Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Spicing things up

over the weekend I had the chance to visit a Savory Spice Shop

it is an experience not to be missed

sure, we've all bought spices at the grocery store -- and even at the fair from the Watkins booth

but it just doesn't compare with the experience of being able to walk in and see all the spices and herbs and blends in the jars and using the little shaker bottles to taste before you buy

unless you've done that, how do you know if you want the Vietnamese cinnamon which has a sharp, hot feel on your tongue, like eating those red hot fireball candies -- or if you'd prefer the mellower Chinese cinnamon?

do you want the St Louis pork rub? the pan pork sausage blend?

how about a REAL vanilla bean?

or 4 ounces of powdered cheddar cheese --- my "best of the day" find so I can make my own version of "quick" mac 'n cheese -- a version of this stuff used to be available from my local grocery store, but Kraft doesn't do that any more --- and this stuff tastes better!

if there isn't one of these lovely stores near you, you should at least check out their website -- here's the link