You can't help but be sexy.

A mushroom scramble sounds yummy!

Those are some intense stockings.

There's this very proletarian French mustard that you can't get as an import because it's too ordinary; Andrea developed a taste for it when she was living in France, and now we have to have it. I use it in my standard stir-fry sauce, along with the very brand of peanut butter that you have on your shelf there. I'm too lame to make my own sauces from scratch, so I really don't use any bulk spices when I cook except for pepper.

So my standard stir-fry sauce ingredients are: Amora mustard, chunky peanut butter, San-j spicy stiry-fry sauce, and Sriracha hot sauce. It's a pretty yummy combination.

San-j sauce is spicy, tart, and a bit sweet. Dunno what it's made of, but I suspect there's soy sauce, plum sauce and cayenne, at least. The mustard is a pretty basic yellow mustard, but not as harsh as the stuff people use as a condiment in restaurants. Definitely not grainy. The trick with the peanut butter, which you probably already know, is to melt it in hot water. I don't use very much--maybe a tablespoon at most. If you overdo it, it gets cloying.

I'm kind of shocked that you have to come to the U.S. to get your peanut butter!

Lovely images.

We do something pretty similar--we drive about an hour south to shop at Trader Joe's every so often, to stock up. We don't have to cross an international border, but it's still a bit of a schlep. I'm addicted to their concord grape juice, which I dilute pretty heavily since it's so sweet.

I'm sure I speak for most (if not all) in confirming that you do sexytown mode quite well.

Maturing is sort of nice isn't it? Or, at least, It's not all bad.
Your spice pantry is impressive.
As to your question: garlic, black pepper, and various Chili powders would be my indispensable ones, but more or less, all have their place - - although I'm not too sure on fennel, I just don't care for the stuff.

That is an extensive list of ingredients and I have another one for you to try from the Middle Eastern side of my family, sumac. Which is a red berry with a tart taste, which can be used in place of lemons to add a pleasant, but sour taste to recipes.

Fattoush is a Lebanese bread salad including sumac, that is refreshing and ideal on a warm day.

My most often used flavourings are cumin, coriander, chilli peppers, cayenne pepper, black pepper, turmeric, onions, garlic, ginger, lemon and cinnamon. I can do a lot with those ingredients.

I really want to feel that stable and calm soon. I want to feel like I have a home again and just feel comfortable and set. I guess it's only been 9 months since I last changed cities again. It'll happen eventually

I really hope you don't come to Portland from the 27th of July to the 2nd of August, cause that's when I'm gone. Other than that, Portland is hosting a great summer for me full of social activism, arts and biking.

About spices though: Basil and Oregano are essential to my pasta, Garlic, red pepper, paprika, and curry powder. All of this organic and fair trade if available

Welcome to Sexytown