I think nature has given us a tremendous gift - spices. Actually, it is not just one gift. It is hundreds and thousands of gifts, so I find it very sad when people stick only to a few of them. We Latvians went through hard times - Soviet times. The only spices available to us then were old bay leaves, powdered black pepper (with no taste even before it reached our tables), cinnamon, cloves (they are the biggest nightmare for those who had to eat preserved pumpkins, e.g. everyone), caraway seeds (all food was made with them), some allspice, table salt, and that's it. Food always tasted the same, no matter where you went and ate.

At the time we began our story with our website Four seasons(www.cetrassezonas.lv) followed by a magazine (neither is around anymore), I heard rumors about me and my use of spices. Mostly – “She wants to be fashionable using all those exotic products” or "Why do we need all these strange spices and herbs unknown to us?" Even if they were right about my stylishness, the fact that people considered spices and herbs something fashionable and unknown made me angry: the narrowmindedness, the stubbornness to try something new and give food another dimension. So, I started to go through books. Old books. From the beginning of the 20thcentury. And it was all there – basil, rosemary, thyme, ginger, and many more herbs and spices with so many ways to use them. Of course, it was for the luxury of the upper class, but it was there – in cookbooks. It was only later when all that disappeared – thanks to regimes that followed that left us with odorless and tasteless spices. Maybe one should thank God that we had those at least, but still.

Today, the biggest joy of summer is market day when I come back with bunches of basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano, peppermint. And let's not forget that there are at least five different basils, just like peppermint and all the rest. I cannot wait for summer to start to grow my verbena, chives, lavender, four types of oregano, and all the other spices. I cannot wait to start cooking my breakfast omelet or dinner pasta or stew and that magical moment where I add spices and make the food taste completely different. It is even more special when I have the spices that I have bought myself - fennel in France, anise or dried garlic in Italy, different paprika powders in Hungary, or basil, peppermint, and oregano in Cyprus. It is the moment when I feed myself not only food but also memories and emotions with every fork or spoonful.

Still, if I look at the average household in Latvia, it is the same – all the time. But it should not be like that. Food should not always taste like dill (yes, another of our heritage herbs) or overgrown chives. The meat sauce should not eternally taste only of burnt onion if it could get so much more. The morning omelet should bring out all of the taste levels, not just the taste of plain egg (don't get me wrong, the taste of egg, if local, organic, or countryside is fantastic). I know it might be intimidating, even scary, to try using spices. I remember how around 12 years ago adding thyme to food was all about one question - how much? It changed the day (I remember the day) I realized that it is only up to me to decide how much: it is only practice that will guide me to the right amounts, it is only my open mind that will get me there sooner, and it is my health that will thank me for that as spices and herbs are not only for taste but for much more than that - it is also about digestion and feeling good.

I have been talking about spices for a long time – in my books, magazine, and through my food. People love my food, at least that's what they say, and the reason they do is, in part, due to spices I use. And I always use them. Always.

Text and pictures: Signe Meirane

Spices vs us