Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:
> I have just a small number of spices in my kitchen. I don't know a lot
> about spices except for the very basic ones such as garlic salt
> (powder), oregano, red pepper flakes, stuff like that.
>
> While watching the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I saw two guys
> making a delicious looking boneless chicken breast and they made up a
> spice mixture to rub into it. The breast sure looked good and the
> contestant was very pleased with the end results.
>
> Without getting a lot of fancy spices one may only use once in a
> while, what would you suggest that every kitchen should have to make
> up our own spice rack? Can anyone recommend a good collection
> contained on a rotating holder which they had on the show?
>
> Thanks in advance for your help,
> Mark

I have (and use frequently) the following:

Regular salt
Kosher salt (it is non iodized and often more granular - excellent for
coating a roast prior to baking it in the oven).
Fresh ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Garlic salt
Onion powder
Cinnamon
Bay leaves
Oregano
Cumin
Sage
Rosemary

Other spices I use, but not on a regular basis:

Lemon Zest
Mustard Powder
Tomato Powder (excellent for when you want a hint of tomato, but do not
want to open a can and waste the balance)
Dehydrated diced celery
Dehydrated diced onion
Dehydrated diced chicken (excellent for soup)
Dehydrated diced beef (excellent for soup)

Spices I rarely use:

cloves
celery salt
red pepper
cayenne pepper
Dill

The spices you store and use will depend on your individual taste and
what the recipe calls for.