I oscillate between cooking with seasoning cubes that contain MSG (monosodium glutamate) and not cooking at all with them for long periods. To be honest I do not care for arguments for or against using MSG, it’s a sink hole I’m unwilling to explore.

I like cooking with spices, herbs, roots… because

• Layering flavours is almost a lost art because of the quick fix appeal of seasoning cubes.
• There’s an abundance of nutrients and health benefits to be derived from them
• I try to be deliberate about what I put in my body. There is already an over exposure to chemicals we encounter on a daily basis, so if I can at least reduce one exposure I try to cut out what is processed.
• MSG is naturally occuring in many foods and I can enjoy it in its natural occurring form instead.

This spice mix is so good and I’m so miffed that I didn’t measure this out when I made. I just eyeballed some spices I use regularly, and blended them together, adjusting accordingly.

Turns out so good, I hope I can make it as good the next time. I’d do it over sometime soon and hope I nail it or even do better.

Ingredients

• Mustard seeds
• Cinnamon,
• Coriander seeds
• Fennel seeds (not too much as it can turn the mix bitter)
• Cardamom pods (green)
• Black pepper
• Dried mint

I’ve used this to cook my meats, gave me a really nice rich stock, cooked stew, jollof, fried rice with it

Habits are hard to break maybe some day my cooking is 100% MSG free. If you are interested in exploring MSG free cooking there are a couple of Nigerian advocates teaching natural alternatives to MSG cooking, chief amongst them is Lagos HouseWife, check her social media pages out

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