run out of everything, as long as I've got lentils and rice, and a few veggies from the garden, and a heap of spice, we'll be alright.

What's your favourite spice? Do you cook with a lot of herbs or spices, or do you like your food plain? Have you discovered an interesting spice lately, and how do you use it? What traditional spices do you use in your country or in your most eaten dish?

With Love,

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