herbs and spices

i usually like the taste of herbs and spices in the food but i don't know which spices go best with which food.. what is best to use with meat/chicken/fish/eggs/ salad.. etc

care to share with me?

i do care because i make up my own spur-of-the-moment recipes and use veggies and herbs of the season.

you can use fresh thyme with cheicken breast, smash it with a little garlic, a clove or 2, oregano is good too, cilantro.

a lot goes with eggs: tarragon, fresh mint, parsely, thyme...you can try this sandwich: whole-wheat or whole-grain bread, 1 hard-boiled egg, veggies of your choice(cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, fresh mint...), mustard, a little salt...it's filling and very yummmyyyyyyyy

dill goes well with fish, and everything goes with salads

here's an interesting salad recipe:

string cheese, fresh thyme, and olives, i don't add olive oil because it adds lots of cals, but you can add lemon juice if you want

that's all i can remember for now, hope that was helpful ; )

I'm probably as much of a novice as you at this but I like to experiment!  I decide what meat, veg, etc. I'm having then add things as I cook - I haven't had a complete disaster yet... Maybe I'm speaking too soon . 

The thing I've found is best is not to add too much (at least until I have more confidence I think).  I've looked through recipe books to get a feel for things and then just gone with my instincts.  That's the thing I love about cooking everything from scratch, it allows you to be so creative... and as my fiance always says, it's not going to be poisonous (well as long as you stick to the off the shelf kinds of herbs and spices!!!) so I just try it and if it could be better I do it a little differently the next time.  Even if I do say so myself I have made some really great tasting dishes that way.

I basically started with almost no herbs as I moved into a house with 2 men who went for convenience over real taste.  I have just built up my collection slowly and ended up with about 40 different herbs and spices in the cupboard!! I now get distracted by the herbs and spices isle in the supermarket - think it's becoming some kind of obsession - hehe! 

My next step is to take over the garden and grow them fresh... watch this space....

Hope that helps.

Check out this page:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/ blmisc2.htm